


Legacy

by ScorpioGirl1987



Category: Days of Our Lives
Genre: Action/Adventure, Alternate Universe - Canon, Angst, Attempted Murder, Crimes & Criminals, Drama & Romance, F/M, Family, Fluff, Friendship, Holidays, Humor, Kidnapping, M/M, Mystery, Tragedy
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-12-22
Updated: 2018-04-29
Packaged: 2018-05-08 12:27:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 148
Words: 402,072
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5497046
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ScorpioGirl1987/pseuds/ScorpioGirl1987
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Major WilSon AU! Sonny comes back to Salem a day earlier and saves Will from Ben. Basically a "What if Will had never been killed off?" fanfic.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Visions

Sonny went over paperwork for the new club Le Lune et Les Etoiles. His mind wandered to Will and Ari. He found himself missing his husband. What was Will doing now? Was he scheming to get him back, or is he still moping and pining? He found himself wishing that they would work things out.

"Don't stay away too long."

"Don't wait too long to make a decision, or it will be made for you."

Sonny remembered his dad and uncle telling him those things. He also remembered a conversation with Alex when he visited him in Phoenix.

"You can't keep running away from your problems, baby brother." Alex said. "They'll just keep following you until you deal with them."

"Alex is right." Sonny sighed to himself. "What am I doing here?" Almost without thinking, he pulled out his phone and was about to dial Will. "No…I'll surprise him." Instead, he called his uncle. "Hey, Uncle Vic! I was just calling to tell you that I'm taking a few days off. The clubs are doing real well. I can work remotely."

"Okay. I trust you." Victor replied. "Where are you going?"

"Back to Salem." Sonny smiled.

XXX

Twelve hours later, Sonny took a cab to his apartment. He unlocked the door, and walked in, but the apartment was completely dark. He turned the light on and saw a note on the table.

"Will- I dropped Ari off at Brianna's house. I just have to head to the station to talk to Rafe about something. I know you were at Ben and Abigail's apartment going over wedding stuff with them, but would you mind picking Ari up if I'm not back? Thanks! –Gabi"

Sonny pulled out his phone and realized he got a voicemail. Strange, he didn't hear his phone ring. "Sonny, hey. Um, um... it must be the middle of the night over there." Sonny chuckled. If only he knew… "I just wanted to hear your voice, um, and I wanted to say to you that, um... that I've been blaming just about everyone for what went wrong with us. But I'm finally able to admit to you and to everyone else...that I'm the one who screwed up. And all of this talk that I've said about taking ownership of my mistakes-I wasn't. And, um... I'm just finally able to accept that this was all my fault." Sonny's heart melted. He's heard all that before, but this time, it sounded like Will really meant it. He heard Will sobbing over the voicemail. "I love you so much, Sonny. And even if I never get a chance to get back together with you, I have to make this right for you. I love you. Good night- um, good morning." Will chuckled and the voicemail ended. Sonny blinked away tears and took a deep breath. He knew now that he made the right decision in coming back to Salem. He dialed another number.

Gabi pulled away from Brianna's house as her phone rang. She was surprised to see that Sonny was calling. "Sonny! Hey, this is a surprise."

"Hey, Gabi." Sonny replied.

"But, isn't it like four in the morning over there?" Gabi asked.

"It is, but I'm in Salem." Sonny smiled.

Gabi gasped in surprised. "Seriously? Oh my god! I wish I'd known that a few minutes ago. I could have just left Ari with you."

"Oh, well, I wanted to surprise Will. Um, I saw your note." Sonny said. "Is he still at Ben's, do you know?"

"I think so, yeah." Gabi nodded. Her phone beeped. "Oh- I just got a text from him. He says he's waiting for the cable guy while Abigail looks for Ben or something. His dad was just arrested for drug-related crimes."

"My stabbing included?" Sonny surprised even himself. "I…have no idea why I just said that. We don't even know who tried to kill me."

Gabi cringed slightly. "I don't know. You were mugged for drug money. Maybe Ben's dad is responsible…"

Sonny nodded, then remembered Gabi can't see him. "Yeah. Well, anyway, like I said, I was going to surprise Will, but, since he's at Ben's waiting for the cable guy, I think I'll run a couple errands first."

"Okay." Gabi shrugged. "I have to go to the station to talk to Rafe about something. Abigail and Ben might still be there. I'll pick up Ari when I'm done."

"Great!" Sonny smiled. "Thanks."

"Sure."

XXX

Sonny's first stop was Club TBD. So far, everything seemed to be going well. He headed out the door and ran into Paul.

"Sonny! Wow, I wasn't expecting you back so soon." Paul smiled broadly.

Sonny smiled politely. He hesitated his response, because he knew Paul was still in love with him. "I'm here to make things right with Will. He's over at Ben and Abigail's apartment right now, so, I'll stop by there."

That hit Paul hard. He took a deep breath and put on a smile. "Okay. Good luck. Um…I'll see you around."

"Okay. See you."

Paul waited until Sonny left before sighing heavily. "God, Sonny, why do you keep running back to someone who's hurt you over and over again?"

XXX

Sonny's next stop was the hospital. He bought a bouquet of flowers and a "Get Well Soon" balloon from the gift shop and headed to Caroline's room with a smile on his face. He walked up to Caroline's door, and heard her yell out in fright.

"WILL!"

Sonny burst into the room and saw Caroline sitting straight up, eyes wide open in terror and worry. Sonny rushed over, set the bouquet on the table, and gently grabbed Caroline's shoulders. "Caroline, Caroline. Hey, it's okay. It was just a nightmare."

It took a few seconds for Caroline to recognize Sonny. "Oh, I'm glad you're here. Will's in danger!"

"Okay, just calm down." Sonny said calmly. "It was just a nightmare. Will is just fine. He just called me about an hour ago."

"No, see I had a very vivid dream about Will being attacked!" Caroline exclaimed. "He was in this small apartment with a blinking red and green light coming through the window. This man was coming towards him with a red and gold necktie over his shoulder."

Sonny sighed quietly. He had heard of this Necktie Killer that's been going around killing women. "Caroline, I'm sure Will's safe. The Necktie Killer only attacks women."

Caroline was confused. "What Necktie Killer? There's been attacks on women?"

Sonny's stomach dropped in dismay. "Caroline, have you been kept up-to-date on the goings on in town?"

"No. I haven't even picked up a newspaper since coming here." Caroline shook her head.

"Okay. You said the small apartment had a blinking red and green light?" Sonny asked. 'Oh, Aunt Kayla's gonna kill me slowly and painfully for this…'

Caroline nodded. "It's dark in the apartment…wait…you believe me?"

'Well, I'm humoring you. Not sure if I believe fully yet.' Sonny thought. "Yeah. Um…what did this man look like? Is it Chad?"

Caroline shook her head. "No. This man is slightly shorter and more muscled than Chad."

Sonny's heart hammered in his chest. He recalled Abigail complaining about this annoying, blinking, red and green light coming into her apartment window at night. "Um…Caroline, have you been to Abigail's and Ben's apartment before?"

"No. Why?" Caroline shook her head. "What does that have to do with Will?"

Sonny felt an overwhelming sense of dread wash over him. How can Caroline have a very detailed and specific dream about a place she's never even been to? Unless…did she have a psychic vision? "Caroline, when was the last time you saw Will?"

"Yesterday afternoon." Caroline replied.

This was getting more worrisome by the minute. Is Will really in danger? "Okay, one last question: in the dream, what was Will wearing?"

"Uh…" Caroline closed her eyes in concentration. "A light blue button down shirt, the sleeved rolled up to his elbows and a white strip of fabric above the left pocket, black pants, and black shoes."

Shivers ran up and down his spine, and his heart continued hammering. "Okay. Um…don't worry, I'll-I'll get help for Will. Everything's going to be fine."

"Okay. Hurry!" Caroline urged.

"I will." Sonny ran out the door and almost knocked Kayla over. "Aunt Kayla!"

"Sonny! Oh my god, I didn't expect to see you!" Kayla hugged her nephew. "How's Paris?"

"Great! Um, I'm sorry to cut this short, but I-I have to go. We'll talk later." Sonny made a beeline for the elevator, which was about to close.

Kayla looked after her nephew with concern. "What on earth…?"

XXX

As soon as he was out of the elevator, Sonny pulled out his phone and called Will.

XX

Will tried not to act nervous. He just discovered a red and gold tie in Ben's trash can, and an alarm bell went off in his head. Why would he have that tie? And why would he throw it away unless...he had something to do with the murders and the attack on his grandmother?

Will figured that it would be better to reason with him. Ben was holding the necktie and staring down at it. "Ben? You okay?"

Ben jumped slightly as if snapping out of a trance. "Yeah, yeah. I just…I'm getting so sick of everybody talking trash about my dad. I mean, when you wrote that article about him, did anyone besides that lying loser say a single bad thing about him?"

"No." Will shook his head. His phone started buzzing. He figured it was best to ignore it so as to keep Ben calm.

"You gonna answer that?" Ben asked.

"Uh, no. I-I'll just ignore it." Will cleared his throat and tried to hide his surprise at Sonny calling when it's the middle of the night in Paris. He hit the answer button, then hung up, hoping it would send Sonny the message that he might be in trouble.

XX

Sonny pulled out of the hospital parking lot. "Come on, Will. Pick up the goddamn phone!" The call was picked up, then dropped. Strange. That never happened! Will always picked up his calls! That could only mean one thing.

XXX

Abigail walked up to JJ and Gabi, who were talking. "Hey. Hi."

"Hey, Abs." JJ greeted.

"I heard about Ben's dad." Gabi spoke up. "How's Ben?"

Abigail sighed. "Not well. He's taking this pretty hard."

Gabi was about to respond, when her phone rang. "Oh. Sorry, I gotta take this. It could be about Ari."

"Okay."

Gabi walked away from the Deveraux siblings and answered her phone. "Hey, Sonny. Is everything okay?"

"I don't think so." Sonny exhaled sharply. "Gabi, listen, I know this is kind of weird, but I need you to tell me exactly what Will is wearing."

Gabi was puzzled at his question. "Uh…a light blue button down shirt with a little white stripe above the pocket, black pants, and black shoes."

A huge alarm bell went off in Sonny's head. Will is in danger! "Oh my God…"

"What?" Gabi asked, concerned.

"Gabi, I think Will might be in danger." Sonny replied.

"How do you mean?" Gabi asked, eyes widening.

"I went to visit Caroline in the hospital, and she had a very detailed and very specific dream about Will being attacked by the Necktie Killer- Ben." Sonny replied.

Gabi frowned in bewilderment, then sighed. "Sonny, Will told me that Caroline has dementia. It could just be a nightmare."

"Have you ever had a dream- or nightmare- about a place you've never been to before? A real place?" Sonny asked. "She said Will was in what she described as Abigail's apartment, but she's never been there before! She even mentioned the blinking red and green light outside their window. And she said that the man coming towards Will had a red and gold necktie over his shoulder."

"So, she could be worried that the Necktie Killer is coming after Will next." Gabi supplied.

"That's the thing: she didn't know about the Necktie Killer when she had that dream! That tie was very specific as well." Sonny replied, stopping at a stoplight. "Plus, she said he was wearing a blue button down shirt with black pants- the exact outfit you described Will wore. Will didn't visit Caroline today. How would she know what he's wearing?"

"Coincidence, maybe?" Gabi shrugged.

Sonny was losing his patience. "Okay, how about this: when I called Will, the call was picked up, then he hung up and didn't call back. He never does that!"

Gabi exhaled slowly. He was right- Will never does that. "Sonny…if what you're saying is true…then…that would mean that the Necktie Killer is…is Ben."

"I'm really hoping I'm wrong." Sonny admitted. "I'm actually on my way to Ben's apartment right now. I need you to keep Abigail away from the apartment for as long as possible."

"Wait- what's your plan? What if you're right about him being the killer?" Gabi whispered.

"I'll call the police." Sonny said simply.

Gabi exhaled sharply. "Okay. Be very careful, Sonny."

"I will." Sonny promised. "Don't tell Abigail yet. She might not believe you."

"Okay. What if she suspects?" Gabi asked.

"Then tell her the truth." Sonny replied.

"Okay." Gabi sighed. "You know, I sort of imagined you guys pulling something like this on me when I was dating Nick."

Sonny chuckled softly. "I'll talk to you soon."

"Okay. See ya." Gabi hung up, sighed, and turned around to see JJ in front of her. "Oh!" She laughed. "You scared me."

"Sorry." JJ replied sheepishly.

Gabi looked around. "Um, where's Abigail?"

"She left to go find Ben." JJ said.

"How long ago?" Gabi asked, slightly panicky.

"Just a few seconds ago." JJ replied. "Why? What's wrong?"

Gabi considered telling him, but, JJ's been through enough drama lately. She just smiled and shook her head. "It's nothing. Um…I better go. I'll see you around."

JJ stared after her in bewilderment. "O…kay, then…"

Gabi rushed out of the station and saw Abigail dialing on her phone. she heaved a sigh of relief. 'Oh, thank God!' Clearing her throat, she walked over to Abigail. "Abigail!"

Abigail turned around and smiled at Gabi. "Hi again, Gabi."

"So, how are you doing? How's Ben?" Gabi asked.

"Well, I haven't been able to reach him." Abigail shrugged and sighed. "I'm just wondering why he isn't answering my calls. It's so unlike him."

Gabi's heart hammered in dread. 'Probably because he's too busy threatening Will…' Aloud, she said "You know, it's been my experience that when someone doesn't answer their phone, they're either busy or don't want to talk to anyone. Maybe you should just give him some time alone."

Abigail huffed slowly. "I'm just concerned. I mean, I feel like I'm the only one that can calm him, you know?"

Gabi nodded. "Tell you what: Ari's with the sitter, Will's at your apartment. What do you say we have a girl's night? We can grab some ice cream or frozen yogurt, talk…I'm sure Ben will call you back eventually."

Abigail sighed and gave in. "Okay. There's something I need to do first."

"Do you need a ride somewhere? I didn't see your car." Gabi offered.

"No, it's okay. I'll take the bus." Abigail replied, averting her eyes.

Gabi could sense what she meant by that. "You think Chad had something to do with Ben's dad's arrest, don't you?" Abigail didn't respond. "I don't believe Chad is the killer, by the way. I've known him a long time. He would never hurt anybody unless they really deserved it. I mean, I hired Andrew and he ended up kidnapping Chad's girlfriend. Why didn't he kill me?"

"Good point." Abigail smiled. "If you wouldn't mind keeping this between us, I would love a ride."

"Of course. What are best friends for?" Gabi shrugged and smiled. 'Well, Sonny, I just bought you a couple hours. Make it count.'

XXX

Chad sat at his laptop in thought. Abigail just came by to make sure he didn't have anything to do with Clyde's arrest. She told him Ben did not take it well. He also remembered Andre telling him Clyde wasn't arrested for the murders of Paige and Serena and the attack on Marlena. He thought back to when he saved Marlena from the killer. The man dressed in black from head to toe didn't have the same build as Clyde now that he thought about it. In fact, that build was more similar to Ben.

…

Wait…Ben does hold a huge grudge against him…but…come on, he's not smart enough.

…Is he?

He had to check that out.

XX

Paul briskly walked through the park. He stopped when he heard rustling. "Is someone there?"

Chad came out of the bushes and stopped suddenly when he saw Paul.

"Awfully bold of you to show your face here." Paul said. "I would have thought you'd left the country by now."

Chad raised his hands. "Paul, I'm not the killer."

"Tell that to the cops." Paul pulled out his phone.

"Wait!" Chad exclaimed. Paul looked up. "Why haven't I attacked you?"

"What?"

"If I was the killer, I would have killed anyone who saw me." Chad replied. "So, why haven't I attacked you?"

Paul thought about that. He had a point, but… "Marlena said she saw you holding a red necktie in your hand after she was attacked."

"Do you see a red necktie on me?" Chad threw his arms out. "I'm being set up!"

"By whom?" Paul raised an eyebrow.

"Ben Weston." Chad said simply. "He's out to get me because I'm in love with his fiancée!"

Paul scoffed and shook his head in disbelief. "Ben? Seriously?"

"I know. I don't fully believe it, either." Chad sighed. "But, come on, his huge temper, his grudge against me- it makes sense!"

"That's what you're basing this on?" Paul asked.

"I'm on my way over to his apartment right now. If I'm right…" Chad sighed.

Paul's eyes widened. If what Chad was saying was true… "No. Sonny…Sonny's at Ben's apartment…and Will."

Chad's eyes widened. "We gotta go. Now!"


	2. Friday Night's Alright For Fighting

Will tried to keep calm. "Ben, I am- I'm so sorry. I wish there was something I could say to help. I should get going." He stood.

"No." Ben snapped. Will tried not to panic. Ben's phone started vibrating. "Listen, man, I'm really sorry. I'm just really upset right now. I'm coming all hard at you, and you're only trying to help."

Will smiled. "It's-it's okay. I totally get it. You know, I-I really should be going."

"Why are you in such a hurry?" Ben asked.

"Uh, I have a deadline." Will lied. Ben's phone continued vibrating. "But, Ben, if you want to talk, we can go somewhere, get some fresh air. We go walk over to town square."

Ben stood and walked over towards Will. "Will, suddenly I'm getting the feeling I'm making you nervous."

Will smiled and shook his head. "No. Of course not."

Ben's phone vibrated again. "Damn it, don't these people know that I'm busy?!" He smashed his phone against the table. Will took the opportunity to run for the door. He was about to open it when Ben stopped him by putting his hand on the door. "You think you're a lot smarter than I am?"

"No. Of course not." Will said again. The fear was really setting in.

"But you think you know what's going on."

Alarm bells went off in Will's head. He was starting to figure out Ben's behavior. "You attacked my grandmother. And killed those women. Didn't you?" Ben didn't respond, but the answer was written on his face. Anger boiled up inside Will. "Why would you do that? They've done nothing to you!"

"Really? Who was Serena having a drink with?" Ben asked. "And who witness her storming out of the club?"

"Chad." Will whispered.

"Correct. And who was helping him?" Ben asked again.

"So…all this…because you hate Chad?" Will asked in disbelief. "It's because Abigail still loves him, isn't it? You're trying to destroy her love for Chad." Ben still didn't respond. Will chuckled. "Well, it's not gonna work. No matter who you kill, Abigail's never going to believe that Chad would kill innocent people. You're losing, Ben. 'Cause love- true love- can never be destroyed."

Ben grabbed Will by the throat and squeezed. "What Abigail and I have is true love!" Ben hurled Will across the room against the refrigerator so hard, the door popped open, and Will was knocked unconscious. Ben slowly walked towards him, wrapping the tie around his hands.

XXX

Paul zoomed down the street with Chad in the passenger seat. "I cannot believe I talked myself into doing this."

"I'm sorry. The only reason I'm dragging you along with me is because I need backup." Chad said. "Sonny and Will are tough, but they are not fighters."

"Neither am I, but…" Paul's voice drifted off. "I do have a gun. And a license."

Chad chuckled softly. "You wanna save the day and Sonny will see you as his knight in shining armor?"

Paul didn't respond to that. Instead, he said "If you're wrong about Ben Weston being the serial killer, I'll have you arrested for kidnapping."

"I'm not wrong." Chad insisted. "Once we get there, you can karate-chop his ass if things get bloody."

Paul scoffed. "So we're stereotyping now? Do you count your money every night while eating spaghetti with-a meat-a-balls?"

Chad glared at Paul, then smirked. He was aware of some Japanese superstitions. He wondered if Paul believes in them. "Turn on 4th Street. It's quicker."

Paul stiffened. "Are you sure? 'Cause I think that if we stay on 3rd, we'll get there faster."

"Okay, fine." Chad sat back. After a few minutes, he started whistling.

"Don't whistle, please." Paul said firmly.

"Why not?" Chad asked.

"It's…annoying." Paul lied. Truth be told, whistling at night is bad luck. So was the number 4.

Chad chuckled. "Okay, then." They stopped at a stoplight. He looked out the window and saw a police cruiser pulling up alongside them, gasped, and ducked out of view, which made Paul laugh. "Dude, screw you."

The cruiser drove ahead and turned on another street. "Okay, you're clear."

Chad looked up tentatively, then sighed in relief. "Have you tried calling Sonny?"

"Not yet." Paul pulled out his phone. "I can't exactly call or text while I'm driving. Will you call?"

"Oh, sure." Chad took the phone and opened a new text message. He paused for a few seconds. Paul does seem kind of pushy, and he really wants Sonny back. There's got to be a way to make him back off. Then, grinning mischievously, Chad wrote "Hey, if Will gets himself killed by the serial killer, does this mean you and I can get back together, like as soon as he's dead?"

"What'd you write?" Paul asked.

"I just asked if he's okay." Chad lied. He spotted the apartment complex. "Oh! It's right here."

Paul pulled into the parking lot. "Okay, what floor and room is it?"

"It's room 623. It's on the 6th floor." Chad replied. He and Paul climbed out of the car.

Paul opened his trunk, pulled out his gun, stuffed it in his pants, and closed the trunk. "All right. Let's hurry." He looked around for Chad, who disappeared. "Chad? Chad!"

XXX

Sonny made it to the sixth floor. He huffed for breath as his heart thudded in his chest. He sprinted down the hallway to Ben and Abigail's apartment. He stopped at the door to listen.

"You shouldn't have come here, Will." Ben was saying. "You should have just stayed away!"

Sonny burst into the room. He saw Ben straddling Will and choking him with a red necktie. Sonny ran over, grabbed Ben by the collar, and threw him off of Will. Ben's head cracked against the counter, and he fell to the ground, unconscious. Sonny panted for breath and held the side of the fridge to steady himself. He sank to the floor while pulling out his cell phone and dialed 911.

"911, what's your emergency?"

"There's been another attack. He's still alive, but unconscious." Sonny said. He leaned down. "Oh my God, he's not breathing." He balanced his phone against his ear, held it up with his shoulder, and started performing CPR.

"Okay, do you know CPR?"

"Yes. I'm doing it now." Sonny grunted. "We're at 327 Grand Avenue. Apartment 623. Send an ambulance."

"What's the name of the victim?"

"Will Horton. This is Sonny Kiriakis."

"Help is on the way."

"Thanks." Sonny hung up, put his phone in his pocket, and checked to make sure Ben was still knocked out. He turned back to Will and continued doing CPR. "Come on. Come on, Will! Don't leave me. Don't you leave me!" He felt tears forming in his eyes. His arms were getting tired, but he ignored it. "Come on, Will, damn it!" Will gasped loudly and coughed a little. Sonny laughed in relief. "Will? Hey, can you hear me? Do you know where you ae?"

Will felt like his brain was on fire and his vision was still blurry. He looked behind Sonny, and his eyes widened. "Behind you." He said weakly.

Sonny whirled around in time to see Ben coming at him with a cord. He swung-kicked Ben to the ground, and his head hit the counter and knocked him out again. Sonny turned back to Will, who slipped back into unconsciousness. Sonny pulled out his phone again.

XXX

The Pub looked busy at this time of night. Abigail and Gabi managed to find a table.

"I have to go to the bathroom. I'll be right back." Abigail replied and set her jacket and purse on a chair.

"Okay. Take your time." Gabi replied, smiling. She watched Abigail disappear around a corner, and pulled out her phone as it rang. "Oh, thank God. Sonny."

"She was right!" Sonny exclaimed.

"Who was right?" Gabi asked.

"Caroline. Will was in danger!" Sonny replied. "I am at Ben and Abigail's apartment right now, and just stopped Ben from killing Will. With a red necktie."

Gabi stiffened and shivers ran up and down her spine. "Oh my god. Uh…did you call the police?"

"Of course I did. My name's Sonny Kiriakis, not Kurt Hummel!" Sonny snapped.

Gabi chuckled to herself at that reference. "Is Will okay?"

"He's alive, but unconscious."

"Okay, what about Ben?"

"Knocked out." Sonny replied.

"What do you want me to tell Abigail?" Gabi asked.

"Nothing. Keep her away from the apartment for as long as you can." Sonny replied. Gabi heard groaning in the background. "Crap, he's waking up. Gotta go."

Gabi was about to respond, but Sonny already hung up. She sighed and got a text from Abigail. "'Sorry, there's a line, and I just got to the stalls.' Perfect. Okay."

A waitress walked over to Gabi. "Can I get you anything?"

"I'm actually waiting for my friend. She's in the bathroom." Gabi replied. "Actually…I have a favor to ask."

"Okay."

"My friend is probably going to order either hot chocolate or herbal tea since she's pregnant. I need to keep her away from her apartment for as long as possible, so, would you mind telling her that you're completely out of tea and hot chocolate?" Gabi asked.

"How does that keep her away from her apartment?" The waitress asked.

"I'm going to ask my daughter's sitter to invite us in for hot chocolates." Gabi explained.

"All right. What do I get out of it?" The waitress, Cathy, asked.

"Free drinks at Club TBD for one month." Gabi offered. "I know the owner. I can get him to agree with this."

Cathy took a minute to consider that. "Done."

"Great! Thanks." Gabi smiled. Cathy walked off, and she pulled out her phone to call Brianna. "Hey, Bri. How's it going over ther

"Good. She's coloring now."

"Awesome." Gabi nodded. "Um, listen, I need to ask for another favor…"

"Okay."

"I need to keep Abigail away from her apartment for as long as possible, so, when we come to pick Ari up…"

Brianna nodded in understanding. "You want me to stall by inviting you guys for drinks."

"Yes." Gabi replied.

Brianna chuckled. "Okay. I can do that."

"Great! Thanks." Gabi replied as Abigail sat down. "Oh, hey! I was just checking in on Ari."

"Oh." Abigail nodded.

Cathy walked back to the table. "What can I get for you two?"

"Ooh. I'll have a slice of pumpkin pie and water." Gabi replied.

"I know it's not on the menu, but, do you have apple pie smothered in peanut butter?" Abigail asked.

Cathy knowingly smiled. "Pregnancy cravings?" Abigail nodded. "I'll see what I can do. Would you like anything to drink?"

"Chammomile tea."

"Coming right up." Cathy winked at Gabi, then walked off.

Abigail checked her phone for messages and sighed in disappointment. "Ben still hasn't called."

"Well, like I said earlier, maybe he just needs some alone time." Gabi shrugged.

Abigail huffed in frustration. "How much alone time does one person need?! I mean, when my mom and JJ got arrested, the last thing I wanted was alone time!"

"Some people are different." Gabi replied. "When my sister got arrested, I wanted to be alone for a bit."

Cathy came back. "I'm terribly sorry, but we're out of Chammomile."

Abigail tried to control her frustration. "Fine. Peppermint, then."

"We're out of that, too." Cathy shrugged.

"Then what herbal teas do you have?!" Abigail practically shouted.

"…None, actually."

"Do you at least have hot chocolate?" Abigail asked.

"Nope. Sorry. That guy over there ordered the last one." Cathy jerked her thumb behind her to a guy drinking from a mug.

Abigail glared at the man as if ordering the last hot chocolate was a personal offense. "Fine. Water, then."

"That we do have." Cathy smirked. "Be right back."

Abigail sighed. "I am so filing a complaint. I mean, this is ridiculous."

Gabi smiled and nodded in agreement. 'Heh…the things I do for friendship…'

XXX

Sonny stood up and held his hands out to hopefully calm Ben down. "Ben…why are you doing this?"

"It's because of me." Ben and Sonny turned to see Chad standing by the window. He glanced between Sonny and Will and glared back at Ben. "Right? You're the one who's setting me up. I thought maybe your dad was doing it for you, but boy, was I wrong!"

If looks could kill, Chad would be dead. Ben felt himself becoming even more unhinged. "So what if I did?"

"Sonny gave you a job when no one else would. He and Will are not only my friends, but they're your friends, too! How could you?!"

"He wants to get rid of you." Sonny stood and glared at Ben. "Even if it means killing his fiancee's cousin and best friend."

"You brought all this on yourself!" Ben accused Chad. Chad responded by punching Ben, who punched him back, grabbed him by the throat, and threw him into the table. Then, he grabbed his legs and threw him into the TV. Sonny grabbed a wine bottle and was about to hit Ben with it, but Ben was too quick. He grabbed Chad's legs again and threw him out the window. Chad's legs hung comically over the windowsill into the apartment. Ben advanced towards Sonny, who stood his ground.

"Hold it right there!" Ben whirled around to glare at Paul, who came bursting in aiming a gun at him. Paul gulped at Ben's crazed, infuriated expression. "This thing's loaded. I'll let you have it!"

Ben looked at the gun. "You know the safety's off on that thing, right?"

"What?" Paul muttered. He looked down to inspect his gun. Ben lunged at him and grabbed the gun. Paul punched him to the ground and turned to Sonny. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah." Sonny nodded. "Is that gun really loaded?"

Before Paul could respond, Ben tackled Paul the ground, grabbed his gun, and cocked it.

"NO!" Sonny yelled in panic.

Click. Click.

Ben opened the magazine and found it empty. Paul chuckled. "Gotcha."

Ben growled in frustration and hit Paul in the head with the gun, stood up, and threw him bodily into the TV. Sonny took that opportunity to try again to try to hit him, but Ben grabbed the bottle and hit Sonny, knocking him out. Ben straddled Sonny and lifted the bottle high over his head to hit him again, when the light flipped on. Ben turned to see Abigail standing in the doorway looking horrified.


	3. An Arrest

Gabi drove towards Brianna's house with Abigail in the passenger seat. "Wanna listen to music?"

"Sure." Abigail shrugged.

"Okay." Gabi turned on the radio and the song "Cold Hearted Snake" by Paula Abdul came on. She grinned. How fitting for this situation. Unable to help herself, she sang along. "He's a cold hearted snake/ look into his eyes/ uh-oh/ he's been tellin' lies…" Gabi glanced at Abigail, who was just staring out the window. Gabi continued. "…he don't play by rules/ uh-oh/ girl, don't play the fool, now…" She playfully poked Abigail in the side.

Abigail looked at her friend with a mixture of concern and annoyance. "Don't poke me, please."

"Sorry."

"And this is a stupid song." Abigail complained.

"Okay, okay. I'll change the station." Gabi did so, and the song "Creep" by Radiohead started playing.

Abigail sighed and changed the station herself. She flipped through stations that played songs like "Torn" by Ednaswap, "How To Be A Heartbreaker" by Marina and the Diamonds, "Shake It Out" by Florence + The Machines, and "Mama Mia" by ABBA; before shutting it off.

Gabi pulled in at the curb across the street from Brianna's house. "Wanna come in? She might have hot chocolate, since you didn't get any at the Pub."

"No, it's fine. I'll just wait out here and try calling Ben again." Abigail replied.

"Are you sure? 'Cause you seemed really upset they didn't have hot chocolate." Gabi shrugged. "I'm sure Brianna has some, and she'd love to make it for-"

"Okay, what the hell is with you?" Abigail snapped.

"What do you mean?" Gabi asked innocently.

"Ever since we left the station, it's like you're trying to keep me away from my apartment!" Abigail exclaimed. "You're stalling. Why?"

Gabi sighed in defeat. "You wouldn't believe me."

"Try me." Abigail said.

"We- Sonny and I- think Chad is being set up." Gabi admitted. "By none other than Ben."

Abigail chuckled in disbelief. "Come on, seriously? Why-why would he do that?"

"Well, think about it: who hates Chad? Who would set him up?" Gabi asked. "Ben kind of fits the bill."

"Ben was with me while Serena was being strangled to death. He couldn't have done it!" Abigail argued.

"Unless he snuck out while you were sleeping…" Gabi supplied.

Abigail just shook her head. Why would Gabi say such an awful thing about Ben? Unless… "You're jealous."

"What?" Gabi asked, surprised.

"That's why you're accusing Ben of being the Necktie Killer. You're jealous of what we have!" Abigail exclaimed.

"I know it's hard to believe, but-"

"No! You know what? You have no proof that Ben is the killer." Abigail glared at Gabi and pointed a finger at her. She sighed in frustration. "Just…take me home. Now."

Gabi swallowed, sighed, and nodded. "Okay. Let me just text Brianna to tell her to keep Ari longer." She texted "Hey, my plan didn't work. I'm taking Abigail home. Would you mind watching Ari a little longer?", then pulled out and started driving. Brianna texted back "Sure." Gabi called Sonny, but it went straight to voicemail. She then tried to call Will, but it also went to voicemail. Gabi's heart pounded nervously. They finally made it to Abigail's apartment. Abigail climbed out of the car, slammed the door, and stormed inside without a word. Gabi exhaled slowly. On the one hand, she could just leave and let Abigail put herself in danger. Or she could help her out no matter how rude and ungrateful she's being. She sighed, grabbed her phone, car keys, and pepper spray and climbed out of the car. "Oh, I'm going to regret this, I just know it…" She ran inside just as she heard sirens. The elevator doors were just closing, so Gabi sprinted up the stairs. By the sixth floor, she was sweaty, sore, and out of breath. She stumbled out in the hall just in time to see Abigail turn a corner.

XXX

Abigail couldn't believe Gabi's nerve! How could she think that Ben is the killer and that he is setting Chad up? He would never! She was about to open the door when Gabi walked up to her. "What do you want, Gabi?"

"I wanted to apologize." Gabi said sincerely. "I might have jumped to conclusions."

Abigail softened up a little. "Apology accepted. I'm sorry I snapped."

"It's okay." Gabi smiled.

Abigail sighed. "Do you want to come in? He's probably not even home yet."

"Sure." Gabi nodded.

Abigail opened the door, walked in, flipped on the light. She gasped as she saw her fiancé holding a broken wine bottle over his head about to stab Sonny, who was slipping in and out of consciousness. Abigail saw Chad hanging out the window, Will on the floor by the open fridge with a red necktie around his neck, and Paul (much to her confusion) with the TV fallen over his head; all unconscious. Ben turned to the women, practically foaming at the mouth. Gabi gasped in horror at the sight.

Sonny came to and turned towards the door. He made eye contact with Gabi. He mouthed the word "Run". Gabi took a deep breath, grabbed Abigail by the shoulders and dragged her out of there. Ben stood and started after the women, but Sonny grabbed his ankle and made him fall. Ben turned back to Sonny, who fell unconscious again.

Gabi pulled Abigail down the hall. "Come on, come on!"

Abigail stopped and pulled Gabi back. "Wait, Gabi! I can calm him down."

"Abigail, listen to me!" Gabi grabbed her shoulders gently. "Ben is not in the right state of mind to be calmed, not even by you. We have to get out of here before he-"

Ben appeared and grabbed Abigail. "Don't you run away from me!"

Gabi sprayed pepper spray into Ben's eyes, which caused him to scream and let go of Abigail. Gabi shoved Abigail towards the elevator. "Go!"

Abigail ran towards the elevator. Gabi was about to go after her, when Ben grabbed her by the hair. Gabi screamed as Ben pinned her to the wall, squeezing her throat. "Who else knows about this? WHO ELSE KNOWS?!"

Bang!

Ben yelled in pain and let go of Gabi, clutching his bleeding shoulder. Gabi gasped and coughed and stumbled down the hall behind Rafe, who was holding the smoking gun.

"Gabi, you okay?" He asked.

"Yeah." Gabi nodded. "Rafe, he's the necktie killer. I saw a red necktie around Will. He's in Ben's apartment with Chad, Paul, and Sonny. They're all unconscious. When I walked in, he was about to kill Sonny with a broken wine bottle."

Rafe signaled for the officers to go into the apartment. The paramedics followed. Rafe held Ben down and handcuffed him. "Ben Weston, you're under arrest for the murders of Serena Mason and Paige Larson, and the attempted murders of Marlena Evans, Will Horton, Sonny Kiriakis, Chad DiMera, Paul Narita, and Gabi Hernandez."

Ben started sobbing. "No…no."

"You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say or do will be held against you in a court of law. You have a right to an attorney." Rafe continued. "Do you understand your rights?"

"I had to do it, I had to." Ben continued sobbing.

Rafe pulled him to his feet and handed him off to one of the officers. "Get this piece of crap out of here."

"Abigail…Abigail…" Ben was marched past Abigail, who was hugging Hope and crying. She just stared after her fiancé in utter shock and disbelief.

Rafe and Gabi hugged. Gabi sniffed and blinked away tears. "Are you okay? What exactly happened?" Rafe asked.

Gabi exhaled slowly. "It's a long story."

"Okay, well, we'll talk more at the station." Rafe put his arm around Gabi's shoulder.

XXX

Hope walked off the elevator to the nurses' station. Kayla walked up to her. "Hey, I heard about Abigail. Is she okay?"

"She's fine." Hope assured her. "She's shaken up and shell-shocked. Jenn's on the way to the station to be with her. How are the vics?"

"Chad and Paul got the worst of it." Kayla sighed. "They both suffered massive head trauma and internal bleeding. They're in comas. No telling when or if they'll ever wake up. Will suffered minor brain damage, but with medication and therapy, he should recover fully. Sonny got a mild concussion and some blood loss. We're keeping him here overnight for observation."

Hope nodded. "Will Sonny be okay for questioning?"

"I'll leave it up to him." Kayla shrugged.

"Great. Man, this has been quite an eventful night." Hope sighed and shook her head.

"Yeah, really…"


	4. Questions And Answers

Rafe and Gabi sat across from each other in Rafe's office. Rafe turned on a recorder. "This is Detective Rafe Hernandez with witness Gabriella Hernandez. Today is October 9, 2015; the time is 10:00 PM. Okay, Gabi, why don't you start at the beginning?"

"Will Horton told me that he was going over to Abigail Deveraux's and Ben Weston's apartment to go over wedding venues." Gabi took a deep breath. "At around 7:30, I came here to the station to talk to you- Detective Hernandez."

"About what?" Rafe asked.

"It's personal. It had nothing to do with the investigation." Gabi shook her head.

Rafe nodded. "Continue."

"I ran into Abigail and JJ Deveraux and we started talking about JJ getting Clyde Weston arrested." Gabi explained. "I then got a phone call from Sonny Kiriakis. He- um, he told me earlier that he's back in Salem. When he called when I was at the station, he sounded freaked. He told me that he's afraid Will Horton, his husband, might be in danger."

"Based on what?" Rafe asked.

Gabi hesitated. "Um…is anyone else gonna listen to the recording?"

"Just Commissioner Brady. And possibly Detective Brady." Rafe shrugged.

"Oh. Okay." Gabi sighed in relief. Caroline is Roman's mother and Hope's former mother-in-law, after all. "Sonny told me he went to visit Caroline Brady at the hospital. He told me that Mrs. Brady had an extremely vivid nightmare about Will being in danger. She saw him in what she described as Abigail Deveraux's and Ben Weston's apartment even though she's never been there before. The outfit she described that Will was wearing is the exact outfit he wore in the dream, even though he didn't visit her today. She also described the red and gold necktie used by the Necktie Killer even though she didn't know a thing about it."

"Wouldn't that just be a coincidence, though?" Rafe raised an eyebrow.

"I thought so, too, but then he told me that he tried calling Will. The call picked up, but then he hung up." Gabi said.

"Could be just an accidental call drop." Rafe reasoned.

"But Will didn't call back. He never does that." Gabi shook her head. "So, anyway, both Sonny and I then realized that Will very well could be in danger. He told me to keep Abigail away from the apartment for as long as possible so he could go over and check things out."

"Did he ever call you back?" Rafe asked.

"Yes. Abigail and I were at the Brady Pub. Abigail was in the restroom when Sonny called me again." Gabi stifled a yawn. "Sonny sounded even more freaked. He told me Mrs. Brady was right- Will was in danger. He just stopped Ben from killing Will with a red necktie."

Rafe exhaled slowly. 'So I was right: Chad was being set up…'

Gabi continued. "He told me Will was unconscious, and then he knocked Ben unconscious- twice. Ben was waking up, so Sonny hung up. Abigail and I ate at the Pub, then we went to go pick up my daughter from the babysitter. I invited her in, because the sitter might offer us hot chocolate. She said no, but, when I kept insisting, she figured out something was wrong."

"So, what'd you tell her?" Rafe asked.

"The truth." Gabi shrugged. "She didn't believe me, of course. So, I just drove her home. I told the sitter to keep my daughter for a while longer. Um, when we got to the apartment complex, she went in without a word. I felt like I had to go after her in case something happened, so I took my purse and followed Abigail to her apartment. When we got there…" Gabi took deep breath and swallowed a lump in her throat. Tears formed in her eyes. That sight was so awful. And if she were a couple seconds slower…

"Gabi…" Rafe said gently. "If you want, we can just finish up tomorrow."

Gabi shook her head and cleared her throat. "No. I'm-I'm fine. I'm almost done, anyway."

"You sure?"

"Yeah." Gabi said sincerely. "Anyway, we got there and Ben was straddling Sonny, about to stab him with a broken wine bottle. Chad DiMera was hanging out the window- which was broken, Will was lying unconscious on the floor in front of the refrigerator, and for some reason Paul Narita was also there. He, too was unconscious. The TV was broken over his head."

'Geez!' Rafe winced. "Go on."

"Sonny came to, looked towards us, and mouthed 'run'." Gabi replied. "I grabbed Abigail, and we ran down the hall. She stopped and told me that she could calm him down, but I told her he is past being calmed down. That was when he caught up to us and grabbed Abigail. I sprayed him with pepper spray, pushed Abigail towards the elevator, Ben grabbed me, started to strangle me, and that's when you showed up."

Rafe nodded and pressed "stop" on the recorder. "Okay. Thank you for your time."

Gabi nodded. "Are Will and Sonny okay? Do you know?"

"As far as I know, Paul and Chad are in comas, Will has slight brain damage, and Sonny has a mild concussion." Rafe replied. "Ben is being held here, too."

"Um…I think I'll head home. Visit Will and Sonny in the morning." Gabi said, standing up.

"Okay. Call me if you remember anything else." Rafe replied.

"I will." Gabi promised.

XXX

Jennifer rushed into the station like a madwoman. Roman led her to a waiting area where Abigail was. Abigail ran into her mother's arms, crying. Jennifer hugged her daughter. "Shh. It's okay. It's okay, baby, I'm here.'

Abigail took shallow breaths. "It's all my fault."

"Oh, no! No, it is not your fault." Jennifer pulled away and gently brushed away her tears.

"I…I asked Will to wait for the cable guy while I went to find Ben." Abigail sniffed. "He, Sonny, Chad, Paul, and Gabi almost died because of me. Serena and Paige are dead because of me. If I hadn't…"

"Hey, hey. The only person to blame for everything that's happened is Ben." Jennifer said firmly. "You are a victim just like the others were."

"JJ's gonna hate me." Abigail lamented.

"Abigail, you're his sister. He could never hate you." Jennifer said gently. The door opened. They turned to see JJ walking in.

JJ glared at Abigail. "Paige is dead because of you."

"JJ!" Jennifer gasped.

"You're dead to me." JJ said, his voice shaking in anger. He sniffed. "You hear me? You are no longer my sister!" He stormed out.

"JJ! JJ, wait! You don't mean that!" Jennifer ran after JJ, leaving Abigail looking distressed.

"Abigail?" Abigail snapped out of her fantasy and looked up at JJ.

"I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry." Abigail started crying again.

JJ hugged his sister. "It's not your fault. In fact, if anyone should be at fault here, it's me. I got Ben's dad arrested. Ben went on a murderous rampage."

"You know, we can play the Blame Game all we want, but the fact is that the only one at fault here is Ben." Jennifer spoke up. "Let's just be grateful that no one died tonight."

JJ exhaled slowly. "Are Will and Sonny okay?"

"Yeah. Will has slight brain damage and Sonny has a mild concussion." Jennifer said. She turned to Abigail and linked her arm through hers. "Come on. Let's go home. It's late."

Abigail let her mother lead her out of the room. JJ put a comforting arm around her.

XX

Once at the Horton House, Abigail trudged upstairs. JJ pulled his mother aside. "You know, I have a feeling Eve is gonna blame her for Paige's death."

Jennifer exhaled sharply. "You're probably right. We should probably get a restraining order."

"Yeah."

XXX

Meanwhile, at the hospital, Lucas stepped off the elevator and headed towards Kayla. "Kayla! Where's my son? Is he okay?"

"Will is going to be just fine, Lucas." Kayla said calmly.

"What do you mean 'going to be'? What happened?"

"Will was attacked by the Necktie Killer." Kayla answered.

"How bad?"

"He has slight, temporary brain damage." Kayla said. Justin and Adrienne both stepped off the elevator and headed towards the two. "With medication and physical therapy, he should recover fully. He's resting now."

"Please tell me Chad was arrested." Justin spoke up.

"Actually, it wasn't Chad who attacked Will, Sonny, Paul, Gabi, Marlena; and killed Serena and Paige." Katla stated. "We found out tonight that it was Ben Weston."

Justin just scoffed. "What? You sure Chad didn't just frame him?"

"All I know is that Will, Sonny, Chad, and Paul were all found unconscious in Ben and Abigail's apartment." Kayla replied.

"How is Sonny?" Adrienne asked. "A-and Will?"

"Sonny has a mild concussion. We're keeping him here overnight for observation." Kayla replied. "He's asleep now. As for Will, he has slight brain damage, but he should recover fully."

"What about Chad and Paul?" Lucas asked.

"Wait, why is Paul involved?" Justin asked, bewildered.

"I'm not allowed to divulge that sort of information." Kayla said. "You'll have to talk to John."

The elevator dinged again, and John and Marlena walked towards the group. "Where's my son?"

"He's in a coma." Kayla explained. "He has severe head trauma and internal bleeding."

Marlena gasped. "What about Will and Sonny?"

"Will has slight brain damage, Sonny has a concussion." Kayla explained. She gave the room numbers for all the men except Chad, then walked off.

John exhaled slowly. "I'm just wondering how the hell my son was dragged into this mess."

"Silly question. It was Chad DiMera." Justin said as though it were obvious. The elevator dinged once again, and Stefano wheeled into the waiting area. Justin turned and lunged for Stefano, but Lucas, John, and Adrienne held him back. "My son almost died because of your son!"

"You have no proof, Kiriakis!" Stefano shot back. "You're lucky you're both still breathing. First you work with my son Elvis against me, now you're railroading my youngest. Be very afraid."

"Oh, you did not just threaten my family!" Justin struggled against John, Lucas, and Adrienne, but they pulled him back. "I can't wait until I nail both your asses to the wall!"

Lucas stifled a snicker. Stefano glared at Justin. "You just try, you foolish, egotistical…!"

"All right, break it up, you two." Kayla walked back to the group.

Stefano turned to Kayla. "My son. Where is he?"

"He's in a coma. He suffered a fractured skull. There's no telling when or if he'll wake up." Kayla said. "He's in there, if you wanna see him." She pointed to the room behind her.

"Thank you." Stefano wheeled into the room.

"I better head to the station." Justin sighed. He turned to Adrienne. "Let me know when Sonny wakes up."

Adrienne nodded. She turned to Lucas. "I'm glad Will is okay."

"Me, too." Lucas nodded. "I need to call Sami."

"Okay. I'm just gonna go be with Sonny." Adrienne said. She walked off.

John turned to Marlena. "I'll call Tori. I know you'll want to be with Will, so, I'll be in Paul's room."

Marlena nodded. "Okay." They walked off.

Lucas headed to one of the chairs and sat down. He dialed Sami's number. "Hey, Sami. Um…first, you need to know that Will is okay. But, he's in the hospital. He was…attacked. Someone tried to strangle him."

XXX

Justin sat in a chair in Rafe's office. "Okay, make my night. Tell me you have evidence of Chad trying to kill my son."

Rafe sighed and took out the recording. "I'm showing you this because I trust you. Don't make me regret it."

"I won't." Justin promised. Rafe nodded and pressed play. By the end, he exhaled slowly. "So Chad somehow brainwashed Ben to do all these killings."

"Really? That's what you got from Gabi's statement?" Rafe raised an eyebrow. "Look, I know you hate the DiMera's, but, come on. Even you have to admit, it doesn't look like Chad did this."

"It's not like the DiMera's haven't brainwashed people before!" Justin shrugged.

"So, Stefano brainwashed someone to frame his son for murder and then put him in a coma?" Rafe asked, still not believing it.

Rafe took a deep breath. Justin was really getting on his nerves. "When Will and Sonny wake up, we'll interview them as well. They were there first, so, we'll know once we talk to them."

"Good. I'd like to be there for that." Justin replied.

"Okay. See you tomorrow." Rafe sighed as Justin left, and he rubbed his face in his hands. 'This is gonna be a long weekend.'

XXX

Sonny woke up to sunlight streaming through the window. Groaning slightly, he opened his eyes to blink away sleep. Memories of the night before came washing over him, and he shot up, straight. "Will!" He cried, then groaned again as that action caused a shooting pain through his head. He slowly laid back down. Adrienne walked into the room, holding a cup of coffee.

"Sonny?" Adrienne set her cup on the nightstand, and took his hand. "Hey, how are you feeling?" She stroked his hair.

"Fine." Sonny replied. "Where's Will? What happened to him?"

"He's fine, honey." Adrienne said calmly. "He has slight brain damage, but he should recover fully."

Sonny exhaled in relief. "I need to see him." He threw his covers off and swung his legs over the bed.

"No, no. Honey, you need to lie down." Adrienne stood up and gently grabbed her son's shoulders.

Daniel entered the room. "Whoa, Sonny, I know you're adventurous, but let's just take this one step at a time. You need to rest."

Sonny sighed. "How's my husband?"

"Will is fine. I just checked on him. He's still sleeping." Daniel replied. "How are you?"

"Well, my head hurts a little." Sonny replied.

"You suffered a mild concussion." Daniel said. "I just need to do a quick exam." He touched the sides of Sonny's head. "Let me know if it hurts." He felt around Sonny's skull. Sonny groaned lightly when Daniel touched the side. "All right, there's some internal bruising there. I'll write you a prescription of antibiotics, then you can go."

"Okay." Both Sonny and Adrienne said simultaneously. They chuckled. Sonny said "Thanks" to Daniel.

"Sonny, the police are gonna want to talk to you about what happened last night. Are you okay to do it?" Adrienne asked.

"Yeah." Sonny nodded. "Can you please check on Will for me?"

"Of course." Adrienne stood up and left. She called Justin and got his voice mail. "Hey, Justin, it's me. Sonny's awake. He's being released soon and he's okay to be questioned by the police."

XXX

Meanwhile, Sami and Lucas sat at Will's bedside. Sami took a deep breath. "So, there's a serial killer on the loose- or was until last night?"

Lucas nodded. "Yeah."

Sami smiled in spite of herself and shook her head. "I wish I'd known. I could have given him a few tips on how to escape from serial killers. Remember when I was attacked by the Salem Stalker?"

"Oh, yeah." Lucas said. "I also remember you thinking that it was me that was attacking you."

Sami chuckled. "Yeah…sorry about that."

"It's okay." Lucas replied.

"You know, I came back here because today is the one year anniversary of EJ's death." Sami sniffed. "I can't believe we almost lost Will. The kids already lost their father…they can't lose their brother, too."

Lucas put a comforting hand on Sami's shoulder. "I know. Thank God Sonny showed up in time."

Sami nodded. "Maybe there's hope for them, after all."

"Maybe." Lucas stood and sighed. "I'm gonna get some breakfast. You want anything?"

"Bran muffin. I'm trying to watch my weight." Sami replied.

"Coming right up." Lucas left and almost ran into Adrienne. "Hey."

"Hey!" Adrienne and Lucas hugged. "How's Will?"

"He's okay. He still hasn't woken up yet." Lucas replied. "How's Sonny?"

"He's awake. Daniel's actually releasing him right now." Adrienne replied. "We're gonna go to the station so Sonny can give his statement."

Lucas nodded. "Okay. I'll text him as soon as Will wakes up."

"Thanks." Adrienne said.

XXX

Sonny and Adrienne drove in silence to the station. Sonny pulled out his phone to check for messages. He got one from Paul asking if Will died, if they would be together. He bristled and put his phone away.

"What's wrong?" Adrienne asked, noticing her son's expression.

Sonny exhaled slowly. "Just a text message from Paul. He asked if Will got himself killed, would we end up together as soon as he's dead."

Adrienne scoffed and shook her head. "I can't believe he did that. Just when I thought he was a different man now. I'm sorry, baby."

"It's fine." Sonny said through gritted teeth. "I guess Will was justified in his extreme paranoia about Paul."

"I'll bet he'll be glad to hear that." Adrienne smirked.

"Yeah."

Adrienne parked by the door of the police station. "Okay. Last chance: are you sure you're ready to be questioned?"

"Yes, I'm sure." Sonny said, determined. They climbed out of the car and headed inside to Rafe's office where Justin waited with them.

Justin hugged Sonny. "I'm so glad you're okay."

"Thanks, Dad." Sonny pulled away.

"Sonny, please have a seat." Rafe gestured to a chair. Sonny sat down, and Rafe pulled out his recorder. "This is Detective Rafe Hernandez with key witness and victim Sonny Kiriakis. It is 10:00 AM on Saturday, October 10, 2015. All right, Sonny. Start at the beginning."

"Well, I came home to my apartment here in Salem at about 6:45 last night. No one was home, and I saw that Will Horton's roommate, Gabi Hernandez left Will a note saying that since Will was at Ben Weston's apartment going over wedding venues, she was taking our daughter to the sitter. Since I knew that Will would be preoccupied, I decided to run a couple errands before going to visit him. I went to Club TBD and ran into Paul Narita, and told him I was back in Salem to make things right with Will. I then, went to the hospital to visit Caroline Brady. When I got to her room, she woke up from this nightmare. I tried to calm her down, but…" He hesitated. Everyone will probably think he's crazy.

Rafe sighed and pressed stop. "Sonny, Gabi already told me that you said that Caroline had this weird and vivid dream about Will. The only people who will know about it are the people in this room plus the Commissioner."

Sonny nodded in understanding. "Okay." Rafe pressed play and gestured for him to continue. Sonny cleared his throat. "Mrs. Brady kept going on about Will being in danger. The apartment Will was in, the clothes he was wearing, and the necktie the man in her vision approaching Will were very specific. Will was in Ben Weston's apartment. Mrs. Brady has never been there before and she hadn't seen Will yesterday, and she had no idea about the Necktie Killer. Something in my gut told me that what she was saying was true. So, I headed to Ben Weston's apartment. I tried calling Will, but the call dropped and he didn't call back. I then called Gabi Hernandez and told her about what I was doing and asked her to keep Abigail Deveraux as far away from the apartment for as long as possible. When I got to the apartment…." Sonny took a deep breath. "I heard Ben Weston say 'You shouldn't have come here, Will. You should have just stayed away!', and ran in and saw Ben straddling Will, strangling him with a red necktie. I threw Ben off of Will and knocked him unconscious. Then I called the police and did CPR on Will. He came to long enough to tell me Ben was behind me. I knocked him to the ground, then called Gabi and told her that Mrs. Brady was right. Will was in danger. So, then, I told Gabi to keep Abigail away for as long as possible. Ben woke up, so I hung up and asked why he was doing this. Chad DiMera showed up, and said it was because of him- Chad. Ben pretty much confirmed it by saying 'So, what if I did?'. Then Chad and Ben got into a fight, which ended with Ben throwing Chad out the window. He started towards me, but then Paul Narita burst through the door holding a gun. Ben attacked Paul, got hold of the gun and pulled the trigger. The gun was empty. Ben hit Paul over the head with the gun and threw him against the TV set. I tried to hit Ben over the head with a wine bottle, but, he was too quick. He knocked me over the head with the bottle. When I came to, Ben was holding the broken bottle over his head about to kill me, when the door opened to Gabi Hernandez and Abigail Deveraux standing in the doorway. I turned to the women and mouthed 'run' to them. They ran, and Ben started to go after him, but I grabbed his ankle, causing him to fall. I slipped back into unconsciousness, and the next thing I knew, I woke up in a hospital bed."

Rafe nodded and pressed stop. "Sounds like you all had quite a night."

"Yeah." Sonny chuckled humorlessly.

"Wow. Chad is a good actor, isn't he?" Justin mused.

Sonny whirled around and glared at his father. "Did you not hear a word I just said?! Ben attacked us and tried to kill us. Including Chad!"

"He was probably brainwashed by the DiMeras!" Justin argued back.

"We have a specialist in with Weston," Rafe jumped in. "to determine whether or not he was brainwashed or hypnotized into committing the murders and attempted murders."

"And how do you know that this specialist isn't working with the DiMeras, hmm?" Justin folded his arms.

"Ever since Bernardi, we've been testing our officers to see if they're moles." Rafe explained. "Dr. Hudson passed. He's legit."

Someone knocked on the door again and walked in. "Excuse me, Detective? Here's the report."

"Thank you Barnes." Rafe replied and took the report. Barnes left.

"Read it." Justin said tersely. "Out loud."

Rafe sighed quietly, opened the report, and cleared his throat. "'Suspect shows no sign of being brainwashed or hypnotized. Shows signs of obsessive behavior to a Chad DiMera. Started crying and saying over and over again "he made it so I had to do it". Sounds to me like Ben acted of his own voilition."

Justin sighed in frustration and turned around. It really was looking like Chad was innocent. …And he may have inadvertently endangered his family for nothing. He turned around with a look of guilt. He swallowed. "I was wrong."

Rafe closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "We all make mistakes, Justin."

"Chad didn't really give you any reason to doubt him, Dad." Sonny spoke up. "In fact, if I didn't know him, I'd think he did it, too."

Justin swallowed and nodded. "Sonny, I'm sorry. If I wasn't so hell-bent on destroying the DiMeras, you and Will wouldn't have been in the hospital."

"I don't blame you." Sonny said sincerely. He sighed. "Since I'm done here, I'd like to get back to the hospital to be with Will."

"Okay. Be sure to ask if he's okay to answer questions." Rafe nodded.

"I will." Sonny and Adrienne left.

XX

Sonny walked into Will's hospital room. Sami and Lucas had already left. He sat at his bedside and held Will's hand. "I'm sorry. I should have taken you with me to Paris. I should have told you from the very beginning about Paul. Maybe none of this would have happened."

Sami, Lucas, and Marlena walked in. "Hey."

"Hey." Sonny smiled, still holding Will's hand. Will started to stir. "Ooh. He's waking up."

Everyone crowded around Will, whose eyes fluttered open. He smiled as he looked around. "Mom…Dad…Grandma." Sami, Lucas, and Marlena all smiled at him. Will turned to Sonny and gave him a confused look.

"Who are you?" Will asked Sonny.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just to let you guys know, because I'm "changing fate" by (Sonny) preventing Will's death, I will also add some scenes for different characters- Bo, Steve, Kayla, Hope, Abigail, Ben, Gabi, Rafe, et all. So…yeah. heh.


	5. Short Term Memory Loss

Sonny, Sami, Lucas, and Marlena exchanged glances. Will looked at Marlena and Lucas. "Wait, what are you guys doing back in Salem?"

Marlena was about to respond when Daniel walked in. "Good, you're awake."

"Um, yeah…how long was I out?" Will asked.

"Just overnight." Daniel replied. "Will, I'm going to ask you a few questions to make sure you're all right."

"Okay…"

"Who's the president of the United States?"

"Barack Obama." Will replied.

"How old are you?" Daniel asked.

"Seventeen." Will replied again. That surprised everyone. Sonny immediately let go of his hand.

"What year is it?"

"2010." Will said.

Daniel nodded. "Will, it's 2015. You've lost your memory."

Will was surprised. He sighed. "How? What happened to me?"

Daniel looked at Sami as if to ask "Should I tell him?" Sami nodded. Daniel turned back to Will. "You were attacked. Someone tried to strangle you."

Will tried to remember that. Suddenly, his eyes became blurry, he had trouble breathing, and his hands started shaking violently.

"Will? Will!" Sonny stood up and grabbed his shoulders.

"Don't restrain him. He's having a seizure." Daniel instructed calmly. He grabbed a little flashlight and shined it in Will's eyes. "This usually only lasts for a minute."

"Will? Will, your dad, grandma, and I are all here." Sami said, hoping it would help.

Will's seizure passed, and he took deep breaths. "Wha…what just happened?"

"You had a seizure." Daniel replied. "It's common with strangulation victims. It's only temporary, however. There's medication and therapy."

"How long will this last?" Will asked.

"Depends on how well you respond to the treatments." Daniel replied. "Some take only a few weeks, others can take up to a year."

"What about his memory loss?" Lucas asked.

"Memories aren't totally gone forever." Daniel shrugged. "It takes time, but, his memory should be fully restored."

"What can we do?" Sonny asked.

"Try to get him back to his normal routine." Daniel instructed. "The more familiar he is with his surroundings, the more his memory will return."

"So, what's my 'normal routine'?" Will asked.

"Well, you're married to Sonny." Sami said. Sonny shot her a look. "What? He is!"

Will was confused. When did he come out? He looked at Sonny, who looked slightly nervous. He is cute. But…he's attracted to women…right? "Um…okay? I mean, I did lose my memories of the last five years. Um, okay. Apparently, I'm…gay."

"And we're all okay with that." Lucas assured him.

"Awesome." Will smiled and nodded. He yawned. "I'm feeling a little tired. I kind of want to sleep."

"Okay, we'll let you sleep." Sami said. "Call if you need anything."

"I will." They left the room.

Sonny took a deep breath. "I better give Gabi a heads-up. If he thinks it's 2010, then he won't remember Arianna."

"That does happen sometimes." Marlena nodded.

"Okay, first, let me just tell you all," Daniel stepped in. "His memory loss is due to a traumatic experience. When I brought up that he was attacked, that's what triggered the seizure. It's best we don't bring the attack up again until he remembers it- and he will."

"And what happens when he does remember?" Lucas asked, nervous.

"It's hard to say." Daniel shook his head. "He'll probably go into another seizure or he'll be upset."

Sonny nodded. "Okay. So…what do you recommend?"

"Just take it slow." Daniel replied. "One day at a time. Don't force him to remember anything."

"Thanks, Daniel." Sonny replied.

"You're welcome. I'll write up a prescription for the seizures, and we can release him." Daniel said, and walked off.

"I'm gonna go meet my mom. Give her an update." Lucas replied.

"Okay. I'm gonna visit my grandma." Sami sighed heavily. "I probably shouldn't tell her about Will just yet."

Sonny swallowed back a grimace. "Actually…you may as well."

"Why? What do you mean?" Sami demanded.

"I visited her last night." Sonny admitted. He explained about Caroline's vivid dream about Will being attacked, and how Sonny went to check it out, and proved she was right.

"So, my grandmother had a psychic vision of Will being attacked?" Sami asked, surprised. Sonny nodded.

"Yeesh, what's in that medication they've been giving her?" Lucas asked, astonished.

"I'm not sure, but, I am giving her the biggest, most expensive thank-you gift ever." Sami decided. She turned to her son-in-law. "You too, Sonny. If you hadn't visited her last night…"

"I just did what anyone would do." Sonny blushed, modestly.

"I'm not so sure about that." Sami smiled. "Anyway, see you later."

"See you."

Sami headed to Caroline's hospital room. Steve walked out. "Uncle Steve! When did you get back?"

Steve and Sami hugged. "A few weeks ago, actually. How you doin'?"

"Great!" Sami replied. "Um, well, Will and Sonny were attacked last night by the serial killer, but they're fine."

"Oh, that's what your grandma was talking about." Steve exhaled slowly.

"Yeah. I was just about to tell her that Will's okay, actually." Sami replied. "He lost his memory of the past five years, but, he's okay otherwise."

"Well, I know how that feels." Steve nodded. "It'll come back. That's some medication that doctor gave to Caroline. She also had visions of your Uncle Bo being in danger, too."

Sami's heart sank. "Well…if she was right about Will, then…"

"Don't worry. I'm going to find your uncle and bring him back." Steve said, determined. "I just have to tell your aunt. She and everyone else in the Brady Clan and Victor don't believe her."

Sami bit her lip. "Well…I guess now that I think about it…it does seem kind of weird that Uncle Bo would just abandon our family like that."

"Right?" Steve shrugged. "Now that she had that vision of Will, can you give me the details, so I can tell Kayla?"

Sami nodded. "Sonny went to visit Grandma last night. She told him she had a very vivid dream about Will being attacked in Ben and Abigail's apartment. She described it even though she's never been there before. She described the red necktie the serial killer used, even though she didn't know about the serial killer in the first place, and the outfit Will wore even though he didn't visit her yesterday."

"Wow." Steve sighed. "That's some drug."

"Yeah." Sami replied. "Maybe after hearing the story about Will, more people will believe that Uncle Bo really is in danger."

"Let's hope so." Steve said.

"Be careful, Uncle Steve." Sami hugged him again.

"I will."

Sami headed into Caroline's room and hugged her grandmother before she could say anything. "He's okay. Will. Sonny got there in time."

Caroline sighed in relief and laughed. "Oh, thank goodness!"

"Grandma, I owe you the biggest thank you ever." Sami said. "If you hadn't had that vision…"

"Oh, don't thank me. Sonny was at the right place at the right time." Caroline said.

"Still…" Sami chuckled. "Maybe after hearing about your visions of Will will convince our family that you're not crazy."

"Well, I can't really blame them." Caroline shrugged. "I'd think I was crazy. So, when can I see him? Will?"

"Oh, um…I said he was okay, but…he was still almost strangled to death." Sami admitted. "He lost his memories of the last five years because of the attack."

"Oh. I definitely know what he's going through." Caroline nodded.

XXX

Steve walked into Kayla's office. "Hey, Sweetness. Got a few?"

Kayla sighed. She really didn't want to hear what Steve had to say, but, she figured he'll go away if she does. "Yes?"

"So, I assume you heard about Will." Steve sat down.

"Of course. He's gonna be fine. He'll make a full recovery." Kayla replied.

"Thank God." Steve nodded. "It's lucky Sonny found him in time."

"What do you want, Steve?" Kayla folded her arms on her desk.

"I ran into Sami. She told me an interesting story." Steve said. "She told me that Sonny told her and Lucas that your ma had a very vivid and detailed dream about Will being attacked by the necktie killer- even though she didn't know a thing about it, in a real apartment she's never been in before. Turns out, she was right."

Kayla blew her bangs out of her face in frustration. "Steve, that's just a coincidence, okay? It doesn't mean she's having psychic visions."

"But if she was right about Will being attacked, don't you think she's right about Bo being in danger?" Steve asked.

"Enough!" Kayla snapped. "You don't think I know what you're trying to do here? This is just a simple excuse to rush off on yet another adventure. Well, I'm sick of it. Just go, all right? Go on to wherever it is you want to go so badly."

Steve heaved a long sigh. Why was she being so stubborn? He stood up. "Okay. I'm leaving. But, I promise you: I will be back

Rafe walked into a holding cell where Ben sat with his hands handcuffed behind his back. "Well, Ben…you've had quite a few months. You had this perfect little script going, but you kind of forgot to write the sequel." Rafe leaned forward. "Now, here's what's gonna happen: we have your confession on tape. There's a nice little jail cell waiting at the prison for the criminally insane. Since your hillbilly daddy is also on his way to jail, a certain sister of yours is coming down to pay a little visit. That would be heartbreaking. Probably shouldn't have killed the two women and attacked seven others. I'm just curious, though: why not just kill Chad?"

"Because then Abigail would never stop loving him." Ben replied.

Rafe chuckled. "Oh, but she'd love you after you've killed her favorite cousins, her friend, her true love, her brother's ex-girlfriend, and two others?" Ben didn't respond. Instead, he looked away. "I hope Abigail gives your child a strong name, since they're going to have a serial killer as a father." Ben lunged for Rafe, but the cuffs held him back. Rafe smirked. "Have fun in prison." He walked out of the room and out to the bullpen where Victor was waiting. "Victor. Let me guess: you're here to see Ben?"

"Actually, no." Victor shook his head. "This is about Clyde Weston."

"What about him?" Rafe leaned against a desk.

"I'll tell you, but first, I want full immunity from prosecution signed by the mayor." Victor replied.

'Oh, this ought to be good…' Rafe thought. "Immunity for what?"

"Not until I get immunity." Victor said.

Rafe gave a long sigh. "Will this send Clyde to jail for a really long time?"

"Yes."

"Okay. This should take about an hour to process." Rafe replied.

An hour later, Abe's secretary brought the immunity agreement to Rafe, who read over it, and gave it to Victor to read. Victor nodded in satisfaction and took a deep breath. "This has to do with Sonny's stabbing."

Rafe nodded to show he understood. He could guess where this was going.

"Weston took over my trucking business…had some of my employees killed…someone had to stop him." Victor admitted. "So, I hired someone to kill him. After Sonny was stabbed, Clyde came back from the dead and admitted that he had Sonny stabbed as payback…and threatened the rest of the family."

Rafe didn't know how to feel about that. "But…why Sonny? I mean, he wasn't even involved in your trucking business, was he?"

"No." Victor shook his head.

"And…that's why you told me to back off of Clyde." Rafe nodded, putting the pieces together. "Okay, well…I'll add this to the growing list of crimes that evil, drug-dealing, hillbilly committed. Good luck telling Justin, Adrienne, and Sonny; by the way."

"Isn't it the police's job to tell victims that their attackers were caught?" Victor raised an eyebrow.

"Oh, yeah…"

XXX

Gabi stepped out of the elevator and headed to Will's room, holding Ari. She hadn't seen Sonny yet, but plans on visiting him after Will. She entered the room and smiled. "Hey!"

"Hey." Will greeted. Hmm. Who is that baby girl? It wasn't Sydney. "Who's this?"

Gabi was a little taken aback. "Um…Will, what's the last thing you remember?"

"Arianna dying." Will said simply. "Apparently, I've lost my memories of the last five years."

"Oh." Gabi nodded in understanding. "Well…being around familiar people and places should help, right?"

Will shrugged. "That's what Dr. Jonas said."

Gabi nodded again and cleared her throat. "This is Arianna Grace Horton."

"My…half-sister?" Will asked.

Gabi shook her head and set Ari down on the bed next to Will. "Take a good, long look at her eyes."

Will obliged. Suddenly, memories of him and Arianna with both Gabi and Sonny came flooding back. Will gasped and started crying. He hugged his daughter. "Oh, Arianna! My beautiful sweetheart. Oh…Daddy's here."

Gabi chuckled and smiled. "You remember!"

"Well, just Ari." Will shrugged.

Sonny walked in. "Hey. Gabi, I've been looking for you."

"Oh. Sorry." Gabi chuckled.

"How are you doing, Will?" He asked.

"I remember Arianna." Will reported. "You, Gabi, and the rest of my family are total blanks, though."

"I'm sure it'll all come back to you soon." Sony smiled. "Gabi, sidebar." He jerked his head outside.

"Okay." Gabi stood and turned to Will. "Are you okay to watch Ari for a few minutes?"

"Yeah, of course." Will nodded.

"Great." Gabi stroked Ari's hair. "Mommy will be right back, sweetheart. Stay with Daddy." She and Sonny went out into the waiting area. "I'm sorry. I didn't know he lost his memories."

"It's okay. That was why I was looking for you, actually." Sonny replied. "He lost his memories because of what happened last night. Telling him might send him into a seizure, plus it might make him relapse. So…."

"I won't bring it up." Gabi promised. They heard rustling and Ari crying out. They rushed into the room, where Will was having another violent seizure. Ari nearly tumbled off the bed, but Sonny rushed over and caught her before she hit the floor.

Sonny handed Ari to Gabi. "Go get a nurse." Gabi nodded and ran out of the room, comforting Ari. Sonny turned to Will, who was about to fall off the bed. Sonny gently moved Will towards the middle of the bed and turned him on his side, facing him. The nurse walked in. "Oh, thank God." Sonny turned to the nurse and was about to respond, but Will threw up all over Sonny causing him to gasp in surprise.

"I got him. You clean yourself up." The nurse said.

Sonny nodded and ran into the bathroom to wipe the vomit off his pants and shirt. By the time he finished, it looked like he wet himself. The nurse had Will settled down. He was still on his side. "Is he okay?"

"He's fine, for now." The nurse replied. "I'll get you a change of clothes." She left before Sonny could protest.

Sonny walked over to Will, who looked upset. "Will?"

"I'm a terrible father." Will said, sniffing.

"No, you're not." Sonny assured him. "Terrible dads don't say they're terrible."

Will didn't laugh. He swallowed. "I made her almost fall off the bed."

"You were having a seizure. You weren't in control of yourself." Sonny said. "She wasn't hurt at all. That's what's important."

"Still…she'll never forgive me." Will lamented.

Sonny laughed softly and shook his head. "You do realize that there are way worse fathers who abuse and rape their children? Don't beat yourself up. It was an accident."

Will didn't say anything. Instead, he nodded to show he acknowledge what Sonny said. Twenty minutes later, the nurse walked back in and handed Sonny a fresh shirt and pants.

"I got this from an intern. He said you could borrow these." The nurse said.

"Thanks." Sonny went into the bathroom to change into the new clothes. This was Will's second seizure today, and it was pretty violent. There had to be a cure for this.

XXX

Victor sat at his couch drinking coffee and absentmindedly looking over some papers for The Edge. They are in need of a new bartender, after all. He still couldn't figure out how he was going to tell Justin, Adrienne, and Sonny that he knew who stabbed him and why.

"Hey, Uncle Vic." Sonny greeted, walking into the living room, causing Victor to jump a little.

"Son of a-!" Victor nearly spilt his coffee and set it on the table, grumbling something in Greek.

"Sorry. Didn't mean to scare you." Sonny apologized, sitting down.

Victor sighed heavily. "Quite all right. I was actually about to call you. I need to discuss something with you and your parents."

"Oh. What about?" Sonny asked.

"Not until they get here." Victor said. He took out his phone and texted Justin and Adrienne.

"There's actually something I wanted to talk to you about." Sonny said.

"Okay."

"This Dr. Salinas guy who gave Caroline a cure for her disease…do you know if it would also cure seizures?" Sonny asked.

"I don't." Victor said. "But, I could give you his number. Why?"

"Will had two seizures within only a couple hours." Sonny explained. "The second one was worse than the first. I, um…I'm just afraid they might only get worse."

Victor sighed inwardly. Personally, he couldn't care less about that lying, cheating, manipulating… but, if it made Sonny happy… "Just a precaution: that drug has some side effects."

"I understand." Sonny replied. "Thanks, Uncle Vic."

"No problem." Victor replied. Sonny's phone rang. "You might want to take that."

Sonny was puzzled by that, but stepped out into the hall and answered anyway. "Hello?"

"Hey, Sonny. Just calling to let you know that the person who almost stabbed you to death has been caught and will be facing serious jail time." Rafe replied.

"Oh. Um, thanks." Sonny replied. "Who was it?"

"I'm not at liberty to say right now. Just know that you won't have to worry about him anymore." Rafe replied.

"Okay. Thanks again." Sonny said. He hung up as Justin and Adrienne walked through the door.

"Sonny!" Adrienne hugged him. "How's Will?"

"He's okay." Sonny replied. "Um, do you know what Uncle Vic wants to talk to us about?"

Justin shook his head. "No."

"Oh- before I forget: the police found the guy who stabbed me earlier this year." Sonny announced. "He's in jail."

"Oh, that's great!" Adrienne replied. "Did they say who it was?"

"They wouldn't say." Sonny shook his head. "But, I do have a feeling that Uncle Vic knows something."


	6. The Blame Game

Justin, Adrienne, and Sonny sat on the couch; looking at Victor, who took a deep breath. "I'll get right to the point. I know who stabbed Sonny."

The trio were silent until Adrienne spoke. "Who?"

"Clyde Weston." Victor replied. "He took over my trucking businesses…killed some of my employees…I had him killed, or so I thought. He retaliated by having Sonny stabbed."

"What?!" Justin thundered. He stood up, extremely livid with his uncle. "Why didn't you just go to the police?!"

"Oh, you know very well I don't do that." Victor replied. "If you're talking about why I didn't tell Hope or Roman who stabbed Sonny, Clyde threatened the rest of the family!"

"Sonny almost died, you old bastard!" Adrienne jumped in. "Why was he a target? He wasn't even working with you back then!"

"That's most likely why he was a target. To make it more…serious." Victor shrugged. "I am sorry. Truly, I am. If I'd have known what was going to happen, I would have told my hitman to aim for the head."

Justin shook his head and scoffed. He leaned forward on the liquor cart, thoughtfully. "I guess I can't be mad. Stefano threatened our family, too."

"What?" Victor looked at him shock.

"Yeah. I did railroad his son. And helped his other son bring him down." Justin shrugged. "I just wanted to be the Kiriakis who brought the DiMeras down for good. I let my arrogance cloud my judgement."

"I…" Adrienne started to say. She was too upset to speak. She seethed. "You know...I had hoped that even though being in this family is dangerous…and since Justin and I raised our sons away from the life of the Kiriakis Crime Family…they would be safe. Was I crazy enough to believe he would be safe here? Apparently, I was!"

Sonny sighed quietly. He should be angry at his uncle, but…well… "I knew it was only a matter of time. After all, Dad, you were a target. Philip, Brady, and even Maggie were targets. I'm just surprised it didn't happen sooner."

"Wait- you're actually okay with this?!" Adrienne exclaimed.

"Well, I'm not happy that I was stabbed and almost died." Sonny folded his arms. "But I'm also not surprised I got attacked because of you, Uncle Vic. What if Will and/or Ari were with me when it happened?"

"Man…" Justin turned to Adrienne. "and you gave Sami and Will a hard time!"

Adrienne chose to ignore that remark and turned away. Taking a deep breath, Adrienne turned to Victor, glaring at him. "If my son gets hurt again because of you, I'll kill you." She stormed off.

Justin gaped after his ex-wife. He wasn't sure which was more surprising: the fact that she threatened to kill Victor, or that she did it in front of their son. He cleared his throat to ease the tension. "Better listen to her, Uncle Vic. I hear she's pretty handy with a handgun."

"Really, Dad?" Sonny squeezed the bridge of his nose.

Victor sighed and stood up. "All right. In light of Stefano's little threat, I'm putting bodyguards on both of you, Brady, Maggie, Ciara, and Daniel."

Sonny nodded. "I'm gonna sign up for self-defense and gun safety classes. Clearly, I need it."

"Good idea." Justin nodded. "Sonny…I really am sorry about everything you've gone through in the last year."

"I know." Sonny replied, sincerely.

"Excuse me, I'm needed back at the office." Justin left without another word.

"I'll understand if you want to resign from the clubs project I gave you." Victor said to Sonny.

"I'm not going to resign." Sonny smiled and shook his head.

"You were attacked because of me…and you weren't even working for me." Victor shook his head slowly. "Imagine what would happen now that you are."

"True, but…Maggie still married you, even though she was caught in the crossfire of your last feud with Stefano." Sonny shrugged. "She hasn't been hurt since. Neither have Philip or my dad. Besides, I'm adventurous. I'll take my chances. Also…I can't give Will another chance and then turn around and not give you- my own flesh and blood- another chance. That'd be a little hyprocritical."

Victor chuckled, smiled, and leaned over to pat his shoulder. "Spoken like a true Kiriakis."

XXX

Lucas walked into Will's room. Will was still curled up in a ball, wallowing in his guilt for what happened earlier. "Hey."

"I almost hurt Ari." Will said, his voice shaking.

"What?" Lucas asked, confused.

"I was holding her on the bed, and…I had a seizure, and she nearly fell off the bed." Will sniffed.

"Hey…remember me? The guy who dropped you while drunk and who kidnapped you and almost got you killed?" Lucas shrugged. "Accidents happen, man. Don't beat yourself up about it."

Will swallowed. "Yeah…I guess you're right."

"'Course I'm right. I'm your dad!" Lucas grinned and chuckled.

Daniel walked in with Dr. Salinas. "Will, how are you doing?"

Will sighed and lay on his back. "A little better. My head still hurts a little."

"Well, that's gonna last for a little longer." Daniel said. He gestured to Dr. Salinas. "This is Dr. Salinas. He has this new medication to cure your seizures completely."

"How new is it?" Lucas asked, warily.

"It's just getting past the experimental stages." Dr. Salinas replied. "Another patient was given the drug, and it was successful."

"What are the risks? Side effects?" Lucas asked.

"There are risks to any medication out there." Dr. Salinas explained. "The patient we gave this drug to experienced drowsiness and hallucinations, but, everybody's different."

"I checked and double-checked this drug out. It's completely safe, I promise." Daniel said.

"Let's do it, then." Will said confidently.

"Are you sure?" Lucas asked.

"Anything to get rid of these seizures." Will replied.

"All right." Dr. Salinas walked over, brushed Will's neck with an alcohol wipe. "This will sting a little." Will gasped in pain, then relaxed. "I will administer this drug twice a day over the next week, see how you recover."

"Which means you'll have to stay in the hospital for longer than planned." Daniel put in.

"Okay." Will nodded. "This'll be fun…"

XX

A few hours later, Will slowly woke up from a nap. He closed his eyes again and laughed a little as he imagined his mother slipping on a brownie thrown on the floor, trying to attack Andre DiMera. He opened his eyes when he heard someone come in. "Hi, Sonny. What's up?"

Sonny chuckled. "Nothing much. What were you just laughing about?"

"Oh, just this weird, but funny dream I had of my mother slipping on a fallen brownie in the Brady Pub, trying to attack Andre DiMera." Will replied.

Sonny chuckled, and silently vowed never to tell Sami about this. "Andre's dead, though. Isn't he?"

"Yeah, he is." Will nodded.

"How are you feeling?" Sonny sat on the side of the bed.

"Well, they gave me this new medication that's supposed to stop my seizures." Will replied.

"The one from Dr. Salinas?" Sonny nodded.

"Yeah. How'd you know that?" Will asked.

"Because I was the one who asked Dr. Salinas to give you this medication." Sonny replied.

"Oh." Will nodded. "Thanks! Wait- is this a hallucination, or is this real? I can't tell."

"This is real." Sonny replied.

"Oh. Heh. The doctor told me that another patient took this medication, and they had hallucinations." Will replied.

'Caroline.' Sonny thought. "Yeah…I actually know the patient they were talking about."

Will raised his eyebrows in curiosity. "Really? Who is it?"

'Hmm. How should I tell him?' Sonny paused. "Your grandma Caroline."

Will was confused for a minute, then nodded in understanding. "She's here because her brain disease was getting worse."

"Yes." Sonny nodded. "They gave her the medication, but…um…"

"What?"

Sonny bit his lip, and looked towards the door to make sure no one was listening or about to come in. "It's crazy and unbelievable."

"Dude, my grandmother was possessed by the devil, my aunt and uncle came from outer space, my Uncle Bo had visions a few years back, and my mom had twins from different fathers." Will chuckled. "I practically specialize in crazy."

Sonny chuckled. "True. Okay, well…I'll just say it. Your great-grandmother is having visions of her loved ones in danger."

Will blinked in surprise. "Wait, seriously?"

Sonny nodded. "Yep. In fact, that's how I knew you were in danger. She had a vision of you being attacked and she knew where it was, even though she's never been there before."

Will gasped. "So…this medication…made her psychic?"

"I guess so." Sonny shrugged.

This was a lot to take in. "I, uh…I need to talk to her." He threw off his covers and was about to get out of bed, but Sonny gently pushed him back down.

"Honey, you need to rest." Sonny replied. He had a feeling of de'ja vu. "How about you just call her room?"

"Okay. Yeah, I can do that."

XX

Caroline absentmindedly leafed through a magazine. She hadn't had visions of Bo or Will, and surprisingly, it drove her crazy. Sure, she didn't like seeing them in danger, but, at least she knew what was going on. The phone on her nightstand rang.

"Hello?"

"Grandma? It's Will." Will answered.

Caroline gasped happily. "Oh, Will! It's so good to hear your voice!"

"It's good to hear yours, too." Will sighed.

"How are you doing?" She asked.

"Great. Um, actually, I owe you a debt of gratitude." Will said. He subconsciously took Sonny's hand. "Sonny told me you had a vision or something about be being attacked?"

"Oh, it was Sonny who did all the work." Caroline shrugged. "I just told him about my dream."

"True, but…still." Will shook his head slowly. "I've been having seizures, so, they gave me the same medication they gave you."

Caroline paused, not sure how to feel about that. "Did they?"

"Yeah…" Will swallowed. "So, if you're having visions because of that medication…that probably means I will get them, too."

"That is likely." Caroline replied. "It's both a blessing and a curse. However…you are younger and a lot stronger than I am. Maybe for you it'll just be a blessing."

Will smiled and nodded. "You know, that sounded like it came from a fantasy novel."

Caroline laughed. "Yes, I believe it does now that you mention it."

"I'll let you get some rest. You need it." Will replied.

"Oh, I'll rest when I'm dead." Caroline replied, scoffing. "You come see me as soon as you're well enough. You hear?"

"I will. Bye, Grandma." Will said. He hung up and sighed. He realized he was still holding Sonny's hand. "Oh. Heh. Sorry."

"Why are you sorry?" Sonny asked, surprised.

"I don't know. I-I-" Will sighed. "Maybe I'm subconsciously remembering something."

"Well, that just means you're making progress." Sonny said optimistically. Will nodded, then looked away in thought. "What?"

"Just thinking about what Grandma Caroline said…about the medication giving her visions." Will replied. "If I have them too, then that means my mom probably will slip on a brownie."

"Trying to attack someone who's supposed to be dead?" Sonny asked. "However…if what you saw really was a vision…that would mean…Andre DiMera's alive."

Will's eyes widened in horror. "Oh, dear God, I hope not."

XXX

Meanwhile, at the Brady Pub, Sami finished off her coffee and almost ran into Eric. "Oh, Eric! I was just about to call you."

"How's Will?" Eric asked, sitting down.

"He's doing better, actually. They gave him the same medication they gave Grandma." Sami replied. "Anyway, so Mom gave me some letters that were sent to her that were for me. One of them was from EJ."

Eric was puzzled. "But EJ's-"

"I know. He wrote the letter before he died." Sami explained. "Look- long story short: EJ left something at a bank in Switzerland that could help bring down Stefano for good."

"And you're going there based on a letter?" Eric asked, astonished. "Sami, you have three young children to take care of."

"I'm doing this for them." Sami insisted. "I'm doing this to protect them from Stefano."

"Okay, but what if this is all a trap?" Eric asked.

"Why do you think I told you? I'll keep in touch. I promise." Sami said. Her phone ring. "Oh. Hang on. Hello? Sonny! …. Really? Who was it? …" Sami's expression went from happy to confusion. "Wait…wasn't he Jordan's stepfather? … WHAT?!" Her head snapped towards Kate, who was sitting at a table with Lucas. "Excuse me while I go eviscerate someone." She hung up, slammed her phone on the table, stood up, and stormed over to Kate, and whacked her upside the head.

Kate gasped in pain, and turned to Sami. "What the fudge, lady?!"

"You soulless, evil, pathetic little bitch! My son and son in law almost died because of you!" Sami yelled, beyond livid.

"If I recall correctly, it was Ben who attacked them, not me!" Kate stood up and glared at Sami.

"Hmm. I wonder how Ben came to Salem in the first place. Oh- that's right: because you hired Jordan as a physical therapist, and started a witch hunt on her! You brought her psycho stepfather to town!" Sami continued ranting. John, Marlena, and Abe walked through the door. "All because you were jealous. Well, you see all the trouble you started?! Do you?!"

Kate was taken aback. She just wanted to help Rafe! "How was I supposed to know that, Sami? There was no way I could have predicted it! And if I did, don't you think I would have prevented it?"

"Well…" Sami shrugged, unsure.

"Rafe was beaten within an inch of his life. I wanted to help him. I thought Jordan was a man!" Kate exclaimed.

Sami heard footsteps behind her and saw Gabi eating a brownie. "You just had to crave a muffin, didn't you?!"

Gabi held the brownie up. "…This is a brownie."

Sami slapped the brownie from Gabi's hand, causing her to gasp in shock. Sami pointed an accusing finger at her. "Because you craved a muffin, Rafe went to get one for you, then he was brutally beaten and put in a coma. Then, he needed physical therapy, and the one physical therapist they could find turned out to have a psycho stepfather and murderous brother who almost killed your daughter's dads!"

"Sami, I was pregnant. I couldn't control my cravings." Gabi replied. "Believe me, I wish I hadn't craved that stupid muffin."

"You're obviously too dangerous to be around Arianna." Sami went on. She turned to Kate. "And you will never see Allie or Ari ever again!"

"Oh, you are not keeping my granddaughters away from me." Kate advanced towards Sami, seething.

"Oh, so you can get them almost killed, too?" Sami asked, shaking her head in dismay.

"I. Didn't. Know! Okay?! God, why is that so hard for you to understand?!" Kate screeched.

Marlena rushed over. "Sami, stop it. The only person to blame for all that's happened in the last year is Ben and Clyde Weston. Everyone else was a victim."

Sami continued fuming, glaring at Kate. "I'll never forgive you for this."

Kate was about to retort, when the door opened. Everyone turned and stared in shock. Either Tony or Andre was standing in the doorway, smiling.

"Surprise." Andre said. He chuckled.

Everyone was too afraid to speak. Marlena swallowed. "…Tony?" She asked tentatively.

"Nope. Andre." Andre replied. "Tony is very much dead. I, however, am very much alive."

"…That's a damn shame." John commented.

"How is that even possible?!" Kate asked, aghast.

"I'm a DiMera." Andre said simply as if to state the obvious.

"My wife was a DiMera." Abe spoke up. "And she is truly dead, and it's all your fault, you son of a bitch!"

"Yes, I'm dreadfully sorry about dear Alexandra." Andre said passively.

"You fell of the roof of a building." Sami said, her voice shaking slightly. "You unplugged your own life support system and tried to frame my grandfather for your death!"

Andre ignored Sami. "Are you all so stunned that I'm back?"

Roman smiled humorlessly and stepped forward. "You know what? I'm not sure how Stefano pulled it off, but I'd have to thank him because now we can arrest you."

"I'm sorry to deflate your fondest hopes, but I have a pardon from the governor right here." Andre pulled out a letter and showed it to Roman. "Also the statute of limitations has run out in whatever this doesn't cover."

"Yeah, how'd you get that? Did you promise him eternal life or something?" John asked, sarcastically.

"No." Andre chuckled and shook his head. "No, I just expressed great remorse on any unpleasantness I may have caused. In the poor Necktie Killer victims' honor, I'd like to apologize to everyone I've ever hurt. I've been in a recovery facility for quite a while, and now that I've had a chance to gain a little perspective of my past, I realize that I was, well, I suppose there's only one word for it, and that is that I was-" He sighed dramatically. "Insane."

"You were evil." Marlena corrected.

"I'm much better now, and surely you don't doubt the power of a wonderful therapist, and surely you don't begrudge me the chance to make peace with the good people of Salem." Andre addressed Marlena.

"Andre, make peace with this." Roman punched Andre, which set everyone off.

Sami lunged for Andre, but Lucas and Eric held her back. "EJ is dead and you're not?!"

Nonplussed, Andre rubbed his jaw. "I know that my list of crimes are far too long to enumerate in one sitting, so a blanket apology will have to do."

Eric struggled to hang on to his twin. "Whoa, whoa, wait. Sami!" He stepped forward. "No, no. What, you think your blanket apology means anything?" He glared at Andre.

"You're not a priest anymore. Who are you to judge?" Andre raised an eyebrow.

"THAT'S IT!" Sami broke free and lunged for Andre, but slipped on the brownie that was thrown on the floor. Eric caught her before she fell. "I WILL KILL YOU AND YOU WILL STAY DEAD THIS TIME!"

Andre chuckled. "Just so you know, I'm trying to get past this awkward transition period to find some kind of civility."

"Civility?" Abe asked in disbelief.

Andre continued. "So if any of you want to get in contact, you want to work on this, I'm staying with my father."

Marlena was confused. "Your father?"

"Yes, I received a letter from my mother several years ago with the news that Stefano was my biological father." Andre chuckled. "Now it all makes sense, doesn't it? No wonder I was so much like Tony. He and I were so much alike."

Roman shook his head. "You and Tony were never alike."

Andre shrugged. "Well, Tony's dead. EJ's dead, and sadly, Alexandra's dead, so I found it my duty to come back home because Chad was a wanted man. I needed to do my duty with my father. Speaking of which, I need to take care of the dear old man." Without another word, he left.

Everyone was in stunned silence until John cleared his throat. "Well, good news: two psychopaths have been jailed. Bad news: an even worse entity is now here."

"…Yeah…" Sami shuddered.

Things are starting to get intense.


	7. It's All Coming Back To Me

Will lay in bed, thinking. He was still having a hard time remembering anything about Sonny. All his other memories of the last five years have been restored, but none that have anything to do with Sonny. His mom basically told him he was gay, but, he couldn't remember coming out or when he realized he was gay.

Although…now that he thought about it…when he watched basketball or football games on TV, he always focused more on the athletes' bodies than how they were playing the game. Sonny is very attractive to him- more so than Gabi…

He closed his eyes for a minute. Realizing he was gay should have brought back memories…

"Didn't you hear me? I said I was gay."

Oh…that's right. He first came out to Grandma Marlena. They were drinking coffee. So, how did he realize that?

"I don't think you kissed my buddy because you were drunk. I think you kissed him because you're gay."

"You know this thing called 'gaydar'? It's never off."

Who said those things to him? That voice sounded so familiar to him, and the person was blurred out. But he could tell he had black hair. Hmm…what his name? S…

Sami walked into the room, snapping Will from his thoughts. "Will? You awake?"

'Damn. It was right on the tip of my tongue.' Will shook his head. "Yeah. What's up?"

Sami sighed, shut the door, and walked over to his bed. "Just to make sure…your memory's pretty much restored, right?"

"Almost. I remember that you and EJ got married and he was gunned down last year, then you and the kids moved to California." Will replied.

"Good. That's really good." Sami chuckled and smiled. "First, you should know that Andre DiMera is alive."

Will's eyes widened. "Oh my god…"

"I know." Sami sighed.

"Then…that dream I had earlier…" Will gasped quietly.

"What dream?" Sami asked.

"I dreamt that you slipped on a brownie on the floor at the Pub trying to attack Andre." Will admitted.

Sami's eyes widened. "Will…that actually happened. Did you…did you just have a vision?"

"I guess so. I mean…Grandma Caroline's been getting them, too, right?" Will asked.

"Yeah." Sami nodded. "Will…if you're getting visions, and if the DiMeras find out about it…they will kidnap and/or kill you. You need to keep quiet about that."

Will swallowed and nodded. "So…then what do I do if I see someone I love in danger? Am I just supposed to turn the other cheek?"

"Just put in an anonymous tip to the police." Sami shrugged.

"Oh. Okay. Yeah, I'll do that." Will nodded.

"Great." Sami cleared her throat. She thought about telling him about EJ's letter and the safe deposit box in Switzerland. If he's having visions, he could always warn her about danger, right?

"What?" Will asked, noticing his mother's expression.

Sami closed her eyes and sighed quietly. "I shouldn't tell you this. Not after all you've been through."

"Well, it's not like I remember what I've been through." Will chuckled.

"Good point." Sami glanced at the door to make sure no one was coming in. "Okay, well, in that case…I got a letter from EJ." She explained about the letter and the safe deposit box in Switzerland.

"Wait, so, let me get this straight: you're going to a safe deposit box in Switzerland based on a letter?" Will asked. Sami nodded. "How do you know it's real and not a trap?"

"I don't." Sami shrugged. "But, if Johnny and Sydney's father is still alive, don't you think I owe it to them to at least find out?"

Will let out a long sigh and leaned back against his pillow. He really hated that she is putting her life at risk, but…well…what if it were his husband? He would definitely go to the ends of the earth for him. "Okay. Be very careful, Mom."

Sami sighed in relief and smiled. This was easier than she thought! "I will. But… if anything happens to me, I want you to take care of your brother and sisters. Move into the Kiriakis Mansion. You'll be safe there."

"Why would I move into the Kiriakis Mansion?" Will asked, confused.

Sami paused. "When your memory is fully restored, you'll understand."

"Okay…" Will said, unsure. "But nothing's gonna happen to you."

"I know. But, just in case…" Sami shook her head and sighed. "And if you get visions of me or one of the kids in danger, you pick up the phone and you call me. Actually, you know what? Texting might be better."

"Okay. I'll text you if I get any visions." Will smiled.

"Thank you." They hugged.

"For what it's worth…I do really hope that EJ's alive." Will replied.

"Me, too." Sami smiled back.

XXX

A little while later, Sonny stopped by with flowers and a get well soon balloon. "Hey."

"Hey. So, it's the weirdest thing." Will glanced at the nightstand, which was filled with rainbow-themed "get well soon" cards and gifts. "A bunch of guys in the gay community sent me get well soon stuff. I guess it's a good thing I remembered that I am gay."

Sonny chuckled. "You know, there might not be enough room for these." He rearranged the gifts on the nightstand and put the small pot of flowers down.

"They smell great. Thanks." Will smiled.

"You're welcome." Sonny stepped forward, tripped, and landed face forward on Will. Their lips crashed together. They kissed for a few seconds and Sonny pulled away.

Will gasped quietly as memories came rushing back to him. He remembered everything now- from his and Sonny's first meeting, their first kiss, their first time, their first fight, when they first held Arianna, their wedding, the cheating reveal, when Sonny left for Paris, to when Sonny saved his life. Will took deep breaths, blinked, and looked up at Sonny.

"Will…?" Sonny's voice was barely above a whisper.

Will's eyes brimmed with tears. "Sonny…I remember now. I remember everything."

Sonny laughed with relief and started crying. "I got your message. I was actually already in Salem when I got it. I came back because I realized that I wanted us to work out. I was afraid that…I would never get the chance to tell you that I love you, too. And that I forgive you."

Will started crying with relief, and sniffed. "So, we can be in love again?"

"We can definitely do that." Sonny nodded.

"So, what…what's been going on these last few days?" Will asked.

"It's a long story." Sonny replied.

Will smiled. "Pretty sure I have the time to listen."

Sonny kissed Will again, and lay next to him. They wrapped their arms around each other. "Well, Ben got arrested. I got a mild concussion, but I'm fine. Chad and Paul are in comas."

Will wrinkled his brow. "How'd Chad and Paul get mixed up in this?"

"I'm not entirely sure." Sonny shrugged. "I think Chad figured out somehow that Ben is the killer. I'm not sure how Paul got involved."

"Poor Abigail." Will sighed. "How's she doing?"

"Well, she's trying not to show it, but, I can tell she's completely wrecked." Sonny said sadly. "I told her no one blames her for what happened. She was just as much a victim as everyone who was hurt by Ben."

Will nodded. "I agree. She didn't know."

"Hopefully she'll listen to you." Sonny grinned.

"Yeah." Will paused. "So, I guess Paul was your knight in shining armor, huh?"

"I guess you could say that." Sonny looked away.

"I feel bad, though. I made these last eight months a living hell for him." Will admitted.

"Yeah, well…it looks like you were justified." Sonny sighed and pulled out his phone. "He sent this text to me that night."

Will read it and exhaled sharply, a little angry. "He seriously wrote that?!" Sonny nodded solemnly. "Sonny, I'm sorry. I didn't want to be right."

"It's okay." Sonny replied. "You're my one true love, anyway."

Will smiled. "I love you."

"I love you, too." Sonny replied. "I think I also know how our marriage went to hell."

"Really? How?"

"We keep too many secrets from each other. We keep lying to each other-"

"Thus Honesty Hour." Will raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah, and…" Sonny chuckled to himself, humorlessly. "I think I've…been treating you like a little kid instead of my equal."

"Yeah, you have." Will nodded. "Why is that?"

"I don't know…" Sonny sighed and leaned back. "I mean, with Paul, it was different because he is two years older than me and more experienced."

"So, you treat me like a kid just because I'm younger than you and inexperienced?" Will asked.

"I'm sorry." Sonny said. "It's just…I don't know. I-I guess I'm just naturally protective or something."

"Hey, that can be a good thing." Will shrugged. He paused. "And I guess, um…I have had so much crap thrown at me, and…when good things happen to me, I don't know how to handle it."

"Um, appreciate it, maybe?" Sonny suggested, grinning.

Will scoffed and playfully smacked Sonny in the arm. "I guess you have a point there. Being nearly strangled to death gave me perspective. Oh- thank you for saving me, by the way."

"Of course."

Will continued. "Anyway, you've given me the best three years of my life. And…I didn't get to enjoy it as much as I should have, because I was too afraid that it wouldn't last. And it almost didn't. But not because I almost died, but because I was too focused on getting Paul out of Salem."

Sonny kissed Will's forehead. "What are you gonna do with this new perspective?"

"I'm going to enjoy my life and happiness with you and Ari." Will decided. "And I'll try harder to keep my promises and to be honest."

"And I'll try not to treat you like a little kid." Sonny replied.

Will chuckled. "Good. 'Cause if you do, we may as well not make love. It'd be like having sex with a kid."

"Okay, weird, but good point." Sonny chuckled.

"I'm glad we're patching things up." Will hugged Sonny close.

"Me, too." Sonny kissed him again. He sighed sadly. "There's something you should know."

"What?"

"My grandmother has breast cancer." Sonny replied. "She's going to be fine, but, still…"

"Oh my God, I'm so sorry." Will said sincerely.

"There's more. My mom got tested for the BRCA1 gene…and she has it." Sonny said.

Will exhaled slowly. "But that doesn't mean she'll definitely get breast cancer, right?"

"Right. And I really hope not."

Will hugged him comfortingly. "I hope not, either. Wait- shouldn't you get tested, too? And Stephanie, Joey, Abigail, and JJ? And Uncle Steve?"

"I hadn't thought about that." Sonny admitted. "I'll get tested, but, I'm scared of what the results may be."

Will took Sonny's hands in his. "You're not alone, you know. We'll get through this together."

Sonny blinked away tears. "There's the Will I fell in love with. Oh, also…they finally caught the guy who stabbed me earlier this year. Get this: it was Clyde Weston. He wanted to get back at my great uncle for trying to kill him."

Will exhaled slowly. "I guess it makes sense. You're Victor's favorite, after all."

"Yeah. And I'm still half-expecting Xander to smother me in my sleep." Sonny admitted.

"Being the favorite is hard, isn't it?" Will smirked. "Besides, there is no way I'm letting that jerk get anywhere near you."

Sonny smiled. "You know, it's funny. I wasn't even working for him back then. But now that I am…well…I'm taking gun safety and self-defense classes, so, I'll be safer."

"That's good." Will replied. "Are you sure you want to continue working for your uncle, though? I mean, you were attacked because of him, and you weren't even working for him. You saw what happened to Philip, right?"

"I know." Sonny nodded. "But…I can't give you another chance and then turn around and not give Uncle Vic another chance."

"I guess you have a point there." Will chuckled. "Speaking of family drama…my mom got a letter from the grave from EJ."

"Really? What did it say?"

"My mom only told me that there's something in a safety deposit box in a bank in Switzerland that will bring down the DiMeras once and for all- and I just realized I told a Kiriakis this…" Will chuckled.

"Friendly reminder that you're a Kiriakis, too." Sonny chuckled. "Don't worry. I won't tell my uncle until Sami gets it…that is, if there is any."

Will nodded. "I did tell my mom that it might be a trap. Deep down, she's thinking it, too. Which is why she told me that if anything happens to her…she wants us to take care of Johnny and Sydney. My dad can take care of Allie."

"Well, we'd have to move to a bigger house." Sonny said. "But, of course we'll take them in."

"What about your Uncle Victor's house?" Will asked. "There's actual security there and plenty of room."

Sonny bit his lip. "I'm not sure if my uncle would be okay with that."

"Well, think about this: having Stefano DiMera's grandchildren living in his house? That might cause the old man to have a heart attack, or to get a rise out of him." Will suggested. "Wouldn't that make Victor happy?"

Sonny exhaled slowly. "Good point. We'll cross that bridge when we get to it."

"Sounds good." Will nodded. "Oh, also…that dream I had of my mom slipping on a brownie trying to attack Andre DiMera…that actually happened. It was a vision I had, not a dream."

Sonny blinked in surprise. "Wow. Guess that drug causes anyone to have visions. That could come in handy. If you see anyone we love in danger…"

"I'll put in an anonymous tip to the police." Will said, nodding. "We can't tell anyone. The DiMeras might find out, and…"

Sonny hushed him by holding him and kissing the top of his head. "Don't worry. I won't let anything happen to you or our daughter."

"My hero." Will chuckled.

XXX

By the end of the week, Will was finally released from the hospital, and Chad had woken from his coma. Gabi and Sonny threw Will a mini "Welcome Home" party.

"I'm so glad you're okay, now." Gabi said, hugging Will tight.

"Me, too."

Gabi pulled away and smiled. "Now, maybe we can return to normal."

Will and Sonny smiled at each other, knowingly. "Maybe."

They talked and laughed and ate. Will and Sonny lay in bed, holding each other until they fell asleep.

Sometime in the middle of the night, Will woke up, hungry. He quietly climbed out of bed, careful not to wake Sonny, and quietly crept to the kitchen. He grabbed a snack, ate, then slipped on some spilled water and fell to the ground in front of the refrigerator. Groaning slightly, he blinked his eyes open.

"You shouldn't have come here, Will. You should have just stayed away!"

Will gasped and pulled at the invisible necktie that was strangling him. He saw Ben's crazed eyes, he felt his vision blurring and his head feeling like it was on fire.

"Will! Will, wake up!" Will gasped as he felt Sonny slapping him awake. He sat up, flung his arms around Sonny, and started crying. Sonny hugged him and rubbed his back. "It's okay. It's okay, you're safe. I'm here."

Will sniffed and took deep breaths. "It was scary. I've never been so scared in my life."

"I know. I know. It's okay." Sonny said softly. "It's over."

Will sighed. "Well, I'm never wearing neckties again."

Sonny laughed. "Well, maybe just stick with clip-ons."

"Yeah…"


	8. Much Needed Conversations

"Okay, let's start from the beginning, and please take your time."

The next morning, Will called Rafe and told him he remembered everything now. He and Sonny headed to the station.

Will took deep breath. "Well…I went over to Ben Weston's apartment to go over wedding venues. Um…he wasn't there when I arrived, but my cousin Abigail Deveraux was. She told me that Ben's dad was arrested, so she needed to go find him, but she also was waiting for the cable guy. I volunteered to hold down the fort and wait for the cable guy. She left. While I was there, I called my mom and Sonny…then I started shooting baskets with crumpled up pieces of paper. I kept missing, so I went to clean it up. I saw a red necktie lying in the trash…the same necktie that was used to kill those two women. That's when Ben walked in. I didn't know what to think, so, I just acted natural. Ben and I started talking and he wouldn't let go of that necktie. My husband called me, so I picked up the call then immediately hung up hoping to send him the message that I was in trouble. I tried to leave, but Ben cornered me. I called him out on being the Necktie Killer…he admitted it. He told me he wanted to destroy Abigail's love for Chad DiMera and that's why he set him up. I told him it wouldn't work, and that's when Ben threw me across the room, against the fridge." Will took a deep breath. "I was out cold for a few seconds and when I woke…" Will swallowed and took a deep, shuddering breath. "Ben was sitting on my chest strangling me with the necktie. I tried fighting him off, but I was losing consciousness. Then Sonny ran in and threw Ben off of me. I blacked out…Sonny apparently did CPR on me…I noticed Ben behind Sonny, warned him, then blacked out again. Next thing I knew, I was in the hospital."

Rafe nodded and pressed stop. "Okay. You did great. Thank you. How are you feeling?"

Will sighed. "I'm getting better. The treatment is working really well, so, I should be good as new in no time."

"That's good. I'm glad you're okay." Rafe replied sincerely. "And on behalf of the Salem Police Department, I would like to thank you for your efforts in the Necktie Killer's capture."

Will smiled and blushed. "Unwittingly, but…you're welcome."

"I should also tell you that Paige's father…the one who set the reward money for the killer's capture will be paying you a visit soon." Rafe nodded. He sighed inwardly. "You should also know that…he's also my and Gabi's father, too."

Will was surprised. "How…? Does Gabi know?"

"I just told her today." Rafe nodded. "Eduardo just up and left our family and never looked back. I don't want him to hurt Gabi or Ari."

"I understand. But…it's been over twenty years. Don't you think he deserves a second chance?" Will asked.

"No, he doesn't." Rafe snapped. He sighed. "Just keep Gabi and Ari away from him, okay? Please?"

"Okay." Will nodded.

XXX

Will walked through the square, drinking coffee. He almost ran into Eduardo. "Oh. Sorry. I wasn't paying attention."

"Oh, no, it's fine. I'm actually glad I ran into you." Eduardo replied. "You are familiar with the reward I put up for the Necktie Killer's capture? Originally it was for Chad DiMera, but, turns out he wasn't the killer after all."

"I am aware, Mr. Hernandez." Will replied.

"Well…" Eduardo pulled out a check for a hundred thousand dollars. "Here. It's yours. You earned it."

Will sighed. He really wanted it, but…it just didn't feel right. "Mr. Hernandez-"

"Please, Eduardo. You are my granddaughter's father, after all."

"Okay, Eduardo… as much as I appreciate this… don't you think it would be better spent on your kids?" Will asked.

"Well, think of it this way: you can add it to Arianna Grace's college fund. Or trust fund." Eduardo shrugged.

"I guess you have a point there." Will nodded. He took the check. "I'll talk to Gabi, see what she thinks. But if she doesn't like the idea, then I'm giving this back to you."

"Okay. Sounds fair."

XXX

"I cannot believe he didn't tell me until now! He seriously thought I wouldn't be able to handle it?! I'm 23, not 3!"

Gabi was ranting and pacing in the living room of hers and Will and Sonny's apartment. Sonny sat on the couch listening patiently. "You know, to be fair, you have been going through a lot these last few months."

"I don't care if I'm traumatized to the point where I'm in a mental hospital. I had a right to know! I also had a right to say good-bye to my half-sister I didn't know I had!" Gabi snapped angrily.

Sonny nodded. "So how do you feel about your dad being back after all these years?"

"I don't know!" Gabi sighed and flopped on the couch. "I mean…I know what he did, but, that was two decades ago. Your great-uncle is a different man now than he was twenty years ago, right?"

"Yeah."

"So, why shouldn't Eduardo be?" Gabi shrugged.

"Good point." Sonny shifted around to face her. "But, Gabi, I still think you should be careful. It may seem like he's changed, but, who knows how long that will last?"

Gabi threw her head back and sighed. He had a point. "Okay. I'll be careful."

Sonny was surprised. What- no arguments? "Wait, that's it? What's the catch?"

Gabi chuckled softly. "There's no catch. It's just…you spent the better part of over a year and a half warning me against Nick and I didn't listen. Then came all that drama with him, and you and Will hardly having to enjoy ten minutes with each other before Nick and I raised hell, and then I ended up killing Nick. So, bottom line: from now on, I will never doubt your judgment again. I'll listen to you."

Sonny blinked in surprise. "Can you…can you repeat that one more time to make sure I heard right?"

"I'll listen to you from now on." Gabi repeated.

Sonny pulled out his phone and turned on a recorder. "Now say it into the phone."

"Oh, my God!" Gabi rolled her eyes and laughed in spite of herself. "Fine. I, Gabriella Hernandez, do hereby solemnly swear to never doubt or question the judgement of Jackson Kiriakis-Horton."

Sonny laughed in triumph. "I'm totally keeping this."

"And holding it over my head for the rest of our lives." Gabi folded her arms.

"Holding what over your head?" Gabi and Sonny looked to see Will walking in. "Don't tell me you guys are fighting again."

"No, no, for once, we're not." Sonny replied and played the recording of Gabi.

Will chuckled and sat down. "Good. We'll avoid more drama that way." They all laughed. "So, I ran into Eduardo earlier."

Gabi wasn't angry, but she wasn't happy, either. "Did you?"

"Yeah. He, uh, he wanted to give me the reward money for the Necktie Killer's capture." Will pulled out the check.

"What?" Sonny asked.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa!" Gabi exclaimed holding her hands up.

"Will, you accepted blood money?" Sonny asked in dismay.

"Just hear me out. Hear me out." Will held up his hands in surrender. "I told him I wasn't going to accept blood money. Instead, I suggested that he put it to better use, like his children. So, he wants to add it to Arianna's college fund."

Gabi relaxed and smiled, touched. "Oh. Wow, that-that would be great. That's a good idea."

"I think so, too." Sonny nodded, smiling.

"Great! So, it's decided, then." Will smiled. "And maybe this will soften Rafe up when it comes to Eduardo. He really doesn't like him."

Sonny raised an eyebrow. "Well, I can't really blame him. He just up and left four kids including a baby with next to no money and didn't see or hear from him until recently."

Will nodded. "I should also tell you, Gabi, that Rafe asked me to keep you and Ari away from him."

"Oh, right. I forgot I'm too young to make my own decisions." Gabi said sarcastically.

"Hey, I'd be a hypocrite if I kept you and Ari away from your dad." Will raised his hands. "So, what Rafe doesn't know won't hurt him."

"Plus, you're psychic now. You'll know if Ari's in danger of Eduardo." Sonny smirked.

Gabi and Will chuckled. "Yeah!" Ari started fussing. "I got this." She walked to Ari's room.

Sonny turned to Will. "Hey…I'm sorry I snapped at you before."

"It's okay. I can't blame you for thinking that." Will shrugged. "And to be honest, a few months ago, I totally would have taken it as blood money."

Sonny smiled, stood up, sat down in Will's lap, put his arms around him, and kissed him. "I'm proud of you."

"I promise to keep that up." Will chuckled.

"I think we better start small with your promise making." Sonny suggested half-jokingly.

Will rolled his eyes, and smiled. "Okay, how about this, then? I promise…to let you shower first tomorrow morning."

Sonny laughed and shoved him playfully.

XXX

Abigail lay on the couch staring into space. She put the apartment up for sale and moved back in with Jennifer. She was surprised and relieved that most of her family stopped by to tell her they're there for her and she isn't to blame for what happened. It was hard to believe them at first. If she hadn't fallen in love with Ben, none of this would have happened.

The doorbell rang, and JJ went to answer it. "Will."

"Hey. How is she?" Will asked, concerned.

"Not good." JJ said, folding his arms and sighing.

"Can I come in?" Will asked. What is JJ's problem?

"Depends. What are you gonna do?" JJ asked warily.

Will sighed inwardly. Right. JJ doesn't trust him since that article. "JJ, I do not hold Abigail at all responsible for what happened in the last few months. She was a victim, too."

JJ nodded and stepped aside. "I'm gonna be listening to every word you say, by the way."

"JJ, she forgave me for that article. Why can't you?" Will asked.

"I have forgiven you. That doesn't mean I'm gonna just easily trust you again." JJ replied. He gestured his head towards the living room. "She's in there."

Will walked into the living room. Abigail stood up, half-dreading what Will would do or say. He walked over and hugged her. Abigail started sobbing. "I'm sorry. I'm so so sorry."

"Shh. It's not your fault, Abigail." Will said sincerely. He rubbed her back comfortingly. "Hey…there isn't a single person in this town who blames you for what happened. No one suspected that Ben was a total psychopath. Hell, even Sonny was fooled!" He pulled away and smiled.

Abigail swallowed and brushed away tears. "Boy, I sure know how to pick them, don't I?" She sat down.

"Have you met my grandma Kate? Pretty much every guy she's ever been with besides my grandfather and Grandpa Bill was a loser, and she's been with a lot of men." Will replied, smiling. "And none of them were the least bit attractive."

"Heeey, be nice to Grandpa." Abigail chided half-jokingly. They laughed. Abigail sighed. "It feels so weird to laugh right now."

"Sometimes a little laughter is good in the middle of a crisis." Will replied. "It reminds us that things aren't always so tragic."

"Who told you that?" Abigail asked.

"Great-Gram." Will answered.

Abigail exhaled slowly and nodded sadly. "Great-Gram… you know, it seems like ever since she died, things have slowly gone to hell."

"Yeah, really." Will chuckled humorlessly.

JJ walked into the living room and cleared his throat. "Abs, I have a class, but Mom will be home soon."

"JJ, I'm a big girl. I don't need a babysitter." Abigail said pointedly.

"I'm sorry, can you blame me for being overprotective?" JJ shrugged.

"Keep that in mind when you're signing up for the police academy." Abigail retorted.

"I will." JJ left.

"Police academy?" Will asked, intrigued.

Abigail exhaled sharply. "JJ wants to be a cop. Do me a favor, do not encourage him."

"Why? I mean, if it's what he wants to do…" Will shrugged.

"Because it's dangerous!" Abigail exclaimed. "So many things could happen if he's out there catching criminals."

"My grandpa Roman, Uncle Bo, Aunt Hope, and Rafe are doing just fine." Will shrugged. "I understand there are risks, but there are risks with every job. Even nannies get killed in house fires or car accidents."

Abigail exhaled sharply. "I just wish he'd be a little more mindful about what other people think."

"Kind of like you?"

"Considering that I cheated with a DiMera, and I'm in love with and cheated on my fiancé with another DiMera, how can people not judge me?" Abigail exclaimed. "How can they even look at me without being sick to their stomachs? How can I work or even live in this town again?"

"Considering that EJ and Ben are ten times worse than Chad, I don't think anyone would care." Will shrugged. "Stop worrying about what people think about you, Abigail. You're better than all of them."

Abigail scoffed. "You call trying to sleep with a married man, sleeping with another woman's fiancé- a DiMera, sleeping with a serial killer and carrying his baby, and cheating again with another DiMera and being in love with him better?"

"You've never kidnapped, raped, or murdered anyone." Will shrugged. "You never tried to blackmail people or ruin their lives. That's more than I can say about pretty much everybody in this town except my grandma Marlena, Grandma Caroline, Uncle Eric, Daniel Jonas, your mom, JJ, Chad, and Sonny."

Abigail swallowed back a lump and blinked away tears. "How did you know that that was exactly what I needed to hear?"

"Because it's the truth." Will said simply.

"Why are you so nice to me? I've been awful to you." Abigail raised an eyebrow.

"Because you're my family. You never give up on family no matter how awful they are to you." Will replied.

"Great-Gram?" Abigail guessed.

"My mom." Will admitted. "One of the few, useful things she has taught me."

Abigail chuckled. "I just want our entire family to love me even though I love Chad. And I want them to love Chad, too. I want him to have a Horton Ornament."

"Hey, if Victor Kiriakis can get a Horton Ornament, Chad DiMera will get one, too." Will stated simply. "And if they don't come to like Chad and they shun you, then screw them! You have me, Sonny, Allie, Johnny, Sydney, Theo, Gabi, and Ari. We all love Chad."

Abigail hugged Will again, extremely touched and grateful for him. "Thank you. Thank you for saying those things, Will. They're exactly what I wanted to hear. You have always been there for me and you've never given up on me. Which is why…I want you to be my baby's godfather?"

Will was flattered. "Me?"

"Well, this baby needs at least one nice, normal father figure." Abigail chuckled. "I would like that person to be you. You're a Horton and a Brady, so, that's quite a lot of positive influence right there."

Will chuckled. "Well, in that case, yes. I would love to be your baby's godfather."

"Yay. I'm going to ask Gabi to be the godmother as well." Abigail said.

"Oh, well, then Ari can be his godsister." Will chuckled.

"Yeah, she'll do a much better job than Jordan did with Ben." Abigail remarked.

"Have you heard from Jordan?" Will asked.

"No. I don't think I'm going to." Abigail shook her head. "I wouldn't even know what to say. I mean, I don't want to hold her familys' misdeeds against her."

"Then tell her that." Will shrugged and stood up. "Now, come on. I think it's time you braved the public eye once again."

Abigail laughed and stood up. "Okay, let's do it, then."

They walked arm-in-arm to the door. Will opened it, and they were met with none other than Jordan Ridgeway.


	9. Apologies And Returns

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have a question for you guys: what are your thoughts on mpreg (male pregnancy) in fanfiction? Male pregnancy does sound soap opera-ish, and I was hoping they would do that for Will and Sonny, but that's no longer possible. I mean possessions by the devil, impossible/improbable returns-from-death, twins from different fathers, brain chips, psychic visions, twins from outer space, rapid aging- why not go the whole nine and have a pregnant male? I'm just saying, if 50 year old Kristen can carry and give birth to a (mostly) healthy baby, then 20-something Will and/or Sonny could, too! So, what do you guys think? Do you want a male pregnancy, or not? The pregnancy wouldn't be happening until February, though. I have a few mini-stories I wanna get through first.

The trio just stood there silently for a minute until Jordan cleared her throat. "Can I come in? I just wanna talk."

Will looked at Abigail to see if she was okay with it. Abigail nodded and stepped aside to let Jordan in. "Can I get you anything?"

"I'm good, thanks." Jordan replied. She turned to Will, guilt practically overflowing. "Will…there are no words."

"I don't blame you, Jordan." Will assured her. "I know that if you could have predicted it, you would have done everything to prevent it."

"The thing is that…I could have prevented everything." Jordan admitted. "After my mom died, some things happened with Clyde, and I didn't go to the police. Instead, I waited three years, then kidnapped my brother and we went on the run. Maybe things would be different."

"Well, all we can do now is move forward." Will shrugged.

Jordan nodded and turned to Abigail. "I'll understand if you don't want me near your baby."

"I do." Abigail replied. "I'm not gonna hold your family's misdeeds against you, either. I'm carrying your niece or nephew. You'll know them, don't worry."

"Thanks. That means a lot." Jordan smiled.

The door opened again, and Jen walked in. She took one look at Jordan and fumed. "What the hell are you doing here?"

"Mom…" Abigail started.

Jennifer stormed in between Jordan and Abigail. "You get out of my house, right now before I call the police!"

"Mom, Jordan didn't do anything." Abigail tried again.

"It's okay. Um, I need to go, anyway." Jordan replied.

"You stay the hell away from my family, you understand me?" Jennifer said warningly.

"Okay. I'm sorry." Jordan left without another word.

"Aunt Jennifer-"

Jennifer rounded on Will. "How could you even think about letting a member of that disgusting family anywhere near my daughter?!"

"Because I don't hold what her stepfather and brother did against her." Will replied. He turned to Abigail. "I'll talk to you later, Abigail." He left.

"Mom, lay off Will. He's been there for me even when he had every reason not to be." Abigail said.

Jennifer exhaled slowly and calmed down. "I know. I-I'm sorry. It's not Will's fault. Actually, I…I should have told you what Clyde was doing to JJ and me. I should have tried to talk you out of getting married to Ben… I'm so sorry."

Abigail shook her head. "You're not the one who should be sorry. I have to tell you something."

XXX

Chad walked through the square and spotted Will at a table drinking coffee. "Will!"

"Hey! How's being a free man treating you?" Will asked.

Chad sighed and sat down. "No different than normal. How are you?"

"Great, now that Sonny and I worked everything out." Will smiled brightly.

"What about RuPaul?" Chad asked.

Will's eyes darkened. "He's not gonna be a problem anymore." Unbeknownst to them, Paul (who recovered quickly from his coma) hid behind a planter when he heard his name brought up. "He sent a text message to Sonny the night I was attacked. It said something along the lines of 'If Will gets himself killed by the serial killer, does that mean we can finally be together?'"

Paul checked his messages. Sure enough, that text was there. His mouth dropped open in shock. Sonny must have been hurt by that. Paul clutched his cell phone, fuming, and glared at Chad.

Will continued. "I'm just glad Sonny finally saw the light about him."

Chad smirked. "You're welcome."

Will was confused. "Wait, what? What do you mean by that?"

"Paul gave me a lift to Abby's apartment that night. He wanted to check on Sonny, but couldn't while he was driving." Chad explained. "From what the both of you have been telling me, Paul has been acting so stalkerish towards Sonny. I mean, popping up every time you and Sonny had an argument…"

"So you sent Sonny that horrible message using Paul's phone?!" Will exclaimed.

"Hey, at least Paul won't be a problem for you anymore." Chad shrugged.

"Still! Sonny was hurt by that." Will replied. "Chad, I didn't ask for you to do this for me."

"I know. I did it anyway." Chad shrugged. "Dude, all that should matter now is that Paul is no longer a problem."

Will exhaled sharply. "You're right. But, still…"

"Still what?" Will and Chad turned to see a very livid Paul glaring at the both of them. He turned to Will. "Let me guess: if Sonny found out that Chad was the one who sent the text, I'm going back to being a problem. Right?"

Chad sighed, shook his head, and stood up. "Paul, look, I'm sorry, all right? I was just looking out for my two best friends."

"I helped you by giving you a ride to your precious Abigail's apartment, and this is how you repay me?" Paul seethed. "By making me look bad to Sonny?"

"Okay, first of all, you wanted to come too to be a knight in shining armor to a married man, who was too busy trying to save his husband's life." Chad pointed out. "And second of all, you didn't need much help looking bad in front of your precious Sonny."

"He's my precious." Will cut in, hoping to break the tension.

Ignoring Will, Chad continued. "Following him around like a pathetic little puppy dog hoping against hope that Sonny would finally leave Will for you."

Will's phone rang, and he stepped away to answer. "Hey. How'd it go with your mom?"

"Good. I told her everything." Abigail replied.

"How'd she take it?"

"She blames herself of course, but, she figures Chad is the lesser of two evils, so, she'll support me no matter what." She said.

"Ah, see? What'd I tell you?" Will asked, grinning.

Abigail chuckled. "Guess this means I can finally be open about Chad."

"Yeah, about that…" Will glanced back at the still arguing Chad and Paul. "You may want to ask Chad about texting Sonny from Paul's phone. Last week- the night I was attacked- Paul gave Chad a ride to your apartment. Well, I'll let Chad explain."

Abigail huffed. "Are you gonna tell Sonny?"

"Yep. On my way to do that now." Will said.

XX

"You know, I have to say, despite all your stalkerish tendencies-"

"I. Am. Not. Stalking. Him." Paul replied through gritted teeth.

"-You didn't become a serial killer." Chad nodded. "And hey, at least you're not throwing punches."

"Don't. Tempt me." Paul threatened. "You unimaginable bastard."

"Nice. Do you kiss your mother with that mouth?" Chad asked sarcastically.

"At least I have one!" Paul shot back. "And I certainly wouldn't push her down a flight of stairs."

That did it. Chad tackled Paul to the ground and started punching him. "You son of a bitch!"

"Don't talk about my mother that way!" Paul punched Chad back.

"Hey, hey! Break it up!" Two policemen pulled the two men apart.

Rafe came in between them, and gave Chad a disapproving look. "What the hell is the matter with you?! You just got cleared of murder charges and then you go and assault somebody?"

"He started it!" Chad declared.

"Oh, that's mature." Paul rolled his eyes.

"I don't care who started it. I'll finish it." Rafe replied. "Now…either press charges against each other, or walk away."

"I'm not even gonna bother. From what I've heard, DiMeras don't stay in jail too long." Paul said.

Rafe turned to Chad. "What about you?"

Chad exhaled sharply. "I'm the one who attacked first, so, pressing charges would be kind of pointless." He walked off.

"Man, what a jerk. Is he always like that?" Paul asked.

"Yep." Rafe replied.

XXX

Will walked into his apartment where Sonny was just finishing up feeding Ari. "Hey!"

"Hey." Will greeted.

"I'm just gonna put this little girl down for a nap." Sonny replied. He took off Ari's bib, pulled her out of her high chair, and carried her to her room. He stopped at the door when he noticed his husband's expression. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah. I'm fine." Will smiled and nodded. "Go ahead and put her down."

Sonny nodded and headed into Ari's room. When he came back to the living room, Will was sitting on the couch with his head in his hands. He sat down. "Hey…what's wrong?"

Will sighed and leaned back. "Just fighting the urge to lie to you again."

"About what?" Sonny asked, perplexed.

"Remember that text that Paul sent you?" Will asked. Sonny nodded. "It wasn't Paul who sent it. Paul gave Chad a ride to Abigail's apartment last week and he used Paul's phone, since Paul was driving. Chad sent that text, not Paul."

Sonny scoffed and shook his head slowly. "Okay, why would he do that?"

"He said it was to help us out." Will explained. "He figured Paul would no longer be a problem. Paul knows, by the way. He overheard us talking."

"I'm guessing he wasn't happy." Sonny said.

"I seriously thought he was going to kill Chad." Will nodded.

"Good thing he didn't." Sonny raised an eyebrow. "He'd be in jail. Or worse. Anyway, um…I need to talk to you about something."

"Okay."

"I've been away from work for quite a while now. I really need to get back." Sonny said.

Will tried to hide his disappointment. "Oh. Okay."

"So, I've made plans…for us both to go to Paris." Sonny revealed, smiling.

Will did a double-take. "What?"

"I made a huge mistake in not going to LA with you last year, and not taking you with me when I left for Paris last August." Sonny explained. "I would really love it if you would go with me this time. We can work on our marriage, and they have specialists there that can help you with your therapy and treatment…"

Will shut him up by grabbing his face and pulling him into a passionate kiss. "You had me at 'Paris'."

Sonny chuckled. "Of course, we'll call Ari every day."

"And send her pictures." Will nodded. "Oh- one more thing, we absolutely, bold, all-caps, and underlined; have to go to the Bicentennial next month. I have been looking forward to it since it was announced, and I do not want to miss it."

"I know. Which is why I scheduled a return flight on the seventh at nine pm Paris time." Sonny grinned.

"Ah!" Will tried not to exclaim too loud as he tackle hugged his husband. "Oh, you're the best husband ever!"

"Don't you forget it." Sonny chuckled.

"So, when do we leave?" Will asked.

"We can leave whenever." Sonny shrugged. "The Titan Jet's all ready to go."

"Okay, well, I need to let Dr. Jonas and my dad and grandmas know, and I need to pack and exchange currency, and say good-bye to Ari…" Will went off.

Sonny grabbed Will's hands gently. "Hey, hey. I'll pack and exchange your money. You go let everyone know. I'll also talk to Uncle Vic to see if he knows anyone in Paris who specialize in therapy."

Will smiled and nodded. "You know, I think this is exactly what we need now. After everything…"

"I agree." Sonny nodded.

XX

Daniel gave Will the okay to travel. He headed to the Pub to tell his great-grandmother about his plans. Caroline encouraged him to go and wished him the best. He saw Marlena sitting at a table and headed over.

"Hey, Grandma."

"Oh, hi!" Marlena grinned as Will sat down. "You seem happy."

"That's because I am." Will grinned. "Sonny and I are going to Paris to work on our marriage."

"Oh, really?" Marlena was surprised, but happy.

"Yeah. Dr. Jonas gave me the okay to travel." Will replied.

"I'm so glad. This will be good for you." Marlena said. "Your Aunt Carrie and Uncle Austin did the same thing a few years ago, and it worked wonders for them to get away from all the drama."

"I'm glad." Will nodded. "Hopefully, we can take a day and visit them and Anna."

"Your mom is there, too, right?" Marlena added.

Will flashed back to Sami telling him she was heading to Switzerland to gather evidence left by EJ and for him not to tell anyone. "Yeah…" His phone rang. 'Oh, thank god!' "Oh. It's Johnny. Hey, little brother."

"Hey, Will!" Johnny greeted over the phone. "Have you heard from Mom lately? She hasn't called in a few days."

"Um, yeah, actually. She called me earlier, but she said her phone was dying." Will cleared his throat. "She misses you guys, though."

"Oh." Johnny sighed.

"But, hey, you know what? Sonny and I are going to Paris, and we might stop by to visit Aunt Carrie and Uncle Austin." Will said optimistically. "Maybe we'll run into Mom and I'll tell her to call you guys."

"Okay." Johnny said, unconvinced.

Will sighed inwardly. He could practically feel the abandonment settling in. "Tell you what: to give you guys something to look forward to, I will send you something from Paris you're really gonna love."

"Okay. Sounds good." Johnny said, a little happier. "Have fun."

"You, too. Say hi to the girls for me." Will sighed and hung up.

"So, did your mom really call earlier?" Marlena asked, raising an eyebrow.

"No." Will sighed and leaned back. "In fact, I haven't heard from her since she left." He closed his eyes for a minute, half-hoping for a psychic vision of her, but, none came.

"I thought she was visiting Carrie and Austin?" Marlena asked.

"She's not." Will admitted. "Look, it's a long story, but…hopefully it'll all make sense soon."

"Well, where is she?" Marlena asked.

"I promised her I wouldn't tell." Will said. "I'm sorry, but, I have to go. I need to extend my leave of absence with Zoe." He stood up and hugged Marlena. "Bye, Grandma."

Marlena stared after her grandson. Clearly there was something he wasn't telling her.

XX

Will exhaled slowly as he walked through the square. He saw Victor turned around. "Oh, Will. I just got off the phone with Sonny. The therapist is all set up."

"Oh. Great. Thanks." Will smiled.

"What's this about a therapist?" They turned to see Kate walking towards them.

"Sonny and I are gonna go to Paris for a few weeks to work on our marriage." Will explained. "Victor has a therapist over there to work with me on my treatment."

"Oh, really? And what do we know about this therapist?" Kate asked, distrustfully.

"Well, he's not from a family of drug lords and serial killers, that's for sure." Victor cracked, chuckling.

Will couldn't help it. He chuckled, and Kate shot him a look. He composed himself and glared at Victor. "How dare you?"

Victor just shook his head. "Don't cheat on Sonny this time." He walked off.

Kate turned to Will. "I'll give you a thousand dollars to steal his silver at the Christmas party."

"No way! Sonny will divorce me!" Will exclaimed. He sighed. "We also might visit Aunt Carrie and Uncle Austin."

"Send me a picture." Kate requested.

"I will." Will promised.

XXX

Gabi walked into the apartment where Sonny was packing two suitcases. "Hey. Going somewhere?"

"Yeah. Will and I are going to Paris for a few weeks to work on us." Sonny replied.

"Oh. Okay, great!" Gabi smiled and laughed. She hugged him. "I'm so happy for you guys. Finally, things are returning back to normal, right?"

"Hopefully." Sonny replied. "We'll be back in time for the Bicentennial."

"Good." Gabi said.

"I just have to exchange some money for Will."

"Oh. Okay. I'll watch Ari." Gabi replied.

XX

Sonny walked through the park, and almost ran into Paul. "You know, we need to stop meeting like this."

"You sound like we're having an affair." Paul commented.

Sonny noticed Paul's swollen eye. "What happened to you?"

"Chad." Paul said simply. "Why are you friends with that douchebag?"

"Because, he may have some flaws, but, he really is a good guy deep down." Sonny explained. Paul scoffed lightly and shook his head. "Anyway, it's his brother Andre you really need to worry about. He holds extreme resentment to your dad, so…stay very far away."

"Thank you for the warning." Paul folded his arms.

"Also, I'm sorry I doubted you." Sonny said sincerely. "Will told me that Chad was the one who sent that text message."

"Will actually told you that?" Paul raised an eyebrow in surprise.

"Paul, come on." Sonny sighed in irritation.

"Hey, you can't blame me for being surprised." Paul said. "All he's done in the last year is lie."

"Paul, he really does feel bad about giving you a hard time." Sonny insisted.

"Hell! He gave me hell, Sonny!" Paul thundered. "Not only that, he gave my mother hell for no reason!"

"I know." Sonny held his hands up to calm him. "He and I are going to Paris for a few weeks to work on our marriage."

"Great. Fine. Good luck with that." Paul replied. "You know what? I give up. Clearly, you're not attracted to faithful, truthful, and honorable men. I guess I will have to accept that."

Sonny just stared after Paul as he stormed off. "What…just happened here…?"

XXX

Will approached Paul's apartment holding chocolates molded into baseballs and knocked. Paul answered, took one look at Will, then started to slam the door, but Will caught it. "Paul, please, just give me one minute."

"I have nothing to say to you." Paul spat at him.

"I wanted to apologize." Will said sincerely. "I was awful to you. I have no excuse. Please accept this as a peace offering."

Paul nodded, smiled humorlessly, and took the chocolates. "You know what? You can take your fake apology and peace offering and shove it up your ass."

"Paul…"

"I don't want to hear it!" Paul almost shouted. "And you know what? You can tell that nosy boss of yours to go to hell for introducing me to you in the first place. It's caused me nothing but misery."

Will sighed and nodded. He put his hand on the doorknob. "You know…your stepmother is also my grandmother. Like it or not, we're family. You don't give up on that."

"You're nothing to me." Paul said, and instantly felt guilty.

Will just shook his head and left. He sighed. "Well, Sonny, I did apologize. Clearly, he's not as forgiving as you thought…"

XXX

Jordan stood at Ben's jail cell. Ben sat still on his bed, looking down. "You lied to me…you killed two innocent women…you tried to kill several others…and you tried to send an innocent man to jail for something he didn't do. I need to know why. I need you to tell me Clyde brainwashed you…that he forced you or threatened you. I need you to tell me you didn't know what you were doing. Tell me, please. Because I need a reason."

Rafe entered the room. "He has no reason, Jordan."

Jordan swallowed back tears and held onto the bars of the cell. "I can't accept that."

"I didn't either." Rafe walked towards her, shaking his head. "Until I saw him try to choke the life out of my sister. Come on. Let's talk."

Jordan let Rafe lead her to his office. "Everything that's happened in the last few months is all my fault."

"No, it's not. There's no way you could have predicted this." Rafe said, sitting down. "Does it explain strange behaviors, though? I mean, you knew him."

"I thought I did." Jordan said. "And, no. That's the problem. I didn't see the signs, and I should have. Now, because of me, two women are dead. I could have stopped it. I could have stopped it."

"Hey…I never would have recovered from that coma so quickly if it weren't for you." Rafe said. "Now that both your stepfather and brother are in jail, all you can do is move on."

"Not exactly. There's something I should have told you from the beginning…" Jordan said.


	10. Paris

Will gasped in awe at the interior of the Titan jet. It was spacious with four airplane seats, a table with four chairs, a couch, and even a bed! "Whoa…so this is what a private jet looks like…"

Sonny chuckled and gave their luggage to the pilot. "Yep. There's also precooked meals we can heat up, and a small library of movies we can watch. Oh…and I haven't shown you the best part." Sonny grabbed Will's arm and lead him to the bathroom.

"Oh my god, you have a shower!" Will exclaimed.

"Have you never been on a private jet before? I would have thought the DiMeras would have one." Sonny shrugged.

Will shook his head. "Well, they do, but I've never been on it. I just flew first class on commercial flights."

"Oh." Sonny nodded.

XX

After the plane took off, Will and Sonny settled into bed. Will lay on Sonny's chest, while Sonny played with Will's hair.

"What do you want to see in Paris?" Sonny asked.

"Mm, well…I've always wanted to visit the Louvre." Will replied. "The Arc de Triomphe, the Eiffel Tower, Champs-Elysees, Grand Palais… I also promised Grandma Caroline that we'd visit Notre Dame."

"We'll definitely do that, then." Sonny replied. "We can also check out things to show Ari like the puppet theater…"

"Disneyland Paris…" Will added

"…Luxembourg Gardens…" Sonny sighed. "I could spend all day there."

Will chuckled. "So…were you ever…you know…tempted?"

Sonny chuckled. That was random. "Honestly? No. Most of the guys there are really not that attractive. I'm more partial to Irishmen."

"Irishmen, huh?" Will smiled. "Do you see a lot of those in Paris?"

"Mm-hm. And you are the most attractive Irishman in existence." Sonny replied, caressing his cheek.

Will blushed. "Good answer. You are the most attractive Greek man in existence."

Sonny sighed in content. "Those French gay men are gonna be jealous of the both of us."

"No kidding." Will chuckled. "So, how do you say 'I'm married' in French?"

"Je suis marie." Sonny replied. "'Mon homme' is 'my husband'. 'Ma fille' is 'my daughter'."

"Je suis marie, mon homme, ma fille." Will repeated. "I'll try to remember that."

Sonny held Will close, and kissed his cheek. "Bonne nuit, mon amor."

XXX

Will could barely contain his excitement. He and Sonny headed to the parking garage at the airport after landing. Sonny had paid to keep his car in the garage until he returned. On the way to the apartment, Sonny pointed out his favorite spots to hang out and the clubs he was managing.

Sonny's studio apartment was large with green walls and brown baseboards. The carpet was a light, beige color and covered every area except for the kitchen/dining area and bathroom. which were covered in light brown tiles. Pictures hung all around the walls.

Will whistled. "Love what you've done to the place."

"Thanks!" Sonny put the two suitcases on the bed.

"It's so…Sonny." Will smiled.

Sonny laughed. "Well, I, uh…didn't really want anything that reminded me of home, so, this fit the bill."

"Oh." Will nodded and walked over to the large living room window. He pulled away the curtains. "Whoa! You can see the Eiffel Tower from here! And Notre Dame!"

"Yeah. I like to sit on the couch and just stare out the window all evening to think." Sonny replied as he made room in his closet for Will's clothes.

"What do you think about?" Will asked as he walked towards the bed.

"Ari, mostly." Sonny replied. "Other times I just try to sort out my feelings."

"Are they sorted?" Will asked, curious.

"Yeah, pretty much." Sonny said honestly. "I honestly do forgive you for everything."

Will swallowed and nodded. He sat down on the bed. "I'm just wondering, though…why me and not Paul?"

Sonny sighed quietly. "Honestly? Because you have your feelings straight, you want to settle down and he doesn't. Also, you're a lot more fun to be around when you're not scheming."

Will chuckled. "I really need to work on that. I, um…I realize that all that lying, scheming, blackmailing, and manipulating ruined and almost cost me my life."

Sonny stepped forward and kissed the top of Will's head. "Admitting your mistakes is the first step to begin healing. I'm proud of you. I love you, and I do believe we can go back to being a happy, functional family with Ari. And Gabi."

"I hope so. I just wanna put the past behind us. We pretty much know how our marriage went to hell, right?" Will shrugged.

"Right." Sonny nodded. "Now…are we really just gonna sit on our asses instead of exploring the greatest city in Western Europe?"

"No." Will shot up. "Let's go!"

XXX

The first thing they did was go to the Arc de Triomphe. Then they went window-shopping down Champs-Elysees, eating crepes. They bought souvenirs for Ari and designer clothes for Gabi and Abigail for Christmas. Then they headed to Notre Dame. Sonny took several pictures of Will to send to his great-grandmother. They ran into street artists who drew caricatures of Will, Sonny, and Ari. They slowly walked through Luxembourg gardens and relaxed and people-watched on a park bench. Their last stop for the day was the Eiffel Tower.

Will stood at the base of the tower and looked up in awe. "Whoa. That's…really high."

"Higher than the Sears Tower and the Empire State Building." Sonny remarked. "You ready?"

"For-for what?" Will asked, looking at his husband in confusion.

"To climb it!" Sonny exclaimed, smiling. "It's an amazing experience, and you can see the whole city from the top."

Will was getting slightly nervous. "I mean, it's…really, really high."

"Will, this thing is surrounded by metal, and at the observation deck, there's a fence, plus glass to keep people from falling out." Sonny explained. He took Will's hands in his. "It's completely safe. I'll be right here with you every step of the way."

Will took a deep breath. "Promise?"

"I promise." Sonny said. "Now, come on."

Once they got their tickets, they headed to the stairwell. "Oh, God, I can't do this."

Sonny leaned over Will's shoulder. "Yes, you can. I have total faith in you."

"Okay." Will relaxed a little. "Let's do this." They started walking. By the 50th level, Will was getting a little tired and lightheaded. "Please tell me I'm almost there."

"You're not." Replied a passing tourist.

XX

By the 100th level, Will was breathing heavily. "Does the air seem a bit thin to you up here?"

Sonny chuckled. "Honey, trust me- it's not."

XX

When they finally reached the top, Will took a deep breath, and nearly passed out. Sonny steadied him. "Whoa. You okay?"

"Yeah." Will nodded and laughed softly. "Wow. We made it." Sonny grabbed Will's hand and lead him to the window. "Holy…" Will gripped the railing with his free hand. "Wow…hey, I can see your apartment from here!"

Sonny chuckled and hugged his waist. "Our apartment."

XXX

After dinner, the two headed back to their apartment. It was full dark by that time, so they cuddled on the couch, staring out the window. Will chuckled to himself.

"What's so funny?" Sonny asked.

"Just thinking…if Ari were here, we'd have to pry her away from all the pretty lights." Will said. "She would want to stay up all night just looking at them."

Sonny laughed. "Oh, yeah."

"Speaking of which, we need to call her." Will got up to grab his laptop, then sat back down and turned on Skype.

Gabi appeared on the screen. "Hey! Good timing!"

"Hey, Gabi!" Will greeted.

Gabi turned to her daughter and picked her up. "Ari, come here. Say hi to your daddies!"

"Hi, daddies." Ari said. She touched the screen with her hands.

"Hi, sweetheart." Will greeted.

"Hey, how's my favorite girl?" Sonny greeted.

"Guh…" Ari replied.

Gabi chuckled affectionately. "I think she tried to say 'good'."

"That's good." Will nodded. "Ari, I can't wait to take you here to Paris. You will love it."

"Par-eh?"

Will chuckled. "That's right!"

They all talked for at least an hour, then Ari had to be put down for her nap. Sonny stretched and yawned. "I'm getting a little sleepy myself."

"Ditto." Will smiled. "Today was the best day I've had in a long time."

"Mine, too." Sonny agreed.

XXX

Meanwhile, back in Salem, later that evening, Paul sat on his couch wearing a wife beater and sweats. The TV was on, but the former star pitcher wasn't paying attention. He was drowning his Sonny-related sorrows in Sake. He just finished his second bottle and was feeling a little more than tipsy. He couldn't for the life of him figure out why Sonny would want that…that…! He fumed, then relaxed and downed the rest of the bottle. Now mind-numbingly drunk, he reached for his phone, but wasn't paying attention to what number he dialed.

"Heeey, Sonny baby." Paul slurred. "I know it's late…and I know you're taken. And you know what? I don't freaking care. I am still in love with you, and don't tell me you aren't with me. You and I both know that kiss we shared in the hospital waiting room back when I first moved to Salem meant something. I miss having your dick in my anus. It just fit so perfectly unlike your lying, cheating, manipulating, blackmailing, mom-hating, whiny, slut of a husband. I don't know how you can stand him. Having sex with me is like doing a sweaty, sack of potatoes! And you know what? I wish that that serial killer whose name I can't remember right now succeeded in killing that dick. Maybe then, we'd be together! So, I don't care…if you're still shacking up with that crap writer. We are endgame, dammit!" He angrily smashed the bottle against the coffee table. "I hope that bastard gives you AIDs. Then maybe you'll learn your lesson! Narita…out." He hung up, then passed out against the head of the couch, snoring.

XXX

"Flavia, I said I wanted those designs tonight. Not tomorrow, tonight." Kate walked through Town Square, a little irritated. "If you can't do your job, then I will find someone else who can." She hung up, sighed, and sat at a table outside a café. A waitress came over. "Medium drip." The waitress jotted down her order and walked off. Kate got a new message alert and was surprised to see that it was left by Paul. Curiosity got the better of her, and she listened. First, she was amused…then puzzled, then extremely livid. Her eyes fell on an advertisement for a radio station "Alcohol Awareness Week: Please call to share your experiences with the deadly drink, and encourage others to stay sober". Kate grinned mischievously as her brain formed a plan.


	11. Decisions

Paul groaned and rubbed his eyes at the burning sunlight streaming through his window. His head was pounding and his neck was sore. "What happened last night?" He surveyed his surroundings. He saw broken pieces of a bottle of Sake all over the coffee table and his phone on the floor. Did he drunk dial someone last night? He closed his eyes as he tried to remember. Oh- that's right. He drunk dialed Sonny. He groaned in dread and embarrassment. What are the chances of him deleting that voicemail before hearing it or hell, maybe even Will discovering it and deleting it himself without listening to it? He sighed, cleaned up the broken glass, and fixed breakfast. He texted Sonny "Hey, I'm so sorry about that drunk dial last night. I can't even remember what I said. I'm so embarrassed."

A few minutes later, Sonny responded back. "You didn't drunk dial me."

Paul sighed in relief. "Oh. Okay, never mind, then." 'Then who the hell did I drunk-dial?' He turned the radio on for some music, but a talk show came on.

"Greetings to another beautiful fall morning of Alcohol Awareness Week!" The announcer chirped. Paul laughed ironically. "We have a special guest here with us today. Up and coming powerful businesswoman Kate Roberts! Welcome, Kate."

Paul rolled his eyes and checked his call history. His eyes widened in horror as he realized Kate was his last call.

"…can destroy a family. Thank god for Alcoholics Anonymous. I know there are also other ways alcohol can ruin your life. Why, just last night, I received a very disturbing voicemail from a drunk Paul Narita." Kate said.

Paul's stomach dropped and an overwhelming sense of dread washed over him. 'Bitch, don't you dare.'

"Heeeey, Sonny baby." Paul's voice came on the radio. Paul could do nothing but stare in horror and humiliation.

"Wow. If that doesn't turn me away from alcohol, I don't know what will." The hostess said when the voicemail finished.

XX

Brady walked down the hallway towards Paul's apartment. He stopped short when he heard a bloodcurdling scream of mixed agony and fury. Brady burst into the apartment in time to see his brother tearing out his radio and smashing it against the counter.

"DAMN YOU, KATE! DAMN YOU!" Paul screamed.

Brady rushed forward and grabbed Paul's shoulders. "Paul, hey, hey, hey. Calm down."

Paul collapsed against Brady's shoulders and hugged him, sobbing. "I've never been so humiliated."

"I know. It's okay." Brady rubbed Paul's back. "It'll be okay." Paul pulled away and sank to the floor, collecting himself. Brady's phone rang. "It's Dad." Paul groaned in dread and threw his head back.

"Hey, Kid, have you heard from your brother this morning?" John asked.

"Yeah, actually, I'm with him now." Brady replied. "Apparently Kate humiliated him."

John exhaled slowly. "Oh, yeah. Paul mistakenly drunk dialed her last night and she broadcast it over the radio!"

Brady was shocked, but not surprised. "What did he say?"

"He insulted and slut-shamed Will and wished the serial killer had succeeded in killing him so that he and Sonny would be together." John replied.

Brady exhaled slowly and shook his head. "Wow. And Kate broadcast it over the radio? Seriously? First she brings a drug lord and serial killer to Salem, then she throws her son under the bus to get her job back, then she publicly humiliates Paul and indirectly Will and Sonny? It's like she wants to be hated!"

"Yeah, I know." John replied. "How's Paul?"

Brady glanced at his brother, who was still on the floor with a far off look in his eye. "Well, when I came in, he was screaming and cursing Kate, then he was crying. He's not, now."

"Let me talk to him."

Brady nodded, sat down next to Paul, and held out his phone. "He wants to talk to you." Paul didn't budge. Brady sighed. "Paul, he's not gonna yell at you, I promise."

Paul looked at Brady, then nodded. "Hey, Dad."

"Hey, son. I'm sorry this happened to you." John said sincerely.

"I'm sorry too." Paul replied. "I'm also sorry I ever drunk dialed anyone to begin with. And…I'm sorry I insulted Will."

"We all make mistakes, son."

Paul swallowed. "Thank you for being understanding and reasonable."

"Of course. Just as long as you don't marry into the DiMera family, we'll get along just fine." John half-joked.

Paul chuckled. "Deal."

They talked for another minute, then hung up. Brady took his phone back. "You know, this isn't the worst thing anyone's ever done, right? Don't beat yourself up too much."

"Thank you." He groaned loudly as he stood up. "And you know what? I'm gonna let that life ruining bitch know that she can't touch me. I'm not gonna let her intimidate me!"

"Good for you!" Brady said encouragingly.

Paul took a deep breath. "Thanks. I'm glad I have a brother."

"Me, too."

XXX

Kate walked into the pub with a triumphant gleam in her eye. She sat at a table facing the door. After the waitress brought her coffee. She took a sip as John stormed in in a fury.

"What the hell's the matter with you?" John demanded.

"Oh, John, what'd you expect?" Kate asked casually. "You should know by now that no one offends my family and gets away with it. You should have taught your son that lesson."

"He was drunk!" John exclaimed, coming to Paul's defense.

"And that's an excuse?" Kate raised an eyebrow.

John's eye started twitching. "You do realize people are gonna figure out that it was Will he was insulting, right? He's coming back in a few weeks for the Bicentennial. He's gonna hear about your little stunt, and it will be a long time before he forgives you, and that's a fact!" He stood up and stormed out.

A few minutes later, Paul walked into the pub, his head held high. He looked around and spotted Kate, who stood up. Paul walked over. "Hello, Kate." People from surrounding tables turned to them, eagerly watching this showdown.

"Paul." Kate greeted.

"You know…I was going to yell at you and threaten to sue you for slander or something, but, then I thought against it." Paul said calmly, almost smiling. "After all, you were just protecting your grandson, right? Making up for the fact that you brought two evil men to Salem who almost killed him and his husband, best friend, and mother of his child? Right? Or maybe you're just a soulless, dishonorable bitch who only cares for herself. You know what else? You don't scare me. I was brought up to respect my elders, but I'll make an exception for you. I hope this whole plan comes back to bite your saggy, old ass."

As Paul turned and stormed away, people cheered him on. Someone called out "Go, Paul!", which made Paul's chest swell with pride. He stood up to Kate Roberts and humiliated her in public. He felt like breaking out into song!

Wham!

Paul felt something hard hit the side of his head, and he fell to the ground, groaning in pain.

"That's for insulting my son, you home wrecking bastard!" Lucas yelled angrily, kicked Paul twice, and stormed off.

Paul groaned again, and slowly stood up, and once again found himself facing Chad. He glared at him. "Don't…say…a word. Not one word!" He stormed off.

Chad laughed and pulled out his phone.

XXX

Will stretched out on the bed. His first day of therapy went pretty well if he said so himself. Sonny had gone to the store to get some things before he had to work the evening shift at La Lune et Les Etoiles. He drifted off to sleep until a vision of his Uncle Bo woke him up. He gasped and sat up. He sighed and rubbed his eyes. 'Uncle Steve, wherever you are, please hurry.' He looked up when the door opened. Sonny walked in with his arms full of grocery bag. There was a bag on the floor he was kicking, too. Will hopped off the bed and rushed over to his husband. "Here, let me help." He took one of the bags from his arms and picked up the bag off the floor.

"Oh, thank you." Sonny said, relieved.

"You're welcome." They put the bags on the counter.

Sonny started putting the groceries away. "So, how was therapy?"

"Not as bad or judgey as I thought it would be." Will shrugged.

"Well, it's not supposed to be." Sonny stated. He held a bag out for Will. "Will you please put these in the fridge?"

"No. It's your kitchen." Will frowned. Sonny glared at him reproachfully. Will broke into a laugh. "Just kidding. I'll do it."

"You're lucky." Sonny said, trying not to smile. Will chuckled. When they were finished putting away groceries, Sonny's phone rang. "Chad! Hey, what's up?"

"Is Will with you? Can you put me on speaker?" Chad asked.

Sonny turned the speaker on and turned to Will. "Chad wants to talk to both of us. Go ahead, Chad."

"So, first of all, Paul tried to drunk dial you last night, but he accidentally drunk dialed Kate." Chad started.

"Ooh, not good." Sonny cringed.

"What did he say?" Will asked, with interest.

"Well, basically that he and Sonny are endgame. He insulted and slut-shamed you and wished Ben had killed you so that he and Sonny could be together." Chad reported.

Will's eyes flashed with anger. "Did he?"

"Chad, how do you know all this?" Sonny asked.

"It's Alcohol Awareness Week at the local radio station." Chad explained. "Kate wanted to get back at Paul for saying those things about Will, so…"

"She broadcast it over the radio?!" Will exclaimed angrily.

"Yep." Chad nodded.

Sonny exhaled slowly. "I can't believe this…"

"I just thought I'd tell you guys so you'd be prepared when you come back to Salem." Chad replied.

"Thank you, Chad." Sonny replied. "We'll see you soon."

"Okay. Au revoir, mes amis." Chad replied.

Sonny hung up. Will turned around, and gripped the edge of the counter, fuming. How could his grandmother do this to him? And Paul! That freaking marriage ruiner! "Will? What are you thinking?"

"I'm thinking that Kate must keep a list of family members and cross off the ones she's screwed over." Will admitted. "Allie and Ari are officially the only ones she hasn't screwed over."

Sonny was about to respond when his phone buzzed again. It was a text message from Chad.

"One more thing: I couldn't say this over the phone, because I wasn't sure if Will knew already. But Paul also mentioned your kiss in the hospital when he first came to Salem. Something about it meaning something."

Sonny exhaled sharply, silently cursing Paul. He texted back. "No, he doesn't know. Thank you for telling me through text. I'll tell Will right now."

"Who are you texting?" Will asked.

"Chad." Sonny replied. He turned around. "I have to tell you something."

"Okay." Will nodded and folded his arms.

"Last year, I delivered a box of cups and plates to the hospital. It was when Paul first came to Salem. He saw and followed me into the waiting room." Sonny took a deep breath. "He surprised me with a kiss…and I let him kiss me."

Will blinked in surprise. "What?!"

"I am so sorry." Sonny said sincerely.

"You had the audacity to get mad and stay mad at me for cheating, even though you pretty much did the same thing?!" Will exclaimed angrily.

"Oh, you know what, that is nowhere near the same thing!" Sonny argued.

"Paul didn't mean anything to me after we…" Will sighed and shook his head. "Did he mean anything to you?"

"No." Sonny said honestly. "Honestly, that was part of the reason I didn't divorce you when I found out."

"Because you didn't want to be seen as a hypocrite, right?" Will asked.

"Will you stop putting words in my mouth?" Sonny snapped. "I'm trying to explain myself here, but you apparently don't want to hear it!"

"Because I already know: you have been in love with Paul the second you found out he was in Salem!" Will accused him.

"I told you it was a surprise kiss! If I saw him before he kissed me, I wouldn't have kissed him!" Sonny exclaimed. He sighed in frustration. "I cannot take one more second of your obsessive paranoia when it comes to Paul. I chose you. I married you! I love you. Why can't you just accept it for what it is?!"

"I don't know!" Will threw up his hands and turned around, sighing.

Sonny sighed inwardly. "I'm going to work. We'll finish this conversation tomorrow."

Will swallowed and nodded. He couldn't believe they were in Paris for less than a week, and already they were fighting! He took a deep breath and called Kate.

"Hello, Will! How's Paris?" Kate answered cheerfully.

"How could you humiliate me and Sonny like that?!" Will demanded angrily.

"I'm sorry, I don't know what you're talking about." Kate said nonchalantly.

"Oh, come on. You really thought I wouldn't find out?" Will asked. "Paul accidentally drunk dialed you last night and you broadcast it over the radio station!"

"He insulted you and wished you were dead." Kate explained.

"So the only way you can think of to get back at him was to hurt me and Sonny, too?" Will asked. "Or did you just not care?"

"Oh, you and Sonny will be just fine." Kate replied. "Besides, I thought you'd be happy that Paul is finally paying for ruining your marriage?"

Will gave an exasperated sigh. "Not if it caused problems between me and Sonny."

"Hey, if the events of the past year haven't caused a divorce between you two, I guarantee nothing will." Kate said.

Will closed his eyes and sighed inwardly. She has a point there. "You're right."

"'Course I'm right. I'm your grandma." Kate smirked. "Also, I'm sorry you were hurt by that little stunt I pulled. If it makes you feel better, Paul humiliated me back."

"How?" Will raised an eyebrow.

"By throwing me bringing Clyde to Salem in my face." Kate shrugged.

"You didn't know." Will replied calmly.

Kate nodded. "How did you find out about that radio broadcast anyway?"

"Chad." Will said simply.

Kate scoffed as Chad walked into the club. "Chad told you?!" Chad's eyes widened, and he spun his heel and left, but not before Kate noticed him.

"It was a good thing he did." Will replied. "Imagine if we came to Salem and found out the hard way."

"Still…" Kate shook her head. "Well, at least Paul's out of your life."

"The thing is…I don't think he will be." Will sat on the couch. "He's my grandma Marlena's stepson. That makes Paul my stepuncle. Whether I like it or not, he's family."

Kate exhaled slowly. "You know, sometimes you're too nice for your own good."

Will chuckled. "Well, I'm not gonna call him Uncle Paul anytime soon, but…"

"Okay, well…just as long as you are happy and that you and Sonny have a long, happy marriage." Kate replied.

Shivers ran through Will's body and he sighed sadly. He remembered Sonny getting stabbed and his own brush with death. "I can't believe that almost didn't happen. And it's mostly my fault."

"But it did happen. Don't beat yourself up." Kate said. "You're both alive and you're back together. That's what's important."

"Yeah." Will nodded. "It is."

XX

Sonny kept himself busy at the club. He barely had three seconds to think about that fight with Will. How could he think that after everything, he still would choose Paul over him?

After throwing away empty bottles, Sonny headed to the storage room to get a box of napkins. He grabbed a ladder and climbed to get the box from the top shelf. The ladder gave way, and both Sonny and the box tumbled towards the ground. Sonny felt someone catch him under his armpits before he hit the ground.

"Whoa! Glad I caught you." Will said.

Sonny chuckled at his pun. "Thanks. What are you doing here?"

"Well, I love you, and we've been through too much to let something so minor get in between us." Will replied.

Sonny smiled and nodded in agreement. "I agree."

"Sonny, for the past four years, you have done so much for me. Things that I will be forever grateful for." Will said. "I would be a complete and total moron not to realize that you love me with all your heart and soul."

"I do." Sonny confirmed.

"I know." Will cupped Sonny's face in his hands. "I love you, too." They kissed.

"Let's get out of here before someone accidentally shuts us in." Sonny suggested.

"Yeah." Will chuckled. Sonny grabbed the box, and they went out into the club.

"Are you okay to hang out?" Sonny asked.

"Yeah. I've got my phone and I can you know, meet people." Will shrugged.

"Okay." Sonny walked off.

Will ordered a drink and nuts and sat on one of the leather lounge chairs and watched his husband at work. He looked so happy and at-home working here. After a few hours, things were starting to wind down. Sonny walked over to Will, sat on his lap, and hugged and kissed him. "Hey."

"Hey."

"How you holding up, here?" Sonny asked.

"Mmm. I'm getting a little tired, actually." Will replied.

"Too tired to dance?" Sonny grinned as the song "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" by Roberta Flack started playing. Will grinned, stood up, and took Sonny's hands in his. He let him lead him to the floor, and put his arms around Sonny's shoulders. Sonny wrapped his arms around Will's waist and held him close. Then, Will pulled away, and Sonny twirled and dipped him.

When they got home to their apartment, they still danced a little. Sonny grinned and shoved Will down on the bed. Will grinned and pulled Sonny down on top of him, and they made love.

"We really need to have more nights like this." Will murmured in Sonny's ear as they lay next to each other.

"I wholeheartedly agree." Sonny snuggled against Will's chest.

"You seemed pretty happy tonight working." Will hugged Sonny's head and started running his fingers through his hair.

"I was. I was doing what I love." Sonny laughed softly. "But…it's just not the same as it is in Salem."

"What are you saying?"

Sonny turned around and leaned on his elbows to face Will. "I'm saying I want to return to Salem. For good."

"What about the clubs here?" Will asked.

"I'll find replacement managers to handle the clubs here." Sonny replied. "I'll return to Club TBD. Besides…I miss you and Ari too much to work out of the country."

Will laughed and kissed Sonny on the lips. "We miss you, too. But, are you sure this is what you want?"

Sonny looked Will dead in the eye. "I'm 110% sure. We'll come back to Paris for our anniversary or something."

"Deal." Will replied, smiling.

XXX

In a prison cell in Statesville in Salem, a guard walked along the cell block. He stopped when he reached Ben Weston's cell. Weston looked a little too stiff, so he went to check it out. When he leaned in close, Ben jumped up, knocked the guard out, stole his gun and keycard, and ran from the prison, narrowly evading guards.

The warden noticed and called the Salem PD.

"Ben Weston has escaped from prison!"


	12. Return To Salem

"I don't understand how this could have happened."

Rafe and Gabi were in Gabi's and Will and Sonny's apartment. Rafe just delivered the news that Ben escaped from prison.

"He's smart. He must have planned this breakout." Rafe nodded solemnly.

Gabi shuddered as she remembered that awful sight of Ben holding a broken bottle over Sonny, Will unconscious with a red necktie near him, then Ben trying to strangle her. "Rafe…you don't think he'll come after all of us for revenge, do you?"

"That's not gonna happen." Rafe frowned in determination. "I won't let it."

Gabi nodded. "Have you called Will or Sonny?"

"Hope left messages, but they haven't responded." Rafe replied.

Gabi started to panic. "Oh my God. What if he got to them?"

"Hey, hey, you don't know that." Rafe said, trying to calm his sister down. "Look, I think you and Ari should move in with me. At least until Ben is neutralized."

Gabi swallowed and nodded in agreement. "That's a good idea. Also, Sonny and Will when they get back for the Bicentennial." Rafe sighed, a little hesitant. Gabi noticed. "Rafe, Ari almost lost both her dads this year- Sonny twice. I don't want to take any chances of them getting hurt again."

Rafe exhaled slowly. "It's just…with all their marital problems…"

"They worked them out. Paris did them wonders." Gabi assured him. "They looked extremely happy during our last Skype session. They were not faking it, I could tell."

"And what if they are? Seriously, Gabi, if they end up divorced, it could seriously ruin Ari's world." Rafe said.

Gabi scoffed. "Better divorced than dead."

Rafe sighed in defeat. "Okay, fine. You have a point there."

XXX

Lucas leaned against his car. He was at the airport picking Will and Sonny up. He stood up straight as he saw the two exit the airport. "Will, Sonny!"

"Hey, Dad!" Will hugged Lucas, who hugged back. "Oh, thanks for picking us up."

"Don't mention it, man." Lucas replied. "Welcome back."

"Good to be back." Will smiled. He and Sonny put their luggage in the trunk.

"Have you checked your phone for messages lately?" Lucas asked.

"No. Why?" Will asked.

"Ben escaped from prison." Lucas revealed.

Will's heart started to pound. He gasped quietly and had flashbacks of Ben attacking him. He stumbled against the curb and tripped. Both Lucas and Sonny caught him before he hit the ground.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa." Lucas sighed. "Let's get him in the car."

Sonny helped Will into the passenger seat. "Will…it's going to be okay."

"He's gonna come after us for revenge." Will said worriedly.

"Hey, hey. I won't let anything happen to you and Ari." Sonny lifted Will's chin to turn his face towards him. "We can ask Rafe to station someone at our apartment."

Will swallowed and nodded. "Okay."

"Okay." Sonny kissed the top of Will's head, shut his door, then climbed into the backseat of the car.

Will sighed and leaned back. He had a vision of Sami being followed and exhaled sharply. He pulled out his phone to text her, but already received a message:

"I got the package from Zurich, but I'm being followed. On my way home now."

Will sighed again and put his phone back in his pocket. Lucas noticed and glanced at him. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing. Just got a text from Mom." Will replied.

"What'd she say?" Lucas wondered.

"You're better off not knowing." Will said simply.

Lucas paused. "Yeah, you're probably right."

XXX

Will and Sonny entered their apartment and was greeted with a tackle hug from Gabi. "Oh, thank God! You didn't respond to any of my messages. I was worried!"

"Sorry. We wanted to surprise you." Will said.

"It's okay. Did you hear about Ben?" Gabi asked.

"Yeah."

"Rafe suggested we all move in with him just to be safer." Gabi said.

Will and Sonny looked at each other and nodded. "Yeah, that sounds like a good plan."

"Great! Rafe is renting a U-haul for all our stuff." Gabi said. "I'm packing Ari's things."

"Okay. We'll help." Sonny replied.

"Actually, I'm just gonna meet you guys there." Will said. "There's something I have to tell Grandma Marlena and John. It's urgent."

"What's wrong?" Sonny asked. "Does this have to do with your mom's text?"

"Yes." Will nodded.

"Okay. Sounds serious." Sonny replied.

"It is. But first…" Will turned to Gabi. "Is Ari awake?"

"DADDY!" Ari came bounding from her room, beaming.

Will knelt down to pick her up and hug her. "Hey! There's my baby girl! Oh, I missed you! Did you miss me?"

"Yeah." Ari said.

"Did you miss me?" Sonny asked teasingly.

"Dada!" Ari exclaimed. Sonny hugged Ari.

"Oh, I missed you, too!" Sonny exclaimed. "Guess what? Dada and Daddy both brought home toys for you."

"Sonny, we talked about this!" Will exclaimed, a little irritated. "We're waiting until Christmas to give her her souvenirs."

"What, I can't tell her?" Sonny asked, surprised.

"No, 'cause now she'll want them now." Will sighed and shook his head.

"Toy now!" Ari demanded.

Will gestured to Ari. "See?"

Sonny laughed softly and turned to his daughter. "Tell you what? I'll give you a toy once we get to your Uncle Rafe's house. How's that?"

"Toy now!" Ari demanded again.

Gabi chuckled and relieved Ari from Sonny. "Better get that toy, Sonny."

Will laughed and slapped Sonny's shoulder. He leaned down to Ari. "Sweetie, Daddy needs to go run somewhere. I'll see you at Uncle Rafe's house."

"Unca Wafe!" Ari exclaimed.

Will, Sonny, and Gabi chuckled.

XXX

Will knocked on the door of John and Marlena's townhouse. Marlena answered, and exclaimed in surprise when she saw Will. They hugged. "Oh, welcome back!"

"Thank you. And I'm back for good. So is Sonny." Will announced.

"That's wonderful." Marlena replied.

"Anyway, the reason I came here is because my mom may be in trouble." Will admitted.

"What do you mean?" Marlena asked. Will showed Marlena the text message. "'I picked up the package in Switzerland. I'm being followed, I'm heading home.' You know, she told me she was going to do that, right after Andre's not so triumphant return, but it sounded so crazy, I didn't think that she would."

"Grandma, she was dead serious." Will said.

"I guess you would know why." Marlena replied, noticing her grandson's expression. "Did she tell you what was going on?"

Will nodded. "Yes."

Marlena was appalled. "Will!"

"Grandma, she didn't want to say anything." Will said. "But now it's obviously much more-it's dangerous, so we can't leave her there alone."

"You want me to go get her?" John asked.

Will shrugged. "It sounded like she was already back from Zurich on her way here."

"Text said Switzerland. Why are you saying Zurich?" John asked.

Will shook his head. "No, EJ sent her there."

"EJ?" Marlena asked, puzzled.

"EJ, he sent her a letter in the mail that you gave her." Will explained.

"No, that's not possible." Marlena shook her head in disbelief.

"Well, apparently, he wrote a letter and gave it to his lawyer to be delivered in the event of his death." Will said.

"Letter from the grave? Sounds like a set-up." John pointed out.

Will pointed at John. "That's what I thought too, but my mom swore that only EJ would know the things that were mentioned in that letter."

Marlena sighed and ducked her head. "Ohh. She must have been overwrought. Why didn't she call me?"

John shook his head. "Not coming to you, Doc, not about EJ."

"Grandma, she didn't even want to say anything to me. She said she would've gone to Grandma Caroline if things would have been better." Will pointed out.

"So, how did she end up telling you?" Marlena wanted to know.

'Because I'm psychic. Seriously.' Will thought. He sighed. "You wouldn't believe me."

"Try me." Marlena said.

"Well…it all started when I was in the hospital. I had just taken that new medication for my seizures. I had this vivid dream of my mom slipping on a brownie, trying to attack Andre." Will explained. "She later told me that that really happened. She figured since I'm having visions, I'd see that she or one of the kids might be in danger, and I'd tell her right away."

John exhaled sharply. "Wow, that's some medication."

"Okay…I'll bite." Marlena sighed. "Why'd the letter send her to Switzerland?"

"Well, apparently, EJ, he had ammunition to get even with his father, in a safe deposit box in Zurich, so she went there." Will explained.

"Why didn't you stop her?" Marlena exclaimed.

"We're talking about Sami. Once she's set her mind on something, there's no getting her off it." Will shook his head. "I assume that she's got evidence that proves that Stefano killed her husband, and now she's just trying to make him pay."

John turned to his wife. "And you'd have been right there with her, Doc."

Will nodded in agreement. "That's true. Grandma, you've been trying to get revenge on Stefano for decades."

Marlena shook her head in dismay, and started walking towards the fireplace. "Like mother, like daughter. You know, I always wanted to have more in common with Sami, I just never thought it would be wanting revenge against Stefano."

"Can't blame her, Doc." John shrugged.

"No. But I have learned that nothing ever comes of it. And she has children who need her." Marlena pointed out.

"Well, she's on a mission, no matter what we think." Will replied. He noticed a suitcase. "You going somewhere?"

"Uh, no, no, I'm not. John is." Marlena replied. She picked up the suitcase, walked it over to John, and dropped it to the floor. "Shouldn't you be heading to the airport?"

John sighed. "I'll make a few phone calls, see what I can find out about Sami. So long, Will."

"Yeah, be careful." Will said to John. Marlena hugged Joh, crying softly. John moved to caress her cheek, but Marlena pulled away. John left without another word. "ISA business?"

Marlena cleared her throat and nodded. "Yes, of course."

"You didn't say anything about being alone right now." Will noted.

Marlena shrugged. "I didn't know. He just walked in with a bag packed."

"I'm sorry."

Marlena sat down. "You know, it was always what I was afraid of. He would just seem to disappear without warning. You know, I-I didn't want to take him back... because of that sort of thing happening."

"You don't let anyone talk you into something you don't want to do. Like mother, like daughter." Will smirked. They both laugh.

"You're right. It doesn't mean that I can't worry about him... and Sami." Marlena said.

Will nodded. "I'll let you know if my mom gets in touch with me again."

"Okay. Now, let's talk about you." Marlena said. "You said you were going to Paris to work on your marriage."

"We did." Will nodded and grinned. "Sonny and I are stronger than ever. We're finally happy again."

"Good! That's good. We could use more happiness with all the doom and gloom that's been going on lately." Marlena smiled. She sobered. "I'm assuming you've heard about Kate's little radio broadcast by now?"

"Yep." Will sighed sadly. "I read her the riot act, but I doubt she learned her lesson."

"She never does." Marlena mused. "So, how do you feel about that?"

Will laughed softly. "I knew you were going to ask that. Uh…hurt, angry, betrayed at first. But, then I realized I probably had that coming- what Paul said about me, anyway. I mean, yeah, I made his life a living hell, but, I apologized and tried to make peace. Clearly, he wasn't interested."

"Well, you've done all you could." Marlena shrugged. "Now it's Paul's turn to make the next move."

"I won't hold my breath, but okay." Will replied. "Is he going to be at the gala?"

"No. He left to go visit his mother." Marlena replied.

"Oh. Okay." Will nodded. "I also know that Ben escaped from prison. Gabi, Ari, Sonny, and I are all moving in with Rafe for our own protection. Maybe you can move in with Uncle Eric for a while? Just to be safe?"

"Now, ordering me about- that's unsafe." Marlena joked. "I'll be fine. I'll see you tomorrow at the gala."

"Okay." They hugged. "Bye, Grandma."

XXX

By the next afternoon; Will, Sonny, Gabi, and Ari had all been settled in Rafe's apartment. Sonny took back his job at Club TBD, and Will got his next article assignment. He decided to check out the Martin Mansion. When he got there, he had a vision of Bo and Steve's plane crashing. He exhaled sharply and noticed Caroline's car parked in the driveway and headed inside. She probably had the same vision he did. In the entrance hall, Caroline was surrounded by Victor, Maggie, and Julie; trying to console her.

"I'm telling you, I saw Bo! He looked almost dead." Caroline was saying.

"I'm sure it was just a daydream." Maggie said.

Victor heard someone come in and narrowed his eyes when he saw Will. "The hell are you doing here?"

"Victor!" Maggie chided.

"Oh, Will! I'm a little surprised to see you here." Julie said. "I didn't think you'd show your face after that vulgar radio broadcast."

"Julie…" Maggie said warningly.

Will shrugged. "It's no different than being outed publicly before I was ready. Anyway, I wouldn't miss this gala no matter what."

"Well, you're about three hours early." Victor replied.

"I know. I came looking for my great-grandma." Will said.

"So, where's Sonny? Still in Paris?" Julie asked.

"No, he's here. We're moving back for good." Will replied.

"Excuse me? 'We're' moving back?" Victor asked, confused.

Will instantly felt bad. Didn't Sonny say he was going to talk to Victor…? "You haven't talked to Sonny yet, have you?"

"No, but I will." Victor said, storming out of the mansion.

Maggie sighed and turned to Will. "Sorry about that. Welcome back."

"Thank you, Aunt Maggie." Will replied. "Tell you what, why don't you give me a try with Grandma Caroline. She'll listen to me."

"Well, it's worth a shot, I guess." Julie shrugged. "We'll see you later, darling."

Julie and Maggie walked off, leaving Will with Caroline. Will knelt in front of her. "Hey, Grandma."

"Will, it's so good to see you again." Caroline replied. They hugged.

"It's good to see you, too." Will replied. "I'm guessing you had a vision about Bo and Steve's plane going down?" Caroline nodded. "So did I. I'm sure Uncle Bo is just fine. Uncle Steve is with him, remember? Those two can get through anything."

Caroline took a deep breath. "I hope you're right."

XXX

Victor strolled into TBD looking for Sonny. Sure enough, he was behind the counter signing some papers. Victor sat at the counter and waited until Sonny was done. When Sonny saw him, he jumped about half a mile and clutched his chest. "Geez! Uncle Vic, you scared me!"

"Oh, trust me- I didn't." Victor replied. "What's this about you quitting your job in Paris and moving back here?"

Sonny sighed. "I was going to tell you. I just got sidetracked."

"So, after only three months, you're leaving those clubs?" Victor asked.

"I hired managers to replace me." Sonny replied.

"Okay. Why did you decide to move back?" Victor asked.

"'Cause I miss being away from Ari and Will too much." Sonny admitted. "When I accepted this job, I was running away. That's always been my solution to my problems, and I wanna change that."

"By taking back that lying, cheating, whore of a husband of yours?" Victor raised an eyebrow.

"Okay, first of all: do not talk about my husband that way." Sonny glared at his great-uncle. "Second of all: it's my choice to make. If you don't like it, then…tough."

Victor exhaled slowly. "I just don't want you to get hurt again."

"I won't."

"You say that now…" Victor shrugged.

"Well, you'll just have to wait and see." Sonny replied. "Now…can I get you anything?"

"Brandy with lemon." Victor replied.

"Coming right up."

Victor sighed and looked up in frustration. Why do all of his descendants insist on dating whores?

XXX

Abigail walked downstairs as someone knocked on the door. She froze, thinking it might be Ben. She slowly and quietly walked over to the door and looked out the window. She sighed in relief when she saw that it was Chad. She opened the door to let him in. "Hey."

"Hey. So, I have a bodyguard in mind for you." Chad said.

"Oh, it's okay. Hope put security outside my house, so…I'm sure I'll be fine." Abigail replied. "I do want to talk to you, though."

"Okay."

Abigail took a deep breath. "Since Ben's on the loose, I'm afraid of what he might do if he saw the two of us together. I think we should keep our distance until he's caught again."

"Let him see us together." Chad said. "My dad has someone watching me. If he attacks, it'll be the last thing he does."

"I don't want to take any chances." Abigail replied. "I have to think of my baby. Once Ben is back in jail, I promise we can be together."

Chad let out a heavy sigh. "Okay. I don't think this is really necessary, but…if this is what you want."

"Thank you." Abigail replied. "Will I still see you at the gala?"

"I'd stick out like a sore thumb." Chad admitted.

"No, you wouldn't." Abigail insisted. They were quiet for a minute. "But, if your mind's made up, fine. Um, I'll see you around."

Chad nodded. "Okay. See you."

Abigail sighed after Chad left. It was hard for her to do, but, she wanted them both to be safe.


	13. Bicentennial Night

"Guys, come on! We're gonna be late!" Will stood near the kitchenette all dressed and ready.

Sonny walked out of the bathroom with his hair slicked down. "Do you know how long it took to make my hair like this?"

"Ooh, good point. You get a pass." Will replied. Someone knocked at the door. "That'd be Brianna." He walked over to answer the door.

"Hey!" Brianna greeted.

"Hey. You sure you wouldn't mind watching Ari?" Will asked.

"I'm one thousand percent sure." Brianna replied.

Gabi walked into the living room fully dressed in her gala garb and carrying Ari. "Hey! So, you know the drill: emergency numbers are on the fridge, Ari's already eaten, bedtime at 7:30, and she needs a bath."

"Got it." Brianna nodded. She took Ari. "Hi, sweetheart. Hey."

"Bye, mija. Be good for Brianna." Gabi stroked Ari's hair and kissed her forehead.

Will and Sonny followed suit. "Bye, sweetheart."

XXX

On the way to the mansion, Will had another vision of Bo and Steve's plane crashing. Only this time it was more graphic. He exhaled sharply.

"What's wrong?" Sonny asked, concerned.

"Another Bo and Steve vision." Will replied. "I need to find Grandma Caroline." He climbed out of the car, and they both entered the mansion and ran into Julie. "Julie! Hi. Have you seen my Grandma Caroline?"

"Well, she said she was going to lie down, so I haven't seen her." Julie shrugged.

"Okay, thanks." Will replied. He sighed worriedly as Julie walked off.

Sonny grabbed Will's hand and squeezed it. "Hey, don't worry about Caroline. She's tough. And Bo and Steve? They're too badass to let a plane crash be their downfall."

"Tell that to Grandma Caroline." Will smiled. They headed into the living room where the party was being held, and ran into Marlena and Eric. "Hey, Grandma, Uncle Eric."

Marlena whirled around, smiled and squeezed both Will and Sonny's arms. "Hey, hi! I'm so glad you guys made it! It would have been so strange without you two."

"Yeah. You guys are gonna love this night." Eric added.

"We wouldn't miss it for the world." Will replied. "Oh, Uncle Eric, can you take our picture?"

"Sure!" Eric got his camera ready.

"Let's go over by that fireplace." Sonny pointed. The trio headed over there. Will and Sonny posed and smiled.

Will and Sonny socialized and danced. They noticed JJ and Gabi talking. "Hmm. I don't know how I feel about that."

"Well, at least you know JJ's okay with us gays." Sonny remarked.

Will laughed. "True. Hey…wanna explore the rest of the house?"

"Sure!" They left the room and looked around. It was a little more old-fashioned than the Kiriakis mansion with a bigger kitchen and dining room. They headed upstairs. The house had four levels including the main floor.

"You know, Doug and Julie are going to turn this into a bed and breakfast." Will commented. "I think it's a pretty nice idea."

"It is." Sonny replied. They walked into a bedroom. "Whoa. My room at my Uncle Vic's is smaller than this! Oh my god, is that a fireplace?" Will smiled mischievously, and closed the door quietly behind him. Sonny walked around the large room. There was indeed a fireplace, a large wardrobe, and a bathroom with a jetted tub. He walked out into the bedroom and saw Will sitting on the bed, his jacket hung over a chair. "Uh…Will? What are you doing?"

"What do you think?" Will wiggled his eyebrows suggestively. He stood up, took hold of Sonny's tie, and dragged him to the bed.

"Will, do you really think this is the time or place for that?" Sonny asked.

"Oh, come on." Will unbuttoned his own shirt, and showed his neck in a way that made Sonny almost whimper. Almost. Will sat on Sonny's lap, and stroked his face.

Sonny gave in. "Oh, what the hell?" He lay back and dragged Will on top of him.

XX

"Wow. This house is bigger than I thought."

JJ and Gabi were doing some exploring of their own. They counted twenty bedrooms and three bathrooms. They heard noises behind a door.

"What is that?" Gabi wondered. She opened the door, and both she and JJ gasped when they saw Sonny and Will completely naked. Sonny was mounting Will. "Oh, my God!" She squealed.

JJ groaned. "Okay, I am grossed out, but also impressed! Dudes, seriously, with a party going on downstairs with most of our family?"

"Why not? We're not being too loud." Sonny remarked, covering him and Will up.

"Yeah, they've been so loud-" Gabi turned to JJ.

JJ shuddered and raised his hands up. "I don't wanna know! Also, why am I not surprised to see Will is a bottom?" He laughed as Will glared at him and flung a pillow at his face. JJ threw it back.

Gabi giggled. "Okay, we'll leave you two lovebirds alone."

XXX

About fifteen minutes later, Will and Sonny returned downstairs, fully dressed. They walked downstairs and saw John with Marlena.

"John! I wasn't expecting you here." Will smiled.

"Well, I decided nothing was more important than this lovely woman right here." John replied, putting his arm around Marlena, who smiled.

Marlena noticed a bruise on Will's neck barely showing above his collar. "Ooh. What happened to your neck?"

Will tried not to panic, and subconsciously rubbed it. "I accidentally tripped and fell on a chair."

"Ouch." Marlena said sympathetically. "Be careful."

"I will." Will replied.

"Now…why are we standing out here? The party's inside!" John exclaimed, pulling Marlena into the living room.

Will smacked Sonny's arm. "I told you not to put that hickey there! People are gonna notice!"

"Fine, I'll try to put it in less noticeable spots." Sonny replied apologetically. They walked into the living room.

Caroline burst in and ran over to Roman. "You're not gonna believe this. I just talked to Bo!"

The music stopped playing and everyone turned to stare at her. Caroline told everyone that Bo called her, but, as per usual, they didn't believe her. Caroline sighed in defeat. "Marlena…Dr. Salinas said I might have another episode…"

"And that's okay." Marlena assured her. "Have you had anything to eat today?"

"That's a good idea. Let's get you something to eat!" Julie exclaimed.

Caroline nodded. "That's a good idea. Roman, would you get me a plate? You know what I like."

Will and Sonny turned away from the crowd. "Do you believe her?"

"No." Will shook his head. "I'll go check on her." He walked out into the entrance hall and saw Caroline smirking to herself. "Grandma? Was that back there just for show?"

"Well, not the part about me getting a phone call from Bo." Caroline admitted. "He really did call me. He's coming home. We need to stop this wedding. Or at least stall."

"Do you think he'll make it?" Will asked.

"I hope so." Caroline shrugged. She left without another word.

Sonny walked into the entrance hall. "So…?"

"She was totally faking it." Will answered. "Uncle Bo really is on his way home. Which means, we need to stop this wedding. I was thinking either letting a swarm of mice loose or a bomb threat."

"That's a little extreme." Sonny shook his head.

"Oh, well, I can fake a seizure." Will suggested.

"But you don't have seizures anymore." Sonny pointed out.

"Which is why I'll fake it." Will nodded.

Sonny chuckled. "We'll figure it out. Right now, let's dance one more time."

"Okay, let's!" Will grabbed Sonny's hand and pulled him into the living room. They almost ran into Lucas and Adrienne.

"Hey, you two! Where do you keep running off to?" Adrienne asked.

"We just went to check on Grandma Caroline." Will explained. "She's-she's fine."

"That's good."

"So, are you two back together, or…?" Sonny asked.

"No. No, not officially." Adrienne shook her head. Wanting to change the subject, she cleared her throat. "What about you two? Things going good?"

"Yeah. We're happier than ever." Sonny replied, smiling.

"That's great." Lucas smiled and nodded. They danced away. "Catch you guys later!"

Sonny chuckled and turned to Will. "You know, if my mom and your dad end up married, we would be stepbrothers."

Will laughed softly. "Well, this wouldn't be the first time I did something with my stepfamily. I had a crush on EJ, my stepfather; dated and got my ex-step aunt pregnant; and slept with my step-uncle. May as well go the whole nine and marry my stepbrother."

Sonny laughed aloud. "We're already married."

"I have always wondered what it would be like to have an older brother." Will mused. "Unfortunately, I married my potential future stepbrother, so, now I'll never know."

"Hey, there's always Joseph and Victor." Sonny remarked.

"Ah! Your mysterious older brothers whom I have still yet to meet." Will nodded.

"You'll meet them." Sonny promised.

XXX

It was time for the wedding. Will and Sonny sat near the back. Once Hope made it to the altar, the priest started.

"Stop! You have to stop this!" Caroline yelled as she stood up. Everyone turned to her.

Caroline's little plan worked…for a little while. Kayla took her to the hospital to get checked out. Hope decided to go ahead with the wedding. Everyone sat back down, and the wedding march started up again.

Will turned to Sonny to whisper. "Last chance. Should I fake a seizure?"

"No." Sonny shook his head.

XXX

Later, at the reception, Julie got a call from Marie. "Darlings, I just got a call from Aunt Marie. She sends her congratulations of course. But, she also reminded me that fifty years ago this week, she and Gram were planning her wedding."

"Oh my gosh! Fifty years?" Jenn and Hope exclaimed.

"Isn't that crazy?" Julie asked.

"It is so beyond crazy." Hope replied, giving her sister a side hug.

"How time flies!" Julie exclaimed.

"Wow." Doug breathed.

"Yes, I can't believe it." Hope said.

Julie looked around and smiled at her family. "Look at all you Hortons. So handsome. So proud." Jennifer turned to her children and cupped their chins in her hands, and Lucas and Will smiled at each other. Julie continued. "I would say this occasion calls for a photo, would you?"

"Oh, that's a great idea!" Hope exclaimed.

Julie turned to Eric. "Eric. Eric, would you take our picture?"

Eric nodded as the Hortons all gathered in front of the fireplace. Maggie and Sonny hung back, unsure if they should be in it.

"Maggie, Sonny, I-I don't care how you spell your last names, you will always be Hortons to us." Julie said.

"That's right!" Doug chimed.

"Get over here, darlings." Julie waved them over. Maggie and Sonny smiled and took their places. Will squeezed Sonny's hand.

"Smile, everyone." Eric said. Everyone smiled and Eric snapped a couple photos.

XXX

Later, everyone gathered in the park for fireworks. They talked and ate and drank. Maggie, Adrienne, and Jennifer looked at an album Maggie put together of all the wedding pictures of the couples who got married over the years. Will and Sonny were added to the last page.

"Oh, you included Will and Sonny!" Adrienne exclaimed, pleasantly surprised.

"Of course I did." Maggie replied. "Their wedding was so lovely and simple. Plus, it's one of the few that went off without any drama before, during, or after!"

"Yeah. Talk about legendary: a Horton/Brady and a Kiriakis. Their kids are going to be related to everyone in town!" Jennifer exclaimed.

They all chuckled.

When it was almost time for fireworks, Victor stood in front of the crowd, holding a drink. "Can I have your attention, please?" Everyone turned to Victor. "You know, there's an old Greek tradition that, uh, you share a kiss at midnight at any town celebration to ensure another hundred years of prosperity, at least." Some people laughed. "So…" Victor checked his watch. "Five…four…" Everyone chimed in. "Three…two…one!"

The fireworks went off, and everyone "ooh-ed" and "ahh-ed".

Will turned to his husband. "Did he make that tradition up?"

Sonny chuckled and cupped Will's face in his hands. "Doesn't matter. I'm still gonna kiss you."

Will chuckled, and they kissed. All the couples kissed: John and Marlena, Doug and Julie, Daniel and Nicole, Justin and Eve, Lucas and Adrienne, Maggie and Victor, Brady and Theresa; JJ and Ciara kissed Gabi and Chase on the cheek, and Eric kissed Jennifer. Abigail hung back, feeling left out, almost regretting not inviting Chad. Will and Sonny snuck up on their cousin and kissed her on the cheeks.

Abigail laughed in surprise. "Guys! Thanks."

XXX

Will, Sonny, Rafe, and Gabi headed home soon after. Will had just gotten into his pajamas when his phone rang. He was surprised to see that it was from Sami. "Mom?"

"Good, you're still awake!" Sami exclaimed, almost breathless. "Drop everything and meet me at Grandma's."

"Mom, it's the middle of the night!" Will exclaimed.

"I know, but this can't wait!" Sami replied. "It's EJ. He's alive."

"But that's impossible." Will replied, surprised.

"You know as well as I do, Will, that nothing's impossible when it comes to the DiMeras." Sami said simply. "Now, come on! Move it!"

"Okay, let me get dressed first." Will sighed and hung up.

"What's wrong now?" Sonny asked.

"Story of my life. Every time my mom gets into something, she has to drag me with her." Will replied, changing into pants. "I'll be back."

"Okay. Be careful." Sonny and Will kissed, and Will left with his cell phone, car keys, and wallet.

XXX

After swinging by Starbucks to get a cup of coffee, Will headed to the townhouse. He arrived just as Sami knocked on the door.

"Oh, good! You're here." Sami said. She hugged him. John opened the door to Sami and Will. "Hey! Guess what- oh, good. You're both here. Great! I just came back from Zurich, and you're not gonna believe what I found out about EJ!"

John and Marlena looked a bit taken aback and surprised. They glanced at Will, hoping to get some answers. Will just shrugged and shook his head. John sat on a chair while Marlena, Sami, and Will sat on the couch.

Sami began. "Well, I guess I should start by explaining to you why I went to Switzerland in the first place."

"Well, you got a letter from EJ and he said there was something in the safe deposit box there?" Marlena asked.

Sami nodded. "Yes."

"You know, Samantha, if I had known why you were headed off to Switzerland, I would've-"

Sami interrupted John. "Tried to stop me, I know, but thank god you didn't because when I opened that safe deposit box, EJ had left me everything. Information about Stefano, his passwords, all sorts of account numbers, everything. He didn't give it to me for the money. I mean, I don't care about that. It wasn't for revenge. EJ gave me that information on Stefano so that I could neutralize him, so that I could keep us all safe, all of us, including EJ, because he's alive."

"Oh, Sami, that's impossible." Marlena replied.

"That's what I told her." Will shrugged.

"No, no, it's not. I mean, haven't the DiMeras taught us that nothing is impossible?" Sami asked. "I forgot that when EJ was in my arms and I thought he was dead. I just felt this black wall of pain coming down around me and I stopped thinking clearly, but now I am, and now I have this letter from EJ and I am gonna follow the instructions, and when I get to the end, I am gonna have EJ back."

"Samantha, how'd you come up with this crazy theory?" John asked.

"It's not a crazy theory, John." Sami said, almost pleading. "There were two things in the safe deposit box, the flash drive with all of Stefano's financial information and... a phone, and it had instructions to wait until I got home to turn it on, so I wanted to do it here with you, I thought, in case, you know, I have to go somewhere or I didn't know what it would be."

John nodded. "Mm-hm." He sighed.

Sami turned the phone on, but nothing's happening. "Why do you think nothing's happening? It's not doing anything."

"Usually phones take a minute to turn on." Will supplied.

Marlena was getting concerned. "Sami?"

"I'm not crazy." She looked between her family. "There's more, you know. There's actually a lot more."

John sighed in resignation. "You know, Samantha, we're not gonna be able to help you unless we know everything."

Sami raised an eyebrow. "Will you help me if you do?"

"Okay, well, let's just back it up and why don't you walk us through this from the beginning." John replied.

"Okay, okay, so I got the letter from EJ."

John nodded. "Mm-hmm."

"And it was in his handwriting, and I triple-checked that, John, I really did, and it used phrases, words, that EJ knew would mean something to me, but he slipped up. It wasn't- it wasn't always in the past tense. Some of it at the end is in the present tense and that's my first clue, so followed the instructions, I went to Zurich, and I opened the safe deposit box and-and that's when I got the information about Stefano, you know?" Sami got up and started pacing. "It could disarm him. It could keep us safe. That's the only reason EJ would do this is to keep us safe, and give us a chance to be reunited, so that's what I'm gonna do and it shouldn't be that big a deal, you know? I mean, I've taken money from the old man before. I know I can do it again. And you're wondering why EJ would do it like this. Well, I don't know, but there must be a good reason. So I'm gonna just follow the instructions, you know? I'm gonna follow the plan until I get to the end and I know that that's when I'm gonna get EJ back. He's alive." John, Marlena, and Will looked unconvinced. "Don't look at me like that. EJ is alive, okay, and I have another clue. I have one more clue to show you and when you see it, you will believe it too." She pulled out a flash drive. "Do you have a laptop?" John grabbed his laptop, and Sami plugged it in.

"This is the footage from two days before the postmark of the letter that EJ sent me." She sighed. "This is video of a man going in and putting stuff in my safe deposit box, right there."

"We can't see his face." Marlena pointed out.

"Got a hat, coat, scarf. Averting his face from the camera, obviously knows where that is." John pointed out.

"Yep." Sami said.

"This guy does not want to be ID'd."

"It's EJ." Sami insisted. "I mean, look how tall he is, and his posture. That's how he walked, and that's the side of his neck. That's him, that's my husband."

"Wait, how do you know for sure?" Will jumped in. "I mean, no offense, but, you couldn't tell that the DiMeras kidnapped your husband and replaced him with an imposter, and you've spent time with him. Now you're able to tell that the guy is EJ just from this footage?"

"That was different!" Sami insisted. "Rafe wasn't my soulmate."

"You know, I know you're gonna think I'm coming off as being kinda negative here, but from a professional standpoint, there's nothing to go on. Sorry." John shrugged.

"Okay. I get it. You don't see it. Well, that's fine. I can see it. I believe. Stefano took so much time away from both of you. I'm not gonna let him do the same thing to EJ and me." Sami said.

"Is that what all this is about?" Marlena asked.

Sami nodded. "Yes, EJ is my husband and I love him and I'm gonna fight for him. I'm gonna get him back and I don't have time to have you shrink me about this right now, Mom, okay?"

"No, Sami, Sami, I'm not trying to shrink you. I'm trying to figure out an argument that you will listen to." Marlena assured her.

"There isn't one. I'm gonna do this." Sami sniffed, overwhelmed with the prospect of her husband being alive.

Marlena sighed. "Sami... you've gotta stay away from the DiMeras. Do you want your children to be orphans?"

"No." Sami scoffed. "Of course not, Mom. What kind of question is that? But I want them to grow up with their father, if they can. I'm doing this for the kids. I'm doing it for me. I'm doing it for EJ. He's counting on me."

"Mom, how can you be so sure that EJ's alive?" Will asked. "There's hardly any proof."

Sami took a deep breath and turned to her son. "When you love someone…you don't need proof."

"I just hate to see you like this." Marlena said.

"Well, I don't have time for you to watch anyway, so... okay..." Sami headed to the door.

"Wait, wait." Marlena followed her.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, where-where you going?" John stepped in front of Sami.

"Well, I thought I would talk to Daddy. You know, I thought that he might be able to help me come up with a plan, so that Chad and André and whatever DiMeras are hanging out right now can be distracted, you know?" Sami lied. "But I know, I know, Daddy hated EJ too, but he loves me, right? He'll help me, just like you have." She hugged John. "I love you, John. Good luck. Oh, well, wish me luck, Mom." She hugged Marlena. "I'm gonna do this. I'm gonna get him back." She turned to Will and hugged him. "I love you. I almost lost you this year, but you know what? I didn't, and I didn't lose EJ, either. Remember what I told you while you were still in the hospital." She left without another word.

Will took a deep breath and turned to his grandparents. Marlena sighed and shook her head. "Will, there is no need for you to be involved in this. You just got your life and family back together. Don't ruin it by letting your mother drag you into this. It's dangerous!"

"I know." Will replied. "Believe me, I know.'

"So, do you believe that EJ's alive?" John asked.

Will exhaled sharply. "I want to. I want Johnny and Sydney to grow up with their dad. And she does have a point. How many times have Stefano, Andre, and Kristen died? How many times have they came back from the dead? But, until I see actual proof that EJ's alive, I won't believe it."

Marlena nodded. "What did she tell you while you were still in the hospital?"

"Just to take care of the kids if anything happens to her." Will replied. "Maybe move them into the Kiriakis mansion…"

"Oh, Victor would love that." John commented, sarcastically.

"But, we- Sonny, Gabi, Ari, and I- moved in with Rafe because Ben is on the loose, so, maybe the kids will just live there with us." Will said.

"You know, there's plenty of room here." Marlena replied. "We'll keep them safe if anything happens."

Will nodded. "I actually like that idea better, to tell you the truth. All right, I don't want to keep you up any longer, so, good night- or good morning." He chuckled.

XX

Will drove along the quiet streets. He kept thinking about what Sami showed him and Marlena and John. Could it really be possible that EJ's alive? Or is this all a setup? He stopped at a stoplight. Suddenly, a vision of Sami being kidnapped by Andre came to Will. He slammed on the gas and zoomed towards the park. By the time he got there, he saw two men throw his mother in a black van, then it drove off. Will followed the van and pulled out his phone to dial 911, but the battery was completely dead. "Really?!" He sighed and continued following the van, which drove through the woods to avoid being followed. Will stopped his car and looked all around, but couldn't see the van. He groaned and leaned his head back.


	14. EJ's Return

Sonny lay awake in bed. It had been over an hour since Will left, and he still isn't back yet. What was he doing? He pulled out his phone and called Will, but it went straight to voicemail. "Where are you, Will?" He tried calling Sami, but no answer. He jumped out of bed when he heard the door to the apartment open and quietly ran out into the living room. "Do you know how worried, I've been?" Sonny stopped when he saw Will looking pale and on the verge of tears. "Will?" Will hugged Sonny tight and started silently crying. Sonny hugged back and rubbed Will's back comfortingly. "Baby, what's wrong?"

Will pulled away and took a deep breath. "They've got her."

"What? Who?"

"The DiMeras kidnapped my mom. I saw a vision of her getting kidnapped in the park, but when I got there, it was too late." Will flopped on the couch and rubbed his eyes.

Sonny sat next to him. "Did you call the police?"

"My phone battery died." Will sighed.

"Does this have anything to do with why she wanted to meet with you?" Sonny asked.

"Probably." Will sighed. "I'll tell you. If not to be completely honest and not cause problems between us, then because you're a Kiriakis, and I'm feeling a little vindictive."

Sonny scoffed lightly. "Well, it's not like I'm going to do anything with this information."

Will explained how Sami got the package from the safety deposit box, and surveillance footage of someone who she was convinced was EJ placing the package in the safety deposit box. The package was all of Stefano's passcodes, account numbers, everything needed to bring him down.

"So, Sami thinks EJ is alive?" Sonny asked. "Do you believe that?"

"No. I think Andre's toying with her." Will admitted. He sighed. "I need to tell Grandma and John and I need to bring my siblings here." He let out a huge yawn and slowly drifted off to sleep.

XXX

About six hours later, Will woke with a jolt. He sat up and saw Sonny bringing his now charged-up phone to him.

"Sorry. I had to let you get some sleep." Sonny said, sitting down.

Will sighed and took his phone. "It's fine." He dialed his Aunt Kim's number. "Hey, Aunt Kim. My mom wants the kids to come back to Salem. Would you mind putting them on the next flight out here? … Great! Thanks. I'll pick them up. … Okay. Bye."

XXX

Marlena slowly paced the floor as she dialed Sami's number. It went to voicemail. "Sami, hi. I'm still a little worried. Please call me back. Let me know that you're not gonna do something crazy as to go after the DiMeras." She sighed as someone knocked on the door. She went to open it, and Will walked in. "Will?"

"Where's John? I need to talk to both of you." Will said, breathlessly.

John walked into the living room. "Any word from Sami?"

"She's been kidnapped by Andre." Will replied.

"What?!" Marlena exclaimed.

"When did this happen?" John asked.

"Last night." Will said. "I saw two men throw my mom into a black van with no plates. They headed north for about three miles, then I lost them."

John exhaled sharply. "This is about the flash drive she stole."

"Will, did you send for the children?" Marlena asked.

"Yeah. My Aunt Kim is putting them on the next flight." Will replied. His phone buzzed. "Oh. Hold on. Okay, they're on a plane now. They will land at 3:00."

"Okay. Will, did your mother give you that flash drive?" Marlena asked.

"No." Will shook his head.

"Can you think of anywhere she might have hidden it?" John asked.

Will closed his eyes and thought for a moment. "No."

"Okay." Marlena gripped Will's shoulders. "You let us worry about the flash drive. You focus on getting the children here."

Will nodded. "Okay."

"Oh- before I forget: your Uncle Bo returned last night." Marlena replied.

"He did?" Will asked.

"Yeah. He stopped Aiden from killing Hope." Marlena said.

"Wait- seriously?" Will asked, puzzled. "Well, it's a good thing Uncle Bo made it."

"Yes, it is."

XXX

At 3:00, Will parked at the curb of the airport. Johnny and Allie were now thirteen years old, and Sydney is nine.

"Will!" Sydney exclaimed. She ran to her brother and hugged him.

"Hey, baby sister." Will hugged back. He then hugged the twins. "Hey, you two."

"Where's Mom? Didn't you say she sent for us?" Johnny asked.

Will put their suitcases in the trunk. Johnny sat in the passenger seat and the girls climbed in the back. Will drove off. "Mom is a little tied up right now."

"With what?" Allie wanted to know.

"She didn't say." Will shrugged. "Just that she wanted you guys to live with Grandma for a bit."

"What about our friends in LA?" Allie asked. "We kind of have lives there."

"I'm sure you guys will be able to go back there." Will said.

"When can we see Mommy?" Sydney asked.

"Soon." Will replied. 'I hope…'

XXX

After getting settled in at the townhouse where Sonny waited with Ari, Will took Allie to see Lucas.

"Daddy!" Allie exclaimed as Lucas opened the door to his apartment.

"Hey, it's my little Allie-Cat!" Lucas hugged and lifted her up a little, and growled playfully. "I've missed you!"

"I've missed you, too!" Allie exclaimed.

Kate walked up to the apartment. "Oh, hey, Will."

"Hey, Grandma." Will greeted. "Guess who came to visit."

"Grandma!" Allie exclaimed. She hugged Kate.

"Oh, this is the best surprise I've had all day." Kate replied, smiling. "How are you?"

"I'm good."

"Dad, sidebar." Will whispered to Lucas. They waited until Kate and Allie were in the kitchen and walked over to the opposite side of the apartment.

"What's up?" Lucas asked.

Will sighed. "I figured you should know. Mom found a way to destroy the DiMeras once and for all, but they've kidnapped her."

"What?" Lucas sighed and shook his head in exasperation. "I swear- the things your mom does…"

"I know. The reason Allie, Johnny, and Sydney are back in town is because she told me to bring them here in case anything were to happen to her." Will replied.

"Don't you think they'd be safer in LA?" Lucas asked.

"Well, we're all staying at Grandma Marlena's." He sighed.

"Okay. That's good enough for me." Lucas nodded. He smiled. "Hey…I have both my children here for the holidays. I'll take it any way I can get."

Will laughed. "Good!"

XXX

Sami paced around the little hut she was locked in. Andre threatened her family if she didn't fork over the passcodes. She had to escape. But how? Then, an idea struck her. "That's it. That's how I'll get out of here. They'll never see it coming!" She heard a few gunshots outside, yelling, and thudding. She started pounding on her door. "Hello?! Help! I'm in here!" She heard someone running to her door and the lock jiggling. She backed off, and her eyes widened when she saw another guard coming in. She jammed her heel into his foot, which made him yell and double over, then she brought her knee up, and slammed his head against it, and threw him across the floor, unconscious. Sami ran outside, and surveyed her surroundings. She saw someone in the distance. Someone really familiar. "EJ?" Sure enough, EJ stood about thirty feet away, his gun drawn. "EJ!"

"Samantha?" EJ called. He started heading towards her.

"EJ!" Sami yelled, smiling and running to him.

"Samantha!" EJ called back. They ran into each other's arms. EJ picked her up.

"I thought I'd never see you again." Sami sobbed. "Even in my dreams, I knew it was true. But you're here. This is real."

"It is real." EJ pulled away and cupped Sami's face in his hands. "I'm here, darling."

Sami laughed tearfully, and they kissed. "How long have you been…I mean, what have you been doing all this time?"

"I'll explain everything. But first, we need to get out of here." EJ said.

XXX

Later that evening, John found the flash drive and used it to get Sami back, but she had already escaped. Later, everyone found out that Bo died from a brain tumor.

"But he just got back! I can't believe this…" Will said, shaking his head slowly.

"Poor Hope, Shawn, and Ciara." Sonny said. "Oh my God, Uncle Vic…"

"And Grandma Caroline." Will stood up. "Come on. They might be at the Pub."

Sonny nodded and stood. "Let's go."

Marlena sighed. Her phone rang. "Sami! Where are you? Are you all right?"

"I'm safe, but I'm on the run now." Sami replied. "Are the kids there?"

"Yeah. They just came here a few hours ago." Marlena replied. "Also, Sami…your Uncle Bo came home…but he had a brain tumor. They weren't able to save him."

Sami was silent for a minute. "Wait…Uncle Bo? Wait…I don't understand."

"It turns out that Bo was actually kidnapped a couple years ago. That's why no one ever heard from him." Marlena explained. "Steve rescued him and brought him home, but…Bo was…so sick. He's gone."

Sami's breath shook, and she began sobbing. "Oh my God…I…I can't believe…"

"I know." Marlena said sympathetically.

XXX

Sure enough, most of the Kiriakis and Brady families were in the Pub. Will and Sonny made a beeline for Caroline and Victor, who hugged them tight.

"Let us know if there's anything we can do for you guys." Sonny said.

"We will. Thank you." Victor replied.

XXX

Meanwhile, Sami and EJ rushed to a small cabin thirty miles south of Chicago. They sat on a couch.

"Okay, you were about to tell me where you've been the last thirteen months?"

"Well, after I…thought I died in your arms, the next thing I knew, I woke up from a three month coma." EJ explained. "I was in the DiMera castle. It took six months of physical therapy to get better. My father tried to reprogram me into the perfect DiMera soldier, but I fought it. For a while, it worked, but my father saw right through me. He threatened to…" He let his voice trail off. He wasn't sure how she'd react.

"He wouldn't harm our children. They're his grandchildren!" Sami exclaimed.

"Will and Allie aren't." EJ raised his eyebrows.

"He threatened Will and Allie?" Sami asked, horrified. "They are Johnny and Sydney's older brother and sister. Stefano should know that they will never forgive him if he hurts them. And-and Chad! Will is one of Chad's very best friends."

"You think he cares about that?" EJ asked. "All Stefano cares about is Stefano."

Sami nodded and sighed. "Do you know about Andre?"

"Yes. But, he doesn't know I'm alive. We need to keep it that way." EJ said. "Where are the children right now?"

"With my mom and John." Sami said. "EJ…I stole money from Stefano. That flash drive is hidden somewhere safe, but I got away with two hundred and fifty million dollars. I'm a fugitive now."

"Which means we can't stay in one place for very long." EJ sighed. "Samantha, what were you thinking?"

"I wanted revenge on Stefano for all the pain he's caused over the last thirty years." Sami explained. "And for taking you away from me and the kids. That was his plan all along. No wonder he called me that night! He wanted to make sure I thought you were dead!"

EJ blinked in confusion, then sighed. "Samantha…my…attempted murder had nothing to do with my father."

"What are you talking about?" Sami asked.

"My bodyguard betrayed me. He was working for Clyde Weston." EJ replied. "So, Weston is responsible for my attempted murder."

Sami scoffed and shook her head in dismay. "'Course he did."

EJ was confused by her reaction. "Did something happen?"

Sami took a deep breath. "We didn't find this out until recently, but, Clyde had Sonny stabbed earlier this year to get back at Victor. It was pretty similar to your attempted murder."

"I was wondering if he was ever going to be attacked because of Victor…I just imagined it would be my father who would be behind it." EJ shrugged. "Is he okay?"

"Yeah." Sami sighed. "They almost didn't have enough blood to save him. Luckily, Maxine knew someone who had Sonny's blood type. Ironically, that person happened to be Sonny's then closeted ex-boyfriend, Paul Narita."

"…Wait, I thought gay men can't donate blood?" EJ asked.

"He wasn't out and proud back then. Actually, he came out the very next day." Sami chuckled. "Also…later, we found out that Paul is actually John's biological son from a one night stand."

EJ exhaled sharply. "Bloody hell."

"Yeah." Sami nodded. "I'm actually glad he did create Paul and that he came to Salem. If he hadn't, Sonny would have died. Just last month, Clyde's son Ben tried to kill Will because he found out he's behind all the murders that's been happening around town. The only reason he didn't succeed was because Sonny found them in time. So…really, if it weren't for Paul, Ari would have lost both her dads in less than one year."

"Sounds like Will and Sonny had quite the year." EJ nodded.

"Oh, yeah." Sami nodded again. "I didn't think anything would top the year we had to deal with Andre, but…"

EJ chuckled. "How are the children?"

"They're good." Sami said. "It took them months of grief therapy, but, they were finally able to move on. I'm…forever grateful that Will survived the attack. I don't know how or if I would have ever been able to tell my kids their brother died."

EJ rubbed Sami's back. "But he did survive. That's what's important."

"I know." Sami leaned back. "EJ, since we're on the run…I don't want to be away from the kids. Allie is a teenager now. She's at the age where she would need me most. She's not going to want to be away from Johnny and Sydney."

"So, let's send for them, then." EJ said. "I've got fake passports with fake names. We can go anywhere in the world. We'll be safe until my father and Andre have been neutralized."

"Yeah. Yeah, that's a great idea." Sami said eagerly. She pulled out her phone. "Let me call Will."

XXX

Will finished up his article for Sonix, and closed the laptop. He sighed as his phone rang. "Mom?"

"Hey, sweetheart." Sami said cheerfully. "Listen, um…I am safe. I'm in an abandoned house thirty miles south of Chicago. Um…will you please bring your brother and sisters?"

"Wait, why?" Will asked, confused.

"It's difficult to explain over the phone. Um…just get here as soon as you can." Sami gave him the address.

About an hour later, Will told Sonny about Sami's mysterious phone call, and told the kids that they were going to see Sami. Sonny insisted on coming.

"Sonny, I don't want to drag you into this." Will said.

"Will, it's no different than all those other times I was dragged into Sami's messes." Sonny shrugged. "Besides, how bad could this be?"

XXX

Will parked in front of the house Sami told him about. "Wait here. I need to make sure this is the right place."

He climbed out of the car and knocked on the door. He heard footsteps. Sami opened the door wide enough to see who it was, smiled, and threw the door open. Will turned to the car and gestured for his husband and siblings to come on in. Once they were all inside, Sami hugged her kids.

"Oh, I'm so happy to see you guys again." Sami said.

"What's going on, Mom?" Johnny asked.

"Well, it's about your father." Sami replied. She took a deep breath. "He's alive."

They all sat in stunned silence until Will spoke. "Do you have proof?" They heard footsteps, and turned to see EJ walking into the living room. The kids and Will and Sonny all sat in shock and disbelief. Nobody moved until Sydney jumped up.

"Daddy!" Sydney exclaimed. She ran into EJ's arms.

"Oh, I've missed you so much." EJ hugged his daughter and shed a few tears.

"We buried you." Johnny said in a voice barely above a whisper. He didn't know how to feel. Just five minutes ago, his father, his hero was dead. And now…

"I know." EJ said. "I was revived, then put in a coma that lasted for three months."

"Then why didn't you just tell us you were alive?" Johnny asked.

"It's complicated, son." EJ replied.

Johnny took some deep breaths. He stepped forward, and EJ opened his arms for a hug. Johnny swallowed back tears, shook his head, then ran upstairs.

"Johnny!" Sami called after him.

Allie stood up. "I got this." She ran after her twin.

"Sydney, why don't you carry your and Allie and Johnny's bags upstairs?" Sami said. "Your dad and I need to talk to Will and Sonny alone."

"Okay." Sydney ran to the entrance hall and dragged two suitcases up the stairs.

EJ sighed. "They're not taking this as well as I thought."

Will scoffed, shook his head, and stepped forward to punch EJ in the mouth. "Can you blame them?! How could you make us all believe you were dead? The kids had to go to therapy because of you!"

"My father kept me away from you all." EJ explained.

"Why would he do that? You're his son." Will replied.

"Was his son." EJ corrected. "Yes…he and I considered each other family, but that was before he plotted to destroy everything I've worked hard for."

"So you weren't able to escape until shortly before you and my mom reunited?" Will asked.

"Correct. We also have a bigger problem." They heard distant thunder rumbling. "Hear that? There's a storm coming. That is Andre. When he learns that I'm alive and I have all his and Stefano's money, he will come after us- after all of us."

"Then just give the money back. No one will get hurt." Sonny suggested.

"No! We need to weaken Stefano and Andre, so we can bring them down for good." Sami said.

"I just don't want anyone to get hurt." Will said.

"William, I'm sorry I created this mess." EJ said sincerely. "Really, I am. But we need to move. We can't stay in one place for very long or Stefano and Andre will track us down."

"What- no!" Will exclaimed. "No, look, Stefano and Andre have no idea Sonny and I are involved in this. There's no point in us running."

"All right, you don't have to accept my apologies, but you do have to accept my warning!" EJ exclaimed. "I'm here, the money is here, the children are here, hell we even have a bloody Kiriakis here! What do you think Andre will do if he finds us, eh?"

Will exhaled in exasperation. "I don't want to keep Allie from my dad."

"Then tell him everything." Sami stepped forward. "He will understand. He'll want her safe."

"Then we'll go, and you'll have to deal with him." Will said to EJ.

"No. You're forgetting something: I have the money." Sami said.

"Which I'll gladly relieve you of." Will stepped forward, but EJ stopped him.

"William, there is no time to fight. There is only time to die. We need to leave." EJ said. Will and Sonny just stared at him in disbelief.

"Now, please! We're telling you the truth!" Sami cried almost desperately.

Will scoffed lightly. He couldn't believe this was happening. He didn't want the DiMeras to hurt his family, but he didn't want them to go on the run, either. "Okay…like I said earlier, Andre doesn't know that Sonny and I are involved, and we are not leaving Ari, nor are we taking her away from her mother just when she got out of prison! Sonny and I will head back to Salem. We'll move in with John and Grandma. We'll be safe there."

"Fine. Fine. That's good enough for me." Sami gave a long sigh. Allie, Johnny, and Sydney came back. "Hey! Guys, um…" She walked over to them. "I made your Uncle Andre mad, so we have to hide from him. Your daddy and I want to take you guys out of the country."

"What about Dad?" Allie asked. "Is he coming too?"

Sami sighed. "No…honey, he's not. Allie, I'll give you a choice. If you want to go back to Salem with Will and Sonny to live with your dad, that's fine. But I would really love for you to come with us."

"When will I see Dad again if I go with you?"

"Not for a long time, honey." Sami replied. "And if you stay with Dad, I don't know when you'll see me or your brother and sister again."

Allie swallowed. "I really want to go with you guys. Can I at least say good-bye to Dad?"

Everyone glanced at EJ, who nodded and pulled out a phone. "This is a burner phone. It can't be traced."

Sami nodded and dialed Lucas' number.

"Hello?" Lucas answered.

"Daddy?" Allie greeted. "It's Allie."

"Allie, what's wrong?" Lucas asked.

"I have to go away with Mom and Johnny and Sydney for a while." Allie answered, unsure if she should tell him EJ's alive. "I don't know how long I'll be."

"Why are you going?" Lucas asked.

"To keep us safe from Johnny and Sydney's uncle." Allie answered. "I wanted to say good-bye and to make sure you'll still hang my ornament at Aunt Jennifer's Christmas party."

Lucas chuckled. "Of course I will. I'll miss you, sweetheart."

"I'll miss you, too." Allie sniffed. "Good-bye, Dad."

"Good-bye."

Allie hung up and hugged Will and Sonny good-bye, then Johnny and Sydney hugged them good-bye. Sami and Will hugged. When they pulled apart, Sami cleared her throat. "Will…I think it'd be a good idea to set up a code word to use if one of us is in trouble."

Will nodded. "Okay. What do you want it to be?"

"Tigers." Sami smiled. "I remember when you were little, you had nightmares, and I used to tell you…"

"'Your daddy and I are here and we're gonna keep the tigers away.'" Will smiled. "I remember. Hearing that actually made me feel safe."

Sami blinked away tears and hugged her son again. "I'll miss you."

"I'll miss you, too." Will replied.

"William…Sonny…it would be best, and it would keep us all safe if you would keep my being alive a secret." EJ said.

"We won't tell." Sonny replied. "Promise."

"Good." EJ smiled. "You two take care, now."

"You, too."

XXX

Sonny and Will were silent for most of the ride home. Will finally broke the silence. "You think they'll be okay?"

Sonny glanced at Will. "They will."

"I know that…keeping the fact that a supposedly dead DiMera is alive and well from your family- especially your uncle Victor and your dad is going to be hard and awkward." Will said. "I'm sorry."

Sonny took a deep breath. "You're my family. So are Sami, Allie, Johnny, and Sydney. If it means keeping you all safe, then I'm willing to take that secret with me to the grave."

"Even if it means ruining your relationship with your dad and uncle?" Will asked.

"Yes." Sonny said mostly convinced. He really didn't want to cause drama with his own family…but he also wanted Will, Ari, Allie, Johnny, Sydney, and Sami to be safe.


	15. A Solemn, Eventful Whoresgiving

Will and Sonny didn't tell Marlena and John that EJ was alive. They did, however, tell her that the kids are with Sami, and she's now on the run. They agreed, for their own safety, and Arianna's to move into the Townhouse until things died down.

Funeral arrangements for Bo took a while. The funeral was to be held the day after Thanksgiving.

"How are we going to pull off three Thanksgiving dinners?" Sonny asked, as he and Will walked along the square.

"It's not three Thanksgiving dinners." Will said, confused.

"The Brady/Hortons, the Kiriakises, and the Blacks. That's three." Sonny replied.

"Oh. Wow." Will blew apart his bangs. "Hmm. Well, Grandma and John aren't until late in the afternoon, so, that can be our last stop."

Sonny nodded. "That could work. So, your family or mine first?"

XXX

They decided to head to the Kiriakises first. They ran into Justin and Eve in the entryway.

"Hey, you two." Justin greeted. "You remember Eve?"

"Oh, yeah. Hi." Sonny greeted. Will waved.

They walked into the living room where Victor was waiting with Daniel, Nicole, and Fynn. "Hmm. Let's see: Nicole, Eve, Theresa, Will. Last I checked, today is Thanksgiving, not Whoresgiving."

Everyone glared at Victor, who took a sip of his drink. "That was incredibly rude, Victor." Will said.

"You're right. I'm sorry, Will. At least you're not a gold digging whore." Victor replied, looking at Nicole and Eve.

That set off a nasty and loud argument between Victor and Justin which ended when Justin stormed out with Eve in tow.

Sonny sighed. "You know, Uncle Vic, if you're not going to be nice to my husband, I don't want to be here. Let's go, Will."

"Well, that was almost too easy." Will commented as they walked down the pathway.

"I'm sorry. I didn't realize he'd be so grouchy." Sonny said.

"Eh, I've faced worse." Will shrugged.

XXX

Caroline's Thanksgiving party was in full swing at the Pub. Will and Sonny entered and were greeted by Belle and Claire.

"Aunt Belle!" Will exclaimed. They hugged.

"Hey, Will! Wow, you have grown so much since I last saw you." Belle smiled. "Hey, Sonny."

"Hey!" She and Sonny hugged.

"You remember Claire." Belle put a hand on her daughter's shoulder.

Will gasped when he saw Claire. "This can't be my baby cousin Claire! She's a little girl who doesn't go anywhere without a stuffed animal."

Claire rolled her eyes and chuckled. "Hey, Will." They hugged.

"Where's that little girl of yours?" Belle asked. "I can't wait to meet her."

"She's with her mom and uncle." Will replied. "We're picking her up later."

"Oh." Belle nodded.

A few minutes later, Hope and Steve arrived. They greeted everyone. Will and Sonny came up to Hope.

"Aunt Hope, if there's anything we can do for you, name it." Will offered.

Hope smiled sadly, and took Sonny's and Will's hands in hers. "Don't give up on each other. Even if you have doubts…you shouldn't. Take a look at me and know why." Her gaze shifted from Will to Sonny, who nodded.

The dinner went on. Julie and Caroline both made heartfelt toasts to Bo. After that, Will and Sonny headed back to the Townhouse. They opened the door, and were greeted by Paul.

"Will. Sonny. Happy Thanksgiving." Paul said politely.

"Hi, Paul. Happy Thanksgiving to you, too." Sonny replied.

Paul turned to Will. "I never got a chance to apologize for that drunk dial. I'm sorry. That was way, way out of line."

"Fine." Will said begrudgingly. "Apology accepted."

Paul smiled and nodded. "Thank you. So, no hard feelings?"

"None whatsoever." Will said through gritted teeth.

"Good. I'll see you guys around." Paul waved and left.

Will exhaled sharply. Sonny clapped Will's shoulder. "That was very mature, Will. I'm proud of you."

"Thanks." Will grunted.

They enjoyed desserts at the Townhouse, then left to pick up Ari.

XXX

Kate sat at a table at the Pub, going over Basic Black paperwork. The launch is on New Year's Eve, and they still don't have a spokesperson. Nicole walked over and sat down.

"Hey." Nicole greeted.

"Hey." Kate replied without looking up.

"Have you been working all day?" Nicole asked.

Kate finally looked up. "Well, the launch is New Year's Eve. We don't have a spokesperson. One of us?"

Nicole shook her head. "No."

"Mm, someone young, international fame." Kate suggested.

"Mm-hmm, someone who's already a star." Nicole smiled and glanced towards Paul, who was sitting at the bar. She cleared her throat. "Him? You worked with him, right?"

Kate made an expression of distaste. "Justin hired him at Mad World, yes."

Nicole noticed Kate's expression. "What-what-what's that voice? What happened? Did you go off on him? Oh, wait- that radio broadcast…"

Kate sighed. "Yes, well, he was trying to break up Sonny and Will's marriage, and at the time, I was sure that's why Justin made me hire him and- you know, it's funny. I thought that was the-the worst that could happen to my grandson."

"Hey, are you sure you want to be working?" Nicole asked, concerned.

Kate nodded. "Yeah, no. Absolutely. Absolutely. Actually, it was very rocky in the beginning, but then we worked very well together. He's-he's a professional."

"Well, think he'd come over to us, even though you publicly humiliated him?" Nicole asked.

Kate scoffed. "Like I said, he's a professional. I'm sure it'll be fine. I know his contract has to be up soon."

They headed over to Paul. Nicole tapped him on the shoulder. "Hey, Paul? Hi. Nicole Walker. I work for Basic Black. We would like to offer you a job as our spokesperson."

"So, it'd be like modeling?" Paul asked. His face fell when he noticed Kate. "Let me guess: you're her partner?"

"Yes. Look, I feel really awful about what happened with that drunk dial." Kate said, not sounding sorry at all. "Can we just let bygones be bygones, or are you gonna hold a grudge against me for the rest of our lives?"

Paul smiled. "Not at all. I'm a professional. I don't let personal feelings get in the way of my work. Especially old feelings that I have completely moved on from."

"Are you sure?" Nicole asked.

"You can trust me. I'm here to help." Paul replied, smiling. "So, this would be like a modeling job?"

"No, it-it's more than just modeling. I mean, we'd love to see you in our line, but it's bigger. It's much, much bigger." Nicole replied.

Paul smiled. "I get where you're going."

Kate noticed Paul's hesitant expression. "But..."

"Aren't most of your lines for women?" Paul asked.

Kate nodded. "Yes. But I have an idea."

They ended up recruiting Gabi, who happily took the job offer. Once Kate and Nicole left, Paul turned to his new coworker.

"This isn't gonna be weird for you, is it? I mean, you're Will and Sonny's friend." Paul wanted to know.

Gabi shook her head. "No. They'll understand. I mean, I do need a job and you guys are on good terms, right?"

Paul nodded. "Right."

"Great! Then there's no drama." Gabi smiled. "I look forward to working with you, Paul."

"Same here."

XXX

The next day, everyone who knew and loved Bo gathered at the Pub. Will and Sonny noticed that Belle and Shawn were avoiding each other.

"What's going on there?" Sonny wondered.

"Well, I think I heard Belle tell Grandma that she cheated on Shawn." Will whispered. "We should talk to them."

"Meddle, much?" Sonny raised an eyebrow.

Will scoffed lightly. "Come on. You can't tell me you don't want to tell Shawn about how exactly we got back together?"

Sonny bit his lip. "Well, it'd probably help Shawn see Belle in a better light…"

"I'm not sure if I should be offended by that." Will said.

Sonny laughed softly. "I just meant that yes, you cheated on me- twice, but, you admitted your mistakes and you apologized. Then I almost lost you. I don't want Belle and Shawn to go through worse."

Will smiled. "Me neither."

Sonny nodded and walked over to Shawn. "Hey, Shawn."

Shawn smiled at his cousin. "Hey. How was Thanksgiving at the Kiriakises?"

"Disastrous." Sonny admitted. "Uncle Vic was not fit company."

"Well, as much as I dislike him, I can't blame him." Shawn shrugged. "So how are you? How's Will?"

"Good. We're good." Sonny nodded. "We settled all our disputes, and we're stronger than ever."

Shawn was confused. "I'm sorry, I haven't really kept up-to-date on family dramas."

"Oh. Um…Will cheated on me. Twice in three months." Sonny replied. "I found out from this guy who worked at the hotel where…where it happened."

"Yikes, I'm sorry." Shawn replied. He glanced over at Will, who was chatting with Belle. "Don't take this the wrong way. I love my cousin, but…why would you take him back?"

"Because despite everything he's done…I still love him." Sonny replied. "I'm not excusing him, but, he is very insecure. The main reason I forgave him was because I almost lost him. He was almost strangled to death a couple months ago. If I hadn't been in Salem and if I hadn't found him in time…if he died without knowing that I love him and that I forgave him, I never would have been able to live with myself. So…if you ever go to bed angry…take a look at what almost happened to me and know why you shouldn't." He chuckled. "I'm sorry. I sound like a shrink."

"It's okay. Thank you for your insight. I'll keep that in mind." Shawn nodded. He did have a point. His gaze slowly shifted over to Belle. He still couldn't understand why she would cheat again. How could he even be in the same state as her let alone forgive her? But, still…after what almost happened to Will and Sonny… he shook his head. No…he couldn't. He can't.

XX

Will sat down across from Belle. "So…what's Maine like?"

"Cold, rainy, and brown." Belle smiled and nodded. "And we really do eat a lot of lobster."

"Oh." Will nodded. "What town did you live in again?"

"Thomaston." Belle replied. "Grandma told me what happened to you. How are you doing?"

"Better. I mean, I still have nightmares, but that's normal." Will nodded. "On the plus side, I did get to go to Paris for a few weeks."

"Well, I hope you had a better experience with Paris than I did." Belle shrugged. "Do you remember hearing about a massacre at Princess Greta's coronation?"

Will gasped slowly and nodded. "Ohhh yeah. I'm a little fuzzy with the details, but, I remember hearing that the guy responsible was targeting my mother, but she was one of the few who actually did not get shot."

"That's correct." Belle nodded. "So, how are you and Sonny doing?"

"Great! Stronger than ever, actually." Will smiled. "Who knew admitting my mistakes and actually meaning it would work?"

Belle chuckled. "Wow, you really are Sami's son."

Will groaned lightly. "Don't remind me."

"Sorry." Belle said sincerely. "Hey…looks like Claire and I are gonna be your roommates. We're moving into the Townhouse as well."

"Oh, wow! You know, I think this is the fullest Grandma's house has ever been." Will said.

"Yeah, really." Belle replied. "Why are you, Sonny, Ari, and Ari's mother moving in, anyway?"

Will took a deep breath. "It's a long story. Let's just say that Sami got in pretty deep with some people, and I'm worried about my and my family's safety."

Belle nodded knowingly. "Wow. What's Sami up to now?"

"I can't get into it." Will replied. "So, enough about me, tell me about you. How are you and Shawn doing?"

Belle swallowed, glanced longingly at Shawn, then turned back to her nephew. "Can you keep a secret?"

"Sure."

"I mean…Shawn already knows as do Grandma and my dad. I cheated on Shawn." Belle admitted. "I was lonely…he was charming…"

Will nodded. "Well, I can definitely sympathize with you there. I cheated on Sonny, twice. Once when I was in LA during my short-lived screenwriting career, then once again a few months later to get Paul Narita to admit that he was gay. I was flattered that someone like him would be attracted to me. Who knew he would end up being my step-uncle?"

"Sounds like you've had a crazy year." Belle commented.

"Oh, yeah." Will nodded.

Belle hesitated before asking "So…how did you get Sonny back?"

"By backing off, giving him space…" Will shrugged. "I left him a very sincere, very heartfelt message on his voicemail taking responsibility for everything and admitting my mistakes."

"I did that, too." Belle sighed. "He still won't forgive me."

Will squeezed her hand gently. "Just give him time. It took Sonny eight months for him to forgive me. Shawn is almost as forgiving as Sonny is. I'm sure he'll forgive you eventually."

Belle smiled. "Thanks. That's what I needed to hear."

"I'm glad." Will replied.

"You know…maybe I was premature in thinking you were just like Sami." Belle said.

"Well, I'm certainly not going to drag my daughter into every drama I may cause." Will smirked. They both chuckled.

XXX

During the funeral, grave ceremony, and wake; Will and Sonny held hands and cried. They felt so bad for Hope and her children and Claire. They were more grateful than ever that they didn't lose each other.

"I was so awful to him when he first came into my life…" Sonny heard Justin say, his voice shaking.

XXX

Sonny headed back to the Townhouse, while Will stayed behind to be with Caroline. After Caroline went upstairs to take a nap, Will headed home. He cut through the park.

"Will!"

Will froze, took a deep breath, turned around, and smiled politely. "Yes, Satan?"

Andre chuckled. "A bit cheeky today, are we? No doubt you are returning home from your dearly departed Uncle Bo's funeral."

"I have only one thing to say to you, and it's this: stay the hell away from my family. And I don't just mean my husband and daughter." Will said warningly.

Andre chuckled again. "Hoping to become Bo's replacement as town hero?"

"I'm flattered, but you and I both know that no one can replace him as town hero." Will replied simply. "But do not underestimate me." Without another word, he walked off.

"Wouldn't dream of it." Andre said to himself.

Will headed back through the square when he realized he forgot his scarf at the Pub. He got a text message from Sami.

"Guess what, sweetheart? Today is your lucky day!" She added a smiley face emoticon.

Will scoffed. "Yeah right."

XXX

Will told Sonny about his encounter with Andre and his text message from Sami. Later, Will headed back to the Pub to check on Caroline and had dinner there. He wanted to do some last-minute Black Friday shopping, so he checked his bank account, and was extremely shocked when he saw that $250,000,000 was deposited into his account. 'Mom.' He thought. He called his mother, but the phone went to voicemail. "Hey, I just got your huge deposit into my account. How could you dump all that money on me? I mean, I won't tell anyone, but, seriously? Putting into an offshore account? Call me back!"

"Will!" Will turned around to see Marlena.

"Oh, hey, Grandma." Will greeted.

"Is everything okay?" She asked.

"Yeah, yeah, everything's fine." Will replied. "Uncle Eric's with Grandma Caroline right now, so I just thought I'd have dinner and do a little shopping around the square."

"Oh, that sounds fun." Marlena replied. "I wish I could join, but I have a meeting."

"It's okay." Will smiled. "Your patient needs you more than I do."

Marlena smiled back. "I'm proud of you, Will. I'm so glad we didn't lose you, too."

"You'll never lose me." Will replied. His phone buzzed with a text from Sami. "Sorry."

"Go 2 the park and wait! XOXO."

Will sighed quietly. "I'll see you at home, okay?"

"Okay. See you."

Will headed to the park by two benches facing each other.

"Will?" Will turned around to see a woman with brown hair.

"Marin, hey, wow. I haven't seen you in forever." Will said, smiling.

"Since your mom dropped out of Salem High, had you, and stopped hanging with me and Jamie." They laughed.

"I think you were at one of her weddings." Will replied.

Marin nodded. "Oh, yeah, or two. Or ten."

They laughed. "Well, she's gonna be really happy to see you."

"She's not coming." Marin replied.

Will sighed, slightly disappointed. "I figured that."

"She asked me to meet you here." Marin replied. "I'm a CPA now. I've been helping your mother manage her money since she asked me to set up a college savings account for you. I'm-I'm sorry for everything that she and your family are going through."

"Thank you."

Marin continued. "Um, when EJ became estranged from his father, I helped him set up some offshore accounts."

Will nodded in understanding. "Ah. I see. So you're here to talk to me about the one that you set up for me."

"Exactly. Shall we sit?" They sat down. "I don't know a lot of details. I'm sorry. Your mother just said she felt that you would be the best person to watch over it for now."

Will looked at her in dismay. "I have a family. A family that I've worked my ass off for three years to keep together. If they get put in danger because of this-"

"Nobody knows about it but me." Marin interrupted. "No one will ever know as long as you keep your lips sealed."

"Do you know where this money came from?" Will asked.

"It was drawn from several numbered accounts. That's all the information I have." Marin answered.

"Oh, my God, Mom. Why me?" Will chuckled humorlessly. He sighed. "Well, I guess I know why. Because I'm really the only friend she has. Besides you and my aunt Belle, of course."

"She loves you." Marin insisted. "She knows she was pretty awful to you when you were growing up. She thought it would mean something that she turned to you. You know, motherhood, the bond that-"

Will interrupted. "Mm, yeah, the bond that could get me or most likely my family killed. Tell her I would have preferred a greeting card." He stood up, so did Marin.

"Will, your mother really needs you to do this for her. Can she count on you?" Marin asked.

Will scoffed. "It's not like my mother left me much choice. The money's already in my account."

"I could transfer the money elsewhere." She replied. "If you're not gonna keep your mouth shut, I'll have to. Of course, I don't have any other good options, and your mother could be in a lot of trouble…"

Will threw his head back and sighed deeply. He really didn't want to do this. "If I don't hold on to this money, Sami's gonna just give it to someone else, isn't she?"

"Most likely." Marin nodded.

Will shook his head slowly. He didn't want to put anyone else in danger- especially if they are not already involved in Sami's drama. Then, he got an idea. "Okay…I'll do it."

"Great!"

"But…first, where is the account?" Will asked.

"It's in Paris." Marin replied.

Will nodded. "I want it moved to a bank in Moscow, instead."

Marin was confused. "Um…why Moscow? You wouldn't be able to set foot in that city."

"Exactly." Will grinned. "It's the last place that-" Will caught himself. "I'm gonna be honest with you. I know where the money came from. It's from someone dangerous, someone who I hope you'll never meet. Anyway, it's the last place they'll think I'll put that account in, if they ever find out I have the money."

Marin nodded. "Okay."

"Also, is it possible to put that account under a fake name?" Will asked.

"Of course." Marin opened her phone and went to her notes. "What name do you want me to use?"

Will thought for a minute. "Felix Burke."

"All right."

"Also, is it possible to freeze that account so that I can't access it for a year?" Will asked. "Money can still go in there, but nothing comes out."

"Yep. I can do that." Marin added it to her notes.

"I also want there to be a dummy account in Paris to throw these guys off." Will smiled. "Under my name."

Marin nodded. "Okay. Would you like me to put anything in that account?"

"Actually, yes." Will grinned mischievously. He reached into his shopping bag and pulled out a little mesh sack of chocolate gold coins. He knew Stefano was diabetic. This would tick him off even more. "I would like this emptied out into the vault. And…do you have a piece of paper and a pen?"

"Oh, sure." Marin dug into her purse and pulled out a notepad and pen.

"Thank you." Will sat with his back turned to Marin. He turned on the flashlight on his phone and wrote:

"Nice try, Andre.

-Will

P.S. I told you not to underestimate me."

Will folded the note once, and gave it and the notepad and pen back to Marin.

"So, just the note and the coins?" Marin asked.

Will nodded. "Yep!"

"Okay. It's a pleasure doing business with you." Marin replied.

"Thanks. You, too." Will replied. "Take care."

"You, too." Marin walked off.

Will sighed and leaned back. He hated that his mother did this to him. While he really wanted to keep the $250 million, it's stolen money from the DiMeras. Since he's married to a Kiriakis, it makes it even more dangerous.

'I wonder if I should tell Sonny…or if it would be too dangerous to.' He thought. He stood up and immediately had a vision of Abigail getting kidnapped by Ben. He gasped, pulled out his phone, and sprinted to his car. He called Abigail, but, no reply. Then he called 911.

"911, what's your emergency?"

"Hi, uh, I saw someone break into my neighbor's house. 545 Sycamore Street. The house belongs to Jennifer Horton." He hung up, got into his car, and sped towards the house.

XXX

A while later, Jennifer and JJ came home to a police cruiser sitting outside her house. They jumped out and met with Rafe.

"Jenn, we got a phone call from one of your neighbors that they saw someone break into your house." Rafe said.

Jenn was horrified. "Abigail's home."

"Well, she didn't answer when we knocked." Rafe replied. Jennifer unlocked her door, and they all rushed inside.

"Abigail?" Jennifer yelled through the house. She ran upstairs.

"Abs?" JJ called. He fast-walked through the living room, then into the kitchen. He saw the lock on the back door was broken. "Rafe! In here!"

Rafe and a couple officers ran into the kitchen. They saw the lock broken. Jennifer ran into the kitchen. "She's not here." She too noticed the lock broken. "Where is she?!"

Rafe sighed and pulled out his walkie. "All units, we have a code 345. Someone broke into the Horton House and kidnapped Abigail Deveraux. She is in her mid-twenties, about 5'5, with dark brown hair and blue eyes, and six months pregnant. She is wearing a cream colored sweater and blue jeans."

Jennifer slowly collapsed on a chair. "Dear God, please watch over her…"


	16. Of Kidnappings And Embezzlement

Will knocked on the door to the Horton house. Rafe answered. "Will?"

"Hey. I just wanted to see if Abigail has given more thought to her baby shower Gabi and I are planning." Will lied.

Rafe sighed heavily. "Abigail's been kidnapped."

"What?!" Will exclaimed horrified. He leaned against the wall and sighed. Too late. Again.

"Will?" Rafe studied his expression. "You don't look surprised."

"Well, I knew it was going to happen." Will shrugged.

"What do you mean?"

"Ben escaped from prison, remember?" Will asked. "I figured he'd be back for her."

Rafe nodded and sighed. "All right. We'll put out an APB. When was the last time you spoke to Abigail?"

"About six hours ago." Will replied. "I tried calling her a half hour ago, but, she didn't respond. She always responds."

"Okay, thank you for your input." Rafe replied. "If Ben did indeed kidnap Abigail, where would he take her?"

Will closed his eyes in thought. He had a vision of Abigail trying to break free of her handcuff. "A cabin, maybe? An abandoned cabin?"

"Okay, well, we can rule out the Horton cabin, since it's too obvious." Rafe said. "Thank you. You've been a big help."

Will nodded and texted Sonny. "Abigail's been kidnapped. We think Ben took her."

"What?! Where are you?"

"Aunt Jen's house."

"Do they have any leads?"

"Sonny, I'm on my way home now. There's nothing I can do here. I'll tell you when I see you."

"Okay. Oh- does Chad know?"

"No. I'll call him." Will sent the message, and headed to his car. He called Chad.

"Hey, man. What's up?" Chad asked.

"Chad…Abigail's been kidnapped. We think Ben took her." Will said.

"What?! When did this happen? Where is she?" Chad asked frantically.

"About a half hour ago." Will replied. "We think Ben may have taken her to an abandoned cabin somewhere."

"Horton Cabin?" Chad wondered.

"No, it's too obvious." Will shook his head.

"I'm checking it out, anyway." Chad said.

"Okay. But, wait, don't go alo-" Will pulled his phone away and saw that Chad hung up. He sighed in frustration. "Dammit, Chad." He called Sonny.

"Hey, any news?" Sonny asked.

"No. We think Ben may have taken Abigail to an abandoned cabin. I called Chad, and he said he was going to check out the Horton Cabin." Will replied.

"He's not going alone, is he?"

"I hope not." Will said.

XXX

The next morning, Chad called Will.

"They weren't at the Horton Cabin." Chad replied. He sighed. "Can you think of any other cabins in the area?"

Will shook his head. "No. From what I've heard, nothing on the APB, either."

Chad exhaled sharply. "I should have put some of my dad's men on her."

"This isn't your fault, Chad." Will said. He sighed. "They'll find her."

"I hope so…"

"I'll keep you updated." Will promised.

"Thanks, dude."

Sonny flopped on the couch and sighed. "I should cancel my appointment."

"Sonny, it's your health we're talking about here." Will said. Sonny made an appointment to get tested for the BRCA1 gene that afternoon. "Abigail wouldn't want you to miss it because of her. Besides, who knows when the next available appointment will be?"

"Still…" Sonny shook his head. "Any more visions?"

Will shook his head. "No."

XX

Later that afternoon, Will and Sonny walked hand in hand through Town Square. The Oncologist said the results should be in within the next couple of weeks. They headed over to Chad, who just answered his phone.

"Abby?" Chad asked, surprised and relieved.

Thinking fast, Sonny pulled out his own phone and called Rafe. He backed away a few paces. "Rafe, it's Sonny. I'm in the square with Chad. Abigail just called him."

"What'd she say?" Rafe asked.

"He's on the phone with her right now. Can you trace the call if I give you Chad's number?" Sonny asked.

"Yeah. What is it?"

Chad turned away. "Abby…where are you? Everyone's worried."

"I just had to get away from Salem for a while." Abigail said trying to sound convincing.

"Okay, but where exactly?" Chad asked. Will showed him a text message on his phone that said "Rafe is tracing the call. Keep her on the phone for as long as possible." Chad nodded. "I mean, it must be kind of lonely."

"I'm fine." Abigail replied, not sounding fine at all. "This thing between us- it has to end. It's over."

Chad was surprised at first, but then he realized that Ben was probably forcing her to say that. "Abigail…you know I love you, right? I don't care where you are, I will find you. Just…give me a hint where you are."

Abigail was quiet for a few seconds. "Chad Woods DiMera, I'm sorry, but, it really is over. Why don't you take a break from everything and visit one of your many vacation cabins? Good-bye, Chad." She hung up.

Chad sighed and turned to Sonny, who put his phone back to his ear. "Rafe, tell me you got something."

Rafe sighed in defeat. "We only narrowed it down to a twenty-five mile radius from where you are."

"She hinted that she's in a cabin in the woods." Chad said to Sonny. "She called me Chad Woods DiMera- she never calls me that. And she suggested I visit one of my many vacation cabins. I don't have vacation cabins."

Sonny repeated that to Rafe. "Okay, that's good information. We'll look into it."

"Thanks, Rafe." Sonny hung up.

"So, how many cabins are there in this twenty-five mile radius?" Will asked.

"A lot, probably." Sonny replied. "And it's a lot of ground to cover."

XXX

Later that evening, Chad learned from Rafe that they got a hit on the APB on Ben. He was seen with a midwife, Wendy Taylor in the town Mammoth Falls. He rushed off through the snowstorm.

"Chad, I really hope you brought along backup." Will said over the answering machine. He sighed and hung up. He had a vision of Ben strangling Chad with a rope. He gasped. "Oh, Ben, if Chad ends up dead, Stefano will kill you slowly and painfully." He called Rafe. "Hey, how are you guys doing out there? Have you found them yet?"

"No, we're still en route." Rafe replied. "It's really stormy out here."

"Oh. Okay. Hurry." Will said. He hung up. "Great…" He leaned his head back and closed his eyes. He fell asleep for a few minutes, then had a vision of Ben kidnapping a baby, and Chad and Abigail chained to a bed, which was on fire. Will woke up, gasping loudly. He went into full panic mode hyperventilating and clutching the couch cushions. He had a flashback of Ben strangling him.

"Will?" Sonny walked into the living room and noticed his husband having a panic attack. He rushed over to him, sat down, and cupped his face in his hand. "Will, baby, snap out of it. Take deep breaths. Come here." Sonny pulled Will into a hug and started rubbing his back. "I'm here. I'm here, baby. It's okay."

Will calmed down and hugged Sonny back. "I saw them. Chad and Abigail. They were tied to a bed and it was on fire."

Sonny pulled away. "Hey…Chad is a DiMera. He's tough. He'll get them out of that situation."

Will swallowed and nodded. "I hope so."

XXX

Over the next two hours, Will paced the floor and kept checking his phone for messages. Finally, his phone rang. "Chad?"

"Hey! So, I found Abby. She had the baby." Chad replied.

"So, you're both okay? A-and the baby?" Will asked.

Chad sighed. "Ben kidnapped Colin- the baby. We don't know where they are."

"Where are you guys?"

"Mammoth Falls, still. We're heading back to Salem PD now." Chad replied.

"Great! I'll meet you guys there." Will said. He then had a vision of a baby in a motel room. "Hey, Chad…have the local police try motels in the area. Maybe Ben took the baby to a motel."

"I'll pass along the suggestion. Thanks, man. You're awesome."

Will chuckled. "So are you. Thanks for saving my cousin."

"Sure, dude. No problem."

XXX

After explaining the situation to Sonny, Will headed to the police station. He saw Abigail and Chad talking to Roman and headed over.

"Oh, Will!" Abigail exclaimed. They hugged.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah." Abigail nodded against his shoulder. They pulled away. "Thank you for coming."

"Of course. Have they found the baby yet?" Will asked.

Abigail shook her head sadly. "No. They're letting me talk to Ben to see if I can get through to him."

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Will asked, unsure.

"Got any better ones?" Abigail asked.

"Abigail, you can go in now. There's a guard in there, so you'll be fine." Roman said.

Abigail nodded and headed into the interrogation room. Chad stood at the window, watching. Will walked up and put a hand on his shoulder. "Hey, she'll be fine. Don't worry."

Chad just nodded to acknowledge he heard Will. Will's phone buzzed with a text message from Sonny.

"What's going on? The suspense is killing me!"

"Abigail and Chad are fine. Ben kidnapped the baby, but, they're looking for him. Ben is in custody, and Abigail is trying to get through to Ben to find out where he left the baby."

"Oh. Okay. I tried calling Jennifer, but, she didn't respond, so I'm gonna see if I can track her down." 

"Okay."

"…I don't know if I like the idea of Abigail talking to Ben alone in the room…"

"There's a guard in there with her, and I haven't had a vision of her in danger yet, so, she's fine." Will added a smiley face emoticon.

Roman came over and put his hands on Chad's shoulders. "Hey, relax, all right? There's a reason there's a guard in there. No one's gonna let Ben hurt Abigail."

"After everything's she's been through, Ben will be lucky if she doesn't rip his damn face off." Chad glanced at Roman, unfazed by the fact that he of all people were comforting him.

Will was extremely surprised that his grandfather comforted a DiMera. "Grandpa, are you feeling all right?"

"Yes, why?" Roman asked.

"You comforted a DiMera." Will said simply.

Roman chuckled softly. "Just being professional, Will."

A few minutes later, Abigail walked out of the room towards Lani. Chad gently grabbed her arm.

"What do you got? What do you got?" Roman asked.

"He said he checked our son into a motel, and I think he's telling the truth." Abigail replied.

"Okay. All right. We'll have Mammoth Falls PD check every one of them." Roman replied.

"If I could just talk to him again after he calms down, maybe I can get him to tell me the exact motel that…"

"Hey, hey, hey." Chad put a calming arm around her.

"He's hiding…" Abigail's voice trailed off.

Chad cupped Abigail's face in his hand. "You did so good, okay? I am so proud of you. You never stop amazing me. Okay? You're so amazing." With that, he walked off.

Abigail turned around and watched Chad walk off. "Chad?"

Will ran after Chad. "Hey, Chad, where are you going?"

"To look for the baby." Chad replied.

"Okay, but, they might find him by the time you get there." Will pointed out.

"Well, I'm gonna try, anyway." Chad replied.

Will took a deep breath and headed back to his cousin and grandfather just as they were leading Ben away.

"Roman…do you think you can have someone maybe drive me back to Mammoth Falls? I think that I should be helping them look for my son." Abigail said.

"Abigail, there are only four or five motels up there." Roman replied. "The police will have searched all of them by the time you get there."

"Right, I-I know, but, as soon as they find my son, I'm gonna need to be there for him because he's gonna need me." Abigail replied.

"Let's just hope this is done fast, okay?" Roman asked. "You hang in there. Now, try and relax. Everything's gonna be just fine, okay? Trust me."

Abigail scoffed quietly. "No…not until I have my son."

Will hugged her comfortingly. "It's going to be fine."

A few minutes later, Justin arrived carrying a clipboard. "Abigail, are you okay?"

"Not really." Abigail took a deep breath.

"All right. Why don't you start from the beginning?" Justin asked. Abigail told him all about her kidnapping and Ben confessing to her that he was the Necktie Killer. "And you're positive he told you that?"

"Yeah. He told me multiple times. We argued…" Abigail sighed. "I'm sorry. I-I'm just worried about my son here, and I know that no one has called. And if he's really at a motel, then I just don't understand why no one has found him yet."

"Give them time, Abigail. It hasn't been that long." Roman said.

"Right, but, um…see, what if Ben was fantasizing about this whole thing?" Abigail asked worriedly. "I mean, what if he never took him to a motel? What if he took him someplace else?"

"Abigail, I'm sorry, but, can we please focus on the murders for a little while longer?" Justin asked.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Will glared angrily at Justin. "Your niece is going through something terrible. What if it were Sonny? Would you act that way, then, too?"

"Will, hey, calm down." Roman said warningly.

Will just scoffed lightly and shook his head. He stayed silent throughout Abigail's statement.

"I should have done more. I should have…" Abigail was starting to get hysterical. Will put an arm around her.

"Abigail, Abigail. None of this-none of this is your fault." Justin said warmly.

Will side-eyed Justin. 'You're lucky.'

"Yes it is." Abigail sniffed. "It is."

"No…" Justin shook his head.

"I knew that he was sick. I knew it. I knew that there was something that wasn't right about Ben." Abigail replied. "And I didn't do anything about it. So, it's my fault. Because if I had, then all those people would still be alive."

"There is no way you could have predicted this." Justin said. "He had everyone fooled."

"Abigail, you should go to the hospital." Roman said. "Get checked out."

Will nodded. "I agree. Come on." While they walked to the car, Will called Sonny.

"Hey. I tracked Aunt Jennifer down. Are you still at the police station?" Sonny asked.

"Yeah, but, we're just leaving." Will replied. "Meet us at the hospital."

"Okay. I'll see you there." Sonny replied.

XXX

Will and Abigail stepped off the elevator to the fifth floor of the hospital.

"It makes no sense for us to come here." Abigail complained. "Who even called to say that? If my mom wanted to see me, she should have just come to the station."

"Your mom's cell phone was off. Sonny tracked her down, they're on their way here." Will replied. He gestured to his left.

Abigail looked in his direction, and saw Chad holding her baby.

"Somebody misses his mom." Chad grinned.

"Oh my God." Abigail whispered. She walked over to Chad and picked up her baby. Both she and Chad chuckled. The elevator door dinged and opened. Jennifer and Sonny rushed out through the nurse's station. Abigail turned around. "Mom, come meet your grandson."

Jennifer gasped in surprise and awe. "Oh…" She held him in her arms. "Hi."

Abigail hugged Chad. "Thank you."

"No thanks needed." Chad replied, hugging her back.

Jennifer turned to Will. "Do you wanna hold him?"

Will nodded and took the baby. "Hi. You're lucky, you know that? You have Abigail Deveraux for a mommy. And so many cousins and aunts and uncles to spoil you rotten."

Sonny chuckled and leaned over Will, resting his chin on his husband's shoulder.

XXX

The baby had to be checked out, so Will left to run a couple of errands. Will left a store and ran into Andre.

"Oh, hello, Will." Andre greeted. "It's a little late for shopping."

"Screw off, asshole." Will said, trying to walk by, but Andre stopped him.

"Now, hold on just a minute here." Andre blocked Will's path. "I'm desperate for some news about Sami. Has she been in touch?"

"My mother and I haven't spoken for a while. Not since before she was kidnapped by you." Will lied.

"Oh, that's a shame." Andre replied. "So, she hasn't told you what she's done?"

"I don't know what you're talking about." Will replied, keeping his voice even.

"How remiss of your grandmother and step-grandfather." Andre commented. "Because they know exactly what Sami has done and how dangerous it is for all of you."

Will scoffed. "I haven't done anything."

"Now, Will, if Sami reaches out to you at some point, you give her a message for me." Andre said. "It's quite simple, really. Even Sami will be able to grasp it. Return the money, and we'll look the other way."

"And if she doesn't?" Will asked.

"Well, then, it's gonna get ugly." Andre replied, grinning.

Will folded his arms. "You're trying to scare me."

"Oh, no. Ask your grandmother. She will fill you in." Andre replied. "And just so you got the message clear: tell your mother that it would be in her best interest if she works with us before-"

"How's this for a message: do not talk down to me anymore!" Will snapped. "You're gonna get shown the door, old man. Deal with it." He smiled and walked away.

Andre glared after Will. He has a sneaking suspicion that Will does, in fact know what his mother is up to.

XX

Will waited until he was out of eyesight and earshot of Andre and pulled out his phone and called Sami. "Mom, hey, it's me. I just had a weird and creepy run-in with Andre. You have really put me in the middle of a huge mess with the DiMeras. I don't want to hold their money for you anymore. It's too dangerous, and I hate lying to Sonny and Grandma and John. Would you please call me back?" He sighed and continued walking.

A few minutes later, Will got a text response from Sami:

"Sorry about Andre. He won't hurt u. And I'll make it up 2 u. As I told u, I kept enough $$ for the kids and 2 make sure we're all safe from Stefano. When that happens, we will all get the happily ever after we want. Urs comes 2day! The rest of the $$ is in that account (VERY smart move, BTW. My clever boy! :D). Use it 2 build something wonderful! XOXO" Sami added a smiley face emoticon.

"How much more did you put in there?"

"$250 mil."

Will nearly fainted. Added to the $250 million that's already in that account... "Mom…that's HALF A BILLION DOLLARS!"

"Guess you have enough to send Ari to an Ivy League School! ;) And think of all the trips to Europe and Disneyland/World, Hawaii, and everywhere else you can go on!"

Will stared at his phone in shock and awe. She has a point there. He sank slowly on a bench. He, Sonny, Ari, any kids they might have- they would all be set for life! Expensive clothes…a mansion…expensive cars…dining at expensive restaurants…staying at five-star hotels on vacations.

"Okay, I changed my mind. I'm keeping the money. And I take back every single bad thing I ever said to you. You're the BEST! :D"

"LOL You're welcome! : )"

Will sighed and put his phone in his pocket. "I just hope she's right about Andre…"

XXX

Meanwhile, Chad returned home to the mansion and told Stefano that he found Abigail and they're all safe. Stefano told him they lost their liquid assets. Chad sighed.

"Look, I get that you're upset." Chad was saying. "But you're not on the streets." Andre walked in. Chad continued. "You still got the company and all the stocks, all the legitimate business. Maybe it's for the best. Maybe we can live like normal people." Chad glanced at Andre, and grinned. His father and brother both looked at Chad as if he'd grown an extra head. Chad stood up. "I gotta get to the hospital." He kissed Stefano on the top of his head. "Mwah." He walked past Andre, patting his arm. "Andre."

"That little whelp." Andre commented and walked into the room to face Stefano. "Not much of a team player, is he?"

Stefano looked irritated. "Just tell me that you have found my money!"

"I'm getting closer." Andre grinned evilly.

"You found Sami?" Stefano asked, hopeful.

"I found the key to finding Sami." Andre corrected.

"And what is that?!" Stefano demanded.

"Her beloved firstborn son, William." Andre grinned.

Stefano stroked his chin in thought. "No. No, that is too obvious, see? Samantha knows that we know that William is the first person she would give the money to, huh? William doesn't have it, nor would he know where his mother is. I doubt he can even stand her."

"I see." Andre nodded. "Well, I happen to know that her little sister Belle Black is in town. Newly single…in need of a young man's…comfort. Perhaps young Chad. If she opens up to him, we can find out exactly where Samantha and the money are hiding."

Stefano stared at his son, unsure of what to think of his plan. On the one hand, he really wants his money back and for Samantha to go down hard. But, on the other hand…he already had to deal with his daughter dating John Black's idiot son. He wasn't sure if he wants to deal with his baby boy dating John Black's flaky daughter.


	17. Money Issues

"Are you sure you want to do this?"

Will and Sonny stood in the living room of their apartment. Everything still looked the same.

"I'm sure." Will replied. "Ben's finally back in prison, so, there's really no reason for us to hide."

"But what about the DiMeras?" Sonny asked.

"They don't know we're involved in Sami's mess, remember?" Will stated. 'At least I hope they don't…'

Sonny smiled and nodded. "Hey…do you realize that this is the first Christmas we haven't kept a secret from each other?"

"What?" Will asked confused.

"Three years ago, when we started dating, you kept from me the fact that you are Ari's father." Sonny replied. "Then, two years ago, I kept from you that your mom, grandma, and Gabi tried to kill Nick. Then last year, we both kept secrets from each other: you cheated in LA and you were writing an article about Paul, and I kept from you that my ex-boyfriend whom I proposed marriage to was in town."

"Huh."

Sonny wrapped his arms around Will's shoulders. "I'm just glad that for once, you're not keeping anything from me. This is gonna be the best Christmas ever."

The guilt was eating Will up. He did want them to have one Christmas where they don't keep secrets from one another. He just wasn't sure… He swallowed. "Actually…I have to tell you something."

Sonny's face fell. "What?"

Will sighed, pulled away, and sat on the couch. "Remember how my mom stole money from the DiMeras?"

"Yes." Sonny sat down, dreading Will's response.

"She put the money in an offshore account in my name." Will admitted.

Sonny was horrified. He didn't know who to be angrier at: Sami for putting his husband in potential danger, or Will for accepting that money. "What?!"

"Sonny, just hear me out." Will held his hands up to keep him calm.

"How much did she put in?" Sonny asked.

Will swallowed. "Half a billion dollars." Sonny just stared at his husband in shock. Will continued. "I put the account under a fake name. The DiMeras won't know it's me. I also opened up a dummy account in Paris under my name."

"How could you accept that money?" Sonny demanded. "Stolen DiMera money! A-are you trying to put us all in danger?"

"The DiMeras don't know I have the money, and they'll never know." Will replied.

"You don't think they'll find out?" Sonny argued. "This is Stefano DiMera we are talking about! And another thing: Sami committed embezzlement, which is a crime! You are an accessory after the fact."

"Look, we can worry about the legalities later. Sonny…think about this: once the DiMeras are put down for good, we will be set for life!" Will exclaimed. "Ari and any kids we might have will never want for anything. We'll be able to send Ari to an Ivy League school, and maybe even a private jet so she can fly home every weekend. And-and if you do have the BRCA1 gene and you do end up getting cancer, we'll be able to afford the best treatment and care possible."

Sonny heaved a sigh and ran his hands through his hair. "Okay…I want all those things too, but, not with stolen DiMera money! You have to give it back."

Will sighed and leaned back. He remembered Andre telling Will to return the money, and they'll look the other way. "What happens if I do return the money? They'll have everything they need to track down my mom and the kids, and they will find out that EJ is alive. They'll kill them."

"What do you think they'll do to us if we don't give them the money?" Sonny asked. "Sami shouldn't have dragged you into this."

"She would have just given the money to someone else. Someone who isn't even involved." Will explained.

Sonny scoffed and shook his head. "Will…this is…this is crazy. Look, I think you should talk to your aunt. She's a lawyer, right? She'll be able to help you if you get in trouble."

"No. No, I am not dragging anyone else into this!" Will argued. "It's safer that way."

Sonny just shook his head. "I can't believe this is happening…"

"I'm sorry." Will said, honestly.

"Oh, yeah, and this is just another DiMera secret I'm keeping from my dad and uncle- and my cousins!" Sonny exclaimed, laughing humorlessly.

"Brady and Philip are my uncles. How do you think I feel?" Will shrugged. "Sonny…this will all be over soon. I promise."

"You can't promise something like that." Sonny shook his head and stood up.

"It will!" Will insisted, standing up. "Remember- John now has all the information he needs to bring the DiMeras down for good."

"That doesn't mean we'll win!" Sonny exclaimed, throwing his arms out in frustration.

"Sonny…" Will cupped his face in his hands. "Nothing is going to happen. Not to us, not to our daughter. I won't let it."

Sonny exhaled slowly. "I really hope so." He pulled away and walked into the bedroom. Will sighed and flopped back down on the couch.

Once Sonny was in the bedroom, he shut the door, sighed, and pulled out his phone to text Sami. He knew it was pointless to call her. "How the hell could you dump all that money on your son? You are putting him, me, and Ari in danger! Don't you realize that?!"

"Andre isn't going to hurt you, okay? I gave the money to Will to make up for his horrible childhood."

"By putting a target on his back?!"

"They're not gonna think Will has the money. He's too obvious." Sami replied.

Sonny sighed in frustration. Why is Sami being so nonchalant and careless? "If anything happens to my husband and daughter because of this, I will NEVER forgive you!"

"Nothing IS going to happen. Stop worrying."

"Overconfidence can only get you so far."

"It will all be over soon." Sami added a smiley face. "Hey…think of this as payback for screwing you over, putting you in debt, and causing more strain on your marriage!"

Sonny just shook his head in dismay. Revenge is all Sami cares about. He only hoped that this wouldn't set off another DiMera-Kiriakis/Brady feud.

XXX

Will sat in thought. Sonny had a point- he would be charged with accessory to embezzlement. How much trouble would he be in? He decided maybe he should talk to Belle. Maybe he could just give her enough info for her to understand, but also not drag her into this mess or potentially get her killed or disbarred.

Will headed for the Town Square. He ran into Belle outside Hourglass. "Aunt Belle! Hey."

"Hey, Will." Belle greeted, smiling. "What's going on?"

"I need to talk to you…in private." Will said. They went over to a secluded bench and sat down. "I'm just wondering, um…if I'm an accessory to a white collar crime after the fact, will I be in much trouble?"

"Uh, well, it depends on what the crime is." Belle replied.

Will swallowed and looked around to make sure no one was listening. "Embezzlement."

Belle blinked in surprise. "Did Sonny…?"

"No! He would never." Will shook his head. "It's my mom."

Belle let out a sigh of dread. "Okay, what'd Sami do now?"

"Well, she kinda stole money from Stefano and put it in an offshore account in my name." Will admitted. "$500 million."

Belle just stared at her nephew as if he admitted he was no longer going to be wearing clothes even in the dead of winter. "Five hundred- Will! Please tell me you didn't accept it!"

"She would have just given it to someone else- someone who isn't even involved." Will shrugged. "I-I changed the name on the account, and it's somewhere where it would be impossible for me to access it."

"Really? Where?" Belle asked.

"I can't tell you for your own protection." Will replied.

Belle huffed slowly. "Will, this is a serious offense. You could land in prison for a year and be fined. And if Internal Affairs or Interpol get involved, I can't protect you." Will sighed and turned away. Belle closed her eyes, then opened them. "Look, I think you should just return the money. That way, you won't get in too much trouble, or danger."

"Aunt Belle, if I give Stefano his money back, he is going to have enough money and power to track my mother and siblings down." Will explained. "Keeping the money keeps my mom and siblings safe."

"But it also puts you and your family in danger!" Belle argued. "Look, my dad will be able to protect Sami and the kids. I promise."

Will shook his head. "I can't take that chance. Look, Aunt Belle, will you please keep this a secret- especially from Grandma and your dad? We can't put more people in danger."

Belle sighed and rubbed her forehead. "Okay. Fine. But if something happens- whether it's to you, me, your cousin, or your daughter; I will have no choice."

"Nothing will happen." Will insisted. "But, okay."

XXX

Later that evening, Brady caught up with Belle. "Hey, little sister!"

"Hey!" Belle greeted. "Where's Paul? I was hoping to get to know him better."

"He is working on Basic Black stuff." Brady replied. They started walking. "So, what do you think of our new baby brother?"

"Well, I always thought two brothers were more than enough for me." Belle replied.

"Trust me, I always thought one bratty sister was enough for me." Brady said half-jokingly.

Belle swatted him playfully. "Hey!"

"You gotta admit- Paul, he missed all the tattletale years." Brady said.

"Who says they're over?" Belle smirked. They chuckled.

"It's really good to have you back." Brady said.

"It's good to be back."

"So, are you sticking around, or what?" Brady asked.

"That's the plan." Belle replied, nodding.

"And Shawn?"

Belle tried not to look too upset. "He's in Maine."

"Oh."

"Yeah." She nodded. "Seems like he wants to put as much distance between us as possible. And Claire…it just seems like she'd rather we get a divorce and get it over with, so…"

"You fightin' a lot?" Brady asked.

"Not anymore." Belle replied. "But the silence is pretty terrible."

"That I understand." Brady said. They continued walking.

"So, you left your job at Titan, and moved out of the mansion…"

Brady nodded. "Mm-hmm."

"There's a lot of change for you, too." They sat down. "That could be good."

"Could be. Could also be scary as hell." Brady noticed Belle kept looking over her shoulder. "Question for you: are you looking for a better dinner date than…me?"

"No."

"Then there's something you're not telling me." Brady replied.

Belle let out a long sigh. "You can see it in my face, huh?"

"Mm-hmm."

"I'm a terrible liar." Belle looked away.

"That's a good quality, Belle." Brady said.

"Well, I think it'll actually get me in trouble this time." She replied.

"You wanna tell me why?" Brady asked, concerned. Belle shifted her eyes back and forth. Brady leaned forward. "Come on, Tink. I know that you're dying to tell me, anyway, so just do it. Tell me."

Belle knew she couldn't tell him, but…she didn't want to carry this whole thing alone. "I know, I know, I know. I didn't put myself in this situation, but Sami…"

Brady nodded, knowingly. "Sami." He loved his sister, but, he also knew that she can get herself into some deep trouble sometimes. He leaned back. "I'm shocked. So, how much trouble did she get you in this time?"

"Well, actually, she involved Will." Belle said. "He came to me for legal advice for being an accessory after the fact."

"What did she do, Belle?" Brady asked, dreading the answer.

Belle looked to make sure no one was listening, leaned forward, and cleared her throat. "Don't ask me how…but Sami figured out how to embezzle a boatload of money from Stefano."

"Define boatload." Brady said.

"All of his liquid assets." Belle raised her eyebrows. "Somewhere in the ballpark of $500 million."

Brady exhaled sharply and looked away in dismay. 'Dammit, Sami…' "Whoa. How the heck do you know this?"

"As I said, Will came to me for legal advice." Belle replied. "She gave all of it to Will. He put the account under a fake name to hopefully throw the DiMeras off his scent."

"Is she trying to get him killed? What is she doing?" Brady asked, aghast.

"According to Will, Sami thought he was the best person to hold the money." Belle shrugged. "The DiMeras would think that he's too obvious."

"And what if he doesn't? What if he does? He might come after you, or Eric, or me; or hell, even Paul!" Brady hissed.

"I know." Belle replied. "Look, I swore I wouldn't tell anyone, so…"

Brady scoffed. "So you turned around and promptly told me. Do I have a target on my back now, too? Am I in danger? Who else knows about this?"

"Just you, me, and Sonny." Belle replied.

"Sonny knows?" Brady asked. "Oh. Well, they're screwed, then."

"I'm sure Victor will be able to protect him." Belle said. "And you and Claire."

"But not Will." Brady raised an eyebrow. "He can't stand the guy."

"Okay. Just remember you asked."

"I know, I- fine." Brady just shook his head. "I'm glad you told me, Belle, but Dad would flip."

"He and Mom know what Sami did." Belle replied. "They just don't know that they parked that money with Will. They've been trying to get her to give it back, but she won't return their calls."

Brady exhaled slowly. "Of course not. Will could give it back."

"Already tried that. He told me that if Stefano had all that money, he would have enough power and resources to hunt Sami down and kill her and the kids." Belle replied.

"Where is Sami now?" Brady asked.

"God only knows. She just took the kids and split." Belle replied. "Not even Will knows where the hell she is."

"So, she's out there on her own?"

"Not exactly. It looks like EJ set this whole thing in motion." Belle explained.

Brady sighed and threw his head back. "Great, so, Sami's being helped by a ghost. What have you got? What has Will got?"

Belle laughed. "I don't know."

Brady shook his head. "Belle, I hate this situation you guys are in. Seriously- it scares me."

"I know. You would think Sami would have learned her lesson from last time." Belle nodded sadly. "Or the time before that, or the time before that, or the time before that…"

"Or the time before that." Brady repeated as Belle chuckled.

"I mean, because everybody knows that you don't cross Stefano DiMera or you and everyone you love will pay." Belle shook her head.

"Well, I will certainly remind that reckless nephew of ours of that." Brady nodded. "I really think you should tell Dad and Marlena."

"No. I don't want to involve them in this." Belle shook her head.

"But they've been down this road before with the DiMeras." Brady insisted. "They can help."

"Brady, I already promised not to tell anyone." Belle replied. "Can you promise me the same thing?"

Brady sighed and nodded. "Fine. Unlike you, I can keep a secret."

Belle scoffed. "Ew."

XXX

Will finished up his research for his next article and someone knocked at the door. He walked over and opened it. "Brady! Hey, this is a surprise."

Brady walked in and looked around. "Is Sonny here?"

As if on cue, Sonny walked out into the living room. "Brady, hey, what's up?"

Brady folded his arms and sighed. "I know, Will."

"Know what?" Will asked nonchalantly.

"Something about Sami stealing half a billion dollars from Stefano and giving half of it to you." Brady replied.

Will exhaled sharply and threw his head back. "I cannot believe she told you."

"It's a good thing she did." Brady said, frowning at Will. "Will, you never should have accepted that cash! Do you want to look over your shoulder for the rest of your life?"

"Well, it's not like my mom asked me first." Will argued. "I didn't have a choice. And her CPA friend said the money was untraceable…" His voice trailed off and he sighed. "Okay…I'd be lying if I said I have a good feeling about all this. Last night, I had a little run-in with Andre-"

"What?!" Sonny exclaimed.

"What'd he say?" Brady asked.

"He just wanted me to give Sami a message: return the money and they'll look the other way. If not, then things could get ugly." Will replied. "Of course, I played dumb. I just hope he didn't see right through me."

"Well, you are a pretty good liar." Sonny nodded. Will side-glared at Sonny. "Which in this case, can come in handy."

"If Andre does suspect you, this could turn into another DiMera-Kiriakis/Brady feud." Brady stated. "Will, you married a Kiriakis. This makes it even more dangerous for you. Still thinking of holding onto that cash?"

"Yes." Will replied. "Brady, if the DiMeras get their money back, they will have everything they need to successfully track down my mom and the kids, and they will kill them! I'm sorry, but I can't take that chance."

Brady exhaled. "Okay. I don't like this, but, it's your call. But, news flash: if you do keep the cash, you're gonna need all the help you can get."

"Okay. Thank you." Will replied. "You are gonna keep quiet, though, right?"

"Of course. Can you imagine if Victor or Philip or Justin were to find out?" Brady raised an eyebrow. "We'd be looking at the next DiMera-Kiriakis war."

Brady left the two. Will sighed and turned to Sonny. "Well, so much for not keeping secrets this year."

Sonny nodded. "Yep. This time, we're both keeping secrets from everyone else."

"Brady and Aunt Belle included."


	18. Strange Behaviors

Over the next two weeks, Will and Sonny threw themselves into the holiday season. They found a Christmas tree and decorated the apartment (and the tree) while listening to Christmas music with Gabi and Ari. They laughed and danced around and took turns dancing with Ari. Will and Sonny each grabbed an end to a red tinsel rope. Sonny twirled towards Will, wrapping himself in the tinsel, and kissed him. Sonny whirled in the opposite direction, unwrapping himself, and they put the tinsel on the tree.

After decorating, Gabi put Ari down for a nap. The three sat on the couch.

"I want to run something by you guys." Gabi spoke up. "I ran into my dad earlier, and he said he would like to drop off a gift for Ari. I invited him to spend Christmas morning with us. Is that okay?"

Will and Sonny glanced at each other and nodded. "Yeah, sure. I've been where he is- well, not the abandoning two families part. The part where he wants to get to know you and Ari. So, yeah. It's totally fine."

Gabi smiled. "Great!"

"But, how does Rafe feel about this?" Sonny asked.

"I haven't told him." Gabi shrugged. "But I am going to invite him on Christmas morning. Come on, it's been over two decades. Time to move past the whole abandonment thing."

"Good point." Sonny shrugged. "My dad and uncle have moved past worse, why can't Rafe and you move past your dad abandoning you?"

"Yeah, but, Rafe can hold a grudge." Will pointed out.

"Another good point…" Gabi nodded. Her phone buzzed. "Ooh. I have to go over some Basic Black stuff with Paul. Um…is this gonna be weird for you guys that I'm working with Paul?"

"No. Not at all." Sonny smiled. Will shook his head.

XXX

Will stretched out onto the couch and yawned. Time for him to take a nap himself. He closed his eyes for a few minutes, then his phone rang. He groaned lightly and answered. "Hey, Brady, what's up?"

Brady cleared his throat. "Do not freak out…but, Belle stopped by my apartment and suggested that you donate all that DiMera money to charity…and Theresa overheard."

Will sat up. "What?!"

"And she wants to use that money to buy out Kate from Basic Black." Brady admitted.

"And you shot that idea down, right?" Will asked, voice trembling.

"Not exactly…"

"Brady, listen to me. My grandmother cannot find out about this! She'll just make everything worse!" Will exclaimed. "Then she'll tell my dad who will tell my mother-in-law, then it would only be a matter of time until Justin and Victor find out-"

"Okay, okay, I'll talk to her." Brady assured him.

Will exhaled sharply. "Thank you."

"You're welcome. Bye."

Will leaned back. This was starting to get more complicated. Someone knocked on the door. 'Theresa.' He thought.

"Good, you're here." Abigail said. She walked into the apartment and took off her coat.

"Hi, Abigail. Come on in." Will said as he closed the door.

"Have you talked to Chad lately?" Abigail asked.

"No. Why?"

"He's been acting really strange." Abigail replied. "He just randomly broke up with me with no expression and no emotion. It's like he's a zombie!"

Will was confused. "Why would he break up with you?"

"He said I should focus more on Thomas." Abigail explained. "He said that since Thomas wasn't his anyway, he doesn't want to-"

"Are you kidding me?" Will cried, both shocked and angry.

Abigail shook his head. "But…there's just something really off about him. Almost like he didn't want to say those things. And then, later, I see him talking to Belle, almost like he was flirting with her."

Will tried not to panic. If he's been forced to dump Abigail, and then he started flirting with his aunt… oh, dear God. "Um, were they at Club TBD?"

"Yeah, why?" Abigail asked.

"Because Sonny's there at work. Maybe he heard something."

XXX

Club TBD was busy. Good news for Sonny, 'cause that means they won't have money problems like last year. He ran around bussing tables and tending the bar. He said hi to Marlena and Belle, and was shocked to see Belle talking to Chad after Marlena left. Chad and Belle chatted for a few minutes, then JJ came barging in and nearly beat up Chad for hurting his sister. Again. They argued, and JJ warned Belle against Chad. Sonny waited until Belle and JJ left to talk to Chad.

"Hey. What was that about?" Sonny asked.

"You may as well know." Chad replied almost monotonously. "I'm suing your dad's office for wrongful imprisonment."

Sonny was shocked, but not surprised. "Well, I can't blame you."

"Good. I also hope you won't let this come between our partnership." Chad replied.

"Hey, I'm not taking sides." Sonny raised his hands in surrender. "If you don't mind my asking...were you also flirting with Belle?"

"Hey, can you blame me? She's hot!" Chad exclaimed.

"But you're dating Abigail." Sonny said.

"Not anymore. I dumped her." Chad said with little emotion.

Sonny just stared at his friend. "You mean to tell me that you've been working your ass off for over a year trying to get her back, and now, when you finally have her, you dump her?!"

"I need to focus more on my family. They are going through a crisis right now." Chad answered. "And Abigail needs to focus on her son."

Sonny exhaled slowly. "Okay. You have a point there. But, Chad, When Ari was born, yes, Will did have to focus on her more, but, he still found time for me. And he also went through something traumatic at that time."

"Ari wasn't premature. She had both parents plus you." Chad argued. "And getting shot doesn't even come close to what Abby and I went through."

"Chad, what is this really about? What's wrong with you?" Sonny asked.

"I told you: my family is going through a crisis right now. They need all my attention." Chad replied.

"Really? What crisis?" Sonny wanted to know.

Chad scoffed and shook his head. "Yeah. I'm gonna tell a Kiriakis what the DiMera Family Crisis is. Really, dude?"

"Okay, okay. Sorry." Sonny scoffed lightly as he walked away. 'I already know what it is, anyway.'

XX

Sonny went back to work behind the bar. He got a text from Will saying "Hey, call me when you have a few minutes. It's about Abigail and Chad." Sonny looked around and noticed that it was a little quiet and slow. He called Will. "Hey."

"Hey. So, Abigail stopped by earlier, and she said that Chad dumped her, but he is acting really weird." Will reported. "Almost like a zombie."

"I know. I just ran into him." Sonny turned around and leaned against the counter. "He was talking to your aunt Belle."

"Why?"

"He wants her to help him sue the DA's office." Sonny replied.

"Uh, how do you feel about that? I mean, that's kind of awkward, isn't it?" Will asked.

"No…because I don't blame him for doing that." Sonny said honestly. "And honestly, if Belle asks me to testify against my dad, I'd totally do it, because, seriously- if he hadn't been so hell-bent on putting a DiMera behind bars, Ben would have been caught sooner!"

"Good point." Will nodded. "But, Sonny, come on, he's your dad. It's Christmas. Can't you just forgive him?"

"Not yet." Sonny said through clenched teeth.

"Okay. So, back to Chabby…"

"Chabby?" Sonny raised an eyebrow.

"It's just a nickname for Chad and Abigail." Will explained. "You and I are Wilson, my mom and EJ are EJami, Theresa and Brady are Thrady…"

Sonny wrinkled his nose and shook his head. "I dunno if I like that. Anyway, what did Abigail tell you?"

"That Chad broke up with her because they both need to focus on their families." Will replied. "She also said that something is wrong with him, and that she saw him talking to Belle, almost flirtatiously."

Sonny exhaled slowly. "Well, he told me that he just wanted her to represent him in his lawsuit. But...Will, if they get close..."

"I know." Will sighed. "I really hope she's smart enough to keep quiet about something this big. Oh, I never should have told her..."

"You had to. You needed legal advice." Sonny said.

"Yeah, that's not all: Aunt Belle stopped by Brady's apartment earlier to suggest I donate the money to different charities, and Theresa overheard." Will said.

Sonny sighed and threw his head back. "You have got to be kidding."

"I wish. Theresa wanted to use the money to buy out my grandma from Basic Black, but Brady told me he'll shoot her down." Will explained.

"She better. Remember the last time Kate interfered in someone's life?" Sonny chuckled, then froze as he heard a woman clear her throat sharply. "...Crap."

"Let me guess: Kate's right behind you?" Will asked, trying to keep calm.

Sonny turned around and sighed in relief when he saw his mother. "No, my mom, actually. I gotta go."

"Okay. I'll be here, writing my will." Will replied.

"Wait, what? Why?" Sonny asked, surprised.

"Because the longer this whole drama goes on, the less chance I have of making it to our daughter's third birthday." Will said simply. "Later, babe."

Sonny hung up and smiled at his mother. "Mom! What can I get you?"

Adrienne smirked. "Let's see...how about...peppermint martini with a shot of what the hell did Will drag you into now?"

Sonny huffed. "Mom, it's really no big deal. And besides, Will didn't drag me into it. It was mostly Sami."

"Sami." Adrienne nodded, knowingly. "What'd she do?"

"I am not going to tell you." Sonny replied. He headed to the liquor cart.

"Then why isn't it a big deal?" Adrienne asked.

"Because Sami swore Will to secrecy." Sonny set her drink in front of her.

"But the secret isn't a big deal?" Adrienne raised an eyebrow.

"Spilling a Sami Brady secret no matter how harmless it is is not a smart move." Sonny replied.

Adrienne rolled her eyes and blew apart her bangs. "I just want you to be safe. You understand that, right?"

"Yes, I do." Sonny nodded.

Adrienne sipped her drink. "So...did you get your results yet?"

"No. Should be any day now." Sonny shook his head. Adrienne tried not to look too worried. Sonny smiled reassuringly. "Hey, do I look like a dying man to you? Even if I do have the gene, it doesn't mean I'll get cancer."

"I know, I know." Adrienne cleared her throat. "So, Grandma wants us all to come over on Christmas Eve for dinner."

"Oh, okay. Well, the Horton Christmas Tree Trimming is at 7:00, so, we may have to leave a little early." Sonny said.

"Perfect!"

XXX

Will read a text message from Brady. "Crisis averted. I told Theresa not to talk to Belle or you about that money, and to find another way to get along with Kate."

Will sighed with relief. "Thank you, Brady! I love you! You're awesome!"

"Ha ha ha. I love you, too, man."

Will chuckled and looked up when Sonny walked in. "Oh, hey! Brady just texted me and told me that the Theresa situation has been taken care of..." Will's voice trailed off when he saw his husband's anxious expression. "What's wrong?"

Sonny held up a letter. "My results are in."

"Oh." They sat on the couch. Sonny stared down at the unopened letter. "Sonny...whatever the results say, I'm here for you. We'll get through this together."

Sonny nodded and smiled. He took a deep breath and opened and read the letter. His face fell slightly. "Well, the good news is that they didn't find any traces of cancer in my body."

"The bad news is that you have the BRCA1 gene...don't you?" Will asked, dreading his response. Sonny swallowed and nodded. Will exhaled sharply and hugged his husband. "But...like you said...just because you have the gene, doesn't mean you'll get cancer. You're just at a higher risk to it."

"Yeah." Sonny cleared his throat and hugged back.

Later, after putting Ari to bed, Will lay on his side on the couch with Sonny spooning him from behind. They snuggled close.

"We're gonna be okay...right?" Will asked, unsure.

Sonny kissed the back of Will's head. "Of course we are. Hey...it's Christmas. A time of joy. Let's stop worrying about the DiMeras and Sami and my test results. We'll worry about all that after Christmas."

Will smiled and nodded. He turned around to face his husband. "Sounds like a plan."


	19. The Greatest Time Of Year

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So, I was gonna have Will read the Christmas Story in this fanfic, but, I'm guessing they had Maggie read it because it's the 50th anniversary, so, I didn't want to mess with canon too much. Maybe next year (or the next...or the next...)

Christmas Eve finally came! Sonny carried a fully dressed Ari out of her room. "Merry Christmas Eve, sweetheart. You ready to hear your cousin sing?"

"Yeah!" Ari said, even though she probably didn't understand what her daddy was saying.

Will walked into the apartment looking frustrated. He held up a bag. "It happened again." He threw the bag on the couch and a couple of dresses fell out.

"Let me guess: your grandmas, my mom…" Sonny guessed.

Will nodded. "And Aunt Maggie. Is this what it's gonna be like every year? Is everyone gonna buy Ari a dress and expect her to wear it to the Christmas party?"

Sonny chuckled. "Well, let's just do what we did last year: have Ari wear one dress, then she'll parade her new clothes over the next week."

Gabi had entered the room at that point. "I may have a suggestion."

"Please? We'll try anything." Will begged.

"You have five different Christmas parties, right?" Gabi asked. Will nodded. "Well, why don't you just change Ari into a different dress after each one? The one Adrienne gave to her, she can wear to the Johnson Christmas party, the one Caroline gave her, she can wear to the Brady's…"

Will and Sonny looked at each other. "That could work."

They suddenly heard singing outside their door. Will opened it to Adrienne and Lucas were singing "Here Comes Santa Claus". Will, Sonny, and Gabi laughed in surprise. Lucas and Adrienne danced inside. When they were done, they applauded.

"How's that for Christmas caroling, huh?" Lucas grinned.

"That was actually pretty good." Will nodded and smiled. "So, you two are playing Santa and Mrs. Claus this year?"

"We are!" Adrienne replied.

"And…we have one little request for you and Sonny." Lucas pulled out two elf hats. Sonny's face lit up, while Will's eyes widened in horror. "Santa needs elves. Huh?"

"Uh…heh. No. No way." Will shook his head and backed away.

"Oh, come on, Will!" Lucas exclaimed.

"Baby, it would be fun for the kids." Sonny jumped in. He clasped his hands up in front of him. "Please? For me? For Ari?"

"I'd rather be locked in a room with Ben for 24 hours." Will said simply. Both Sonny and Lucas gave him puppy dog eyes and pouts. Gabi and Adrienne smiled at each other, and joined in. Will groaned loudly. "Not you, two!" He sighed in resignation. "Fine! I'll do it."

"All right! That's my boy." Lucas clapped Will on the shoulder and put the elf hat on him.

Sonny kissed Will on the cheek. "You are going to be the most handsome elf ever."

XXX

Will enjoyed being Santa's elf more than he thought. He even sang along to "Toyland" until Sonny kissed him on the mouth to stop his horrendous singing. Later, Will went back home to change. Sonny looked around for Adrienne and spotted her kissing Lucas under a mistletoe. Once Lucas walked off, Sonny snuck up on his mother from behind.

"I…saw Mommy kissing Saaaanta Clause!/Underneath the mistletoe last night…" Sonny sang softly. Adrienne grinned mischievously and started tickling her son. Sonny shrieked with laughter. "Mo-om! Stop!" Adrienne let up, and Sonny calmed down from laughing.

"You're silly." Adrienne chuckled. She sighed. "Oh, um, before I forget: there was an error in my lab test, so they want me to come in and do it again. Today."

"What?!" Sonny exclaimed. "Today of all days?"

"I know." Adrienne nodded. "That means that I will be late for dinner at Grandmas'."

"Oh. Okay." Sonny nodded. "Hopefully they won't mess up the results this time."

"Yeah." Adrienne chuckled.

XXX

Jo and Vern lived on a farmhouse twenty miles south of Salem. The house was old, Victorian-style, and painted powder-blue.

"I love coming out here. It's so quiet and old-fashioned." Sonny said to Will, who was holding Ari. He knocked on the door.

"Sonny-boy!" Jo exclaimed when she threw open the door. She laughed and held her arms out. "Come give Grandma a hug!"

Sonny smiled and returned the hug. "Hi, Grandma. You remember Will?"

"Oh, yes, yes!" Jo hugged Will. "Hello, Will!" She gasped. "This must be Arianna Grace!"

"It is!" Will smiled broadly, and turned to his daughter. "Say hi to Grandma Jo."

"Hi, Gamma Jo." Ari said.

Jo chuckled affectionately. "Hello, sweetheart."

"Are we the first ones here?" Sonny asked.

"No. The Deverauxs arrived just before you did." Jo replied. "Um, where is your mother?"

"Running late." Sonny replied. "There was a problem with her mammogram, so they had to redo it."

"Oh. Well, I'm sure everything's fine." Jo replied, trying to convince herself as well. She cleared her throat. "How are you? I mean, with everything you've gone through this year…"

Sonny chuckled softly and smiled. "I'm fine, Grandma. Really. Things are really starting to get better. I'm happier than I've been all year."

Jo smiled and patted his cheeks. "I'm so happy to hear that."

The doorbell rang again. This time, it was Steve, Kayla, and Joey. "Ho, ho, ho!"

"Steven!" Jo exclaimed. They hugged, then she hugged Kayla. "Oh…I'm so glad you and my son found your way back to each other."

Kayla smiled. "Me, too."

Joey smiled at his grandmother. "Hey, Grandma Jo."

"Hey, Grandson Joe." Jo chuckled, and they hugged. "Oh my, how you've grown!"

"Is your mom here?" Steve asked Sonny.

Sonny shook his head. "Not yet. She's running late."

"All right, let's go into the living room. Dinner's almost ready." Jo said. They all went into the living room and fawned over Thomas Jack. "He is darling, Abigail."

Abigail smiled. "Isn't he, though?"

Jo smiled sadly and took her granddaughter's hands in hers. "I'm glad you got out before it got worse…unlike me."

"Me, too, Grandma." Abigail replied. They hugged.

"So, 'Sonny-boy'?" Will whispered to Sonny, trying not to laugh.

"Shut up." Sonny grumbled. "It's Grandma's pet name for me."

"I like it." Will grinned. "I'm gonna call you that from now on."

"Please don't." Sonny said, groaning inwardly.

"Guess who's back?" They all turned around to see Stephanie.

Abigail screamed in delight and ran to hug her cousin. They hugged and laughed. Jo, Kayla, Steve, Joey, JJ, Will, and Sonny all took turns hugging her.

"You finally decided to come!" Sonny exclaimed.

Stephanie laughed softly. "Of course. I missed you guys!"

"Oh, we missed you too, sweetheart." Kayla replied.

Stephanie turned to Abigail. "I'm sorry about what you went through. Are you okay?"

"I'm getting there." Abigail replied. "I'm just glad Chad got there in time."

Stephanie scoffed lightly. "Well, you know things are messed up when a DiMera has to rescue your ass."

"Damn straight." Steve grinned.

Stephanie turned to Will. "I heard you were in the hospital. How are you feeling?"

"Better." Will smiled. "I'm still having nightmares, but…otherwise, I'm doing much better."

"That's good." Stephanie smiled and nodded. "How are your mom and siblings?"

"They're good." Will replied.

Stephanie then turned to Sonny and hugged him again. "Thank you for saving my cousin. As much as I keep envisioning slapping Sami, I wouldn't wish the death of one of her children upon her."

"Of course. The world would be very dull without Will Horton walking around." Sonny replied. They all laughed.

Just then, Adrienne rushed in. "Hey! Sorry I'm late."

"Oh, you're just in time for dinner." Jo replied, hugging her daughter, then looked pointedly behind her.

Adrienne turned around and smiled when she saw Stephanie. "Hmm. You know, you look really familiar. Almost like my long-lost niece Stephanie."

Stephanie rolled her eyes. "Hi, Aunt Adrienne."

"Hi!" Adrienne and Stephanie hugged.

"Oh, it's so nice to have the family together again." Jo said. She sighed. "I'm…I'm sorry. I know this is supposed to be a happy time, but, I'm afraid I might tear if I don't ask."

"Mom, this can wait until after the holidays." Adrienne said, not wanting to ruin this happy family moment.

"I know, honey, but…I really- I need to know." Jo replied.

Steve sighed. "Joe and I haven't had a chance to get tested yet."

"Neither did JJ or me." Abigail replied.

Stephanie sighed quietly, closed her eyes, bowed her head, and looked up. "I got tested. And…I have it."

"So do I." Sonny replied. Stephanie smiled sadly and squeezed his hand. Kayla hugged her daughter.

"Man, this is depressing." Joey spoke up.

"Couldn't agree more." Steve clapped his hands and rubbed them together. "Now…are we gonna have our Christmas Eve feast, or are we gonna stand around sulking?"

They all laughed, including Jo. Jo nodded and smiled. "All right, let's gather around the table."

The extended Johnson family spent the rest of the evening talking and laughing.

XXX

The Hortons were next on the agenda. Will and Sonny rushed back to their apartment to change Ari into her next Christmas dress, then headed over to Jennifer's. They saw Lucas out on the porch smiling at something on his phone. He looked up and smiled wider when he saw his son, son-in-law, and granddaughter.

"Hey, you made it!" Lucas exclaimed. He hugged and kissed Ari, then pulled Will into a tight hug, getting a little emotional. He sighed quietly. "I can't believe you almost didn't make it to this Christmas."

Will smiled and chuckled softly. "But I did." He pulled away. "Let's just focus on what we have. Now…what were you smiling about before?"

"Oh. It was a text from your mother, actually." Lucas replied. "She sent a picture of a card Allie drew for me."

Lucas showed the boys a picture of a picture drawn in crayon with a note saying "Merry Christmas, Daddy! I miss you!"

"Awww!" Sonny cooed.

Will's phone buzzed. Sami sent him a text saying "Merry Christmas, Will, from all of us!" She added a picture of her with EJ and the kids all wearing Santa hats, standing on a tropical beach. Will chuckled.

"Wow. Is that photoshopped?" Lucas asked, looking over Will's shoulder.

Will jumped and quickly put his phone away. "Dad! Geez, don't do that!"

"Sorry." Lucas chuckled. He was about to say something else when the door flew open.

"Hey, what are you all doing out here? The party's inside!" Doug exclaimed. Sonny, Will, and Lucas chuckled and walked inside into the living room.

"Hey, JJ. Long time no see." Sonny joked.

JJ laughed. "Yeah, really."

"Where's Abigail?" Will asked, looking around.

"She had to talk to your grandpa about Ben or something." JJ replied.

"Oh." Will nodded.

They all turned to Doug, who started speaking. "This year…we've all been hit hard. We know we can't bring back those people we've lost. But decorating this tree is our way to celebrate our family. So, tonight, we stop and remember who we are, where we came from. We tell all the stories. It's important that we continue to do this all the days of our lives." He turned to Abigail and JJ. "Abigail, you…JJ, you listen to me. When…when we're gone, even if you're not in this house, it is imperative that you be the custodians of that tradition, you hear me?"

JJ looked at his sister, expecting her to say something, but, she looked despondent. So, he spoke. "Well, it almost never happens that my sister can't talk." He chuckled. "So, on behalf of me and my sister, we accept."

Everyone smiled, then Julie announced it time to hang the ornaments. Chase and Thomas Jack received their ornaments. Everyone quietly hung their own ornaments, Will hung Ari's and Lucas hung Allie's. Finally Jennifer hung both Tom and Alice's ornaments. They all stood quietly, staring and smiling at the tree. Then, Ciara grabbed a guitar and handed it to JJ.

JJ played and sung a rockabilly version of "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen". Claire joined in.

XXX

The next morning, Sonny woke Will up with a kiss. "Merry Christmas."

"Merry Christmas, to you, too." Will replied. He yawned, stretched, and climbed out of bed. "What time is it? 6:00 in the morning."

"Mmm. Wonder if Gabi and Ari are awake." Sonny said. They crept out into the living area and sure enough, Gabi and Ari were wide awake, sitting on the floor, looking in Ari's stocking.

"Feliz Navidad!" Gabi replied, happily. "I hope we didn't wake you guys."

"No, you didn't." Sonny assured her. He and Will sat down by Ari. "Merry Christmas, sweetheart."

"Mewwy Kissmas." Ari said.

They all laughed. "So, it's Kissmas, huh?" Will asked, teasingly. He and Sonny grabbed Ari and kissed her on the cheek, causing Ari to laugh.

"All right, I'll get breakfast started, since we're all up." Sonny jumped up and headed to the kitchen.

Will nodded, and grabbed his phone to text Rafe and Lucas "Merry Christmas! We're all awake, so come on over!"

About twenty minutes later, Lucas and Rafe showed up with presents in tow.

"Gampa!" Ari ran to Lucas.

"Hey, there's my favorite girl!" Lucas picked up Ari and hugged her.

"Merry Christmas!" Rafe exclaimed.

"Unca Wafe!" Ari exclaimed. She hugged her uncle.

XX

After eating breakfast, everyone started tearing into their presents. Gabi was surprised to have gotten a gift from Sonny.

"Oh, Sonny, you didn't have to." Gabi said modestly.

"Of course I did. You're one of my best friends." Sonny grinned.

Gabi smiled, touched. There was a time when she and Sonny did not get along almost to the point of wanting to kill each other. But, that's all behind them now. "Wow, a gold star necklace! Thanks, Sonny!"

"Whoa. Is that real?" Rafe took a look at it.

"Wrong Kiriakis, dude." Sonny quipped. They chuckled.

"All right, Will, I saved the best for last…" Lucas gave Will a large, wrapped, present.

"Ooh." Will unwrapped and opened the box to find another, smaller box. Inside that box was yet another smaller box. Inside that box was a smaller, wrapped gift. "Really, Dad?"

Lucas just laughed. "This is just to build up your anticipation."

Will shook his head and unwrapped the gift. He gasped happily. "Oh my God! This is a first edition Faulkner!" He tackled Lucas with a hug. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!"

Lucas laughed again. "You're welcome, man."

"Well, I don't think my present's gonna top that." Sonny half-joked and gave Will his present.

"Thanks, babe." Will unwrapped his present. Sonny gave him a leather-bound copy of 'Classic American Short Stories'. "Oh my God! Thanks, babe!" He hugged and kissed Sonny.

"Whoa, where'd you find this?" Lucas asked.

"Ordered it online from Barnes and Noble." Sonny replied.

"Oh…"

"Sonny, I believe you haven't opened my gift to you yet." Will grinned. He jumped up to grab Sonny's present.

Sonny unwrapped his present. He pulled out a picture frame. "Is this...?"

"It's a picture video!" Will exclaimed. "I thought you could maybe put it on your desk at your office and you can look at it when you're stressed or bored."

"Baby, I love it!" Sonny grabbed Will's face and kissed him.

Will chuckled. "Wait til you see the pictures."

XXX

Their next stop was the Kiriakises. Will, Sonny, and Ari arrived just as Victor opened up Philip's present.

"…You are now the owner of Manchester Industries." Philip announced.

'What the hell, Uncle Phil?' Will looked at his uncle like he was crazy.

Maggie and Justin ran over to fawn over Ari. Sonny smiled, walked over to the couch, and sat down. "Well, it's not an industry, but, the boys and I hope you like it." He handed Victor a present. Victor unwrapped a brown, leather bound book. "I got this in Paris. It's a first edition of Browning's translation of 'The Agamemnon'. We all chipped in."

"Oh, well, you shouldn't have wasted your money." Victor said without looking up.

"That's his way of saying he loves it." Maggie pitched in. "And you."

"Excuse me, is this a private party, or can anyone just join in?" Everyone turned to see Brady walking in with Tate in one arm, and a bag on the other.

"Tate!" Maggie exclaimed.

"You know what they say, everyone: beware of Greeks bearing gifts." Brady grinned. He handed gifts to Maggie, Victor, Justin, and Philip. "Will, Sonny, I didn't forget about you two."

"'Make Millions Off Your Published Works'. Thanks, Brady!" Will exclaimed, smiling.

"A Rolex?" Sonny gasped in wonder.

"Check the back." Brady said.

Sonny opened the box and checked the back of the watch. "Holy…you had the Equality symbol engraved on it?"

"Yep." Brady grinned.

"Wow, thanks, Brady!" Sonny hugged his cousin.

"You're welcome, man." Brady replied.

"Philip, what'd you get?" Maggie asked.

"Four Blackhawk tickets. Center ice." Philip deadpanned.

"I thought we'd have a guys' night out." Brady replied, folding his arms. "Celebrate your homecoming."

"Well, that sounds wonderful." Maggie said. Philip wasn't all that pleased. Maggie turned to Victor. "Victor, what did you get?"

"Well, I don't know. Let's see…" Victor pulled out an old coin.

"Oh." Maggie exclaimed.

"Where'd you get this?" Victor asked Brady.

"I tracked down a coin collector in Patras," Brady explained. "and I told him what you had said about it, and he knew exactly what I was talking about. If you look, it's minted in the year you were born."

"So, it's an antique." Philip nodded.

Victor smiled, stood up, and walked to Brady; extending his arms. "Thank you. Ef charisto."

Will leaned over to whisper to Sonny. "What does ef charisto mean?"

"'Thank you'." Sonny replied.

Will nodded. "Oh. So, what year was Victor born in?"

"1930." Sonny answered.

A few minutes later, Caroline came over. Maggie greeted Caroline with open arms.

"Caroline's gonna be staying with us." Victor announced. Will did a double take. What?

"Because of the serum?" Philip asked.

"Not now." Victor replied, then walked to Caroline.

Will stared at his uncle. Why was he so curious about the serum? Will smiled and walked up to Philip. "Hey, Uncle Phil. I don't believe you've met your grand-niece yet."

"Oh, yeah. Arianna Grace, right?" Philip asked. Will nodded. "Hi, Arianna Grace. I'm your Uncle Phil."

Will turned to Ari. "Can you say hi to Uncle Phil?" Ari just waved. Will chuckled. "So, um…why are you so curious about the serum?"

"Will, you must know by now that having psychic visions is a side effect of that drug." Philip said. Will nodded. "Think of how many people would buy that!"

Will sighed quietly. "Uncle Phil, I get where you're going with this. But, aren't you afraid of the drug falling into the wrong hands? I mean, Bo- your brother- was kidnapped and tortured for information about the drug, and look where he ended up!"

"That's not gonna happen to anyone else." Philip assured him.

Sonny walked over. "Hey. What's going on?"

"Just getting to know my little grand-niece." Philip replied.

"Cut the crap, Uncle Philip. He knows about the drug." Will replied. He turned to Sonny. "Apparently, Philip wants to profit from the drug."

Sonny was not surprised. "I'm assuming Uncle Vic has no idea."

"He does, actually." Philip nodded.

"Okay." Sonny nodded. He went over to Victor and pulled him aside. "Uncle Vic, if you're moving Caroline in here because of that serum, shouldn't Will, Ari, and I move in here as well? To keep us all safe?"

"First of all, this isn't the time to discuss this." Victor sighed. "Second of all, no one outside the family knows that Will took that serum. As long as you keep it that way, you're in no danger."

"Okay. Thank you."

"You're welcome."

XXX

Later, everyone went to the hospital for the kids' party. Maggie came to the group, sighing. "Well, my Santa has the flu."

"Or a hangover." Caroline half-joked.

"We need a stand-in." Maggie looked pointedly at Victor.

"Never. Again." Victor raised an eyebrow.

"He'll do it!" Both Philip and Justin said simultaneously and pointed to the other.

"Well, I'll just have to tell all the sick children that Santa couldn't make it this year." Maggie sighed again.

Will grinned, getting an idea. "Maybe not. Maybe you should call my dad. He was a big hit in Town Square yesterday."

Sonny caught on and nodded. "Oh, yeah. And Mom was an excellent Mrs. Clause. We should call her, too."

Justin glared at all of them. "I hate you all." He sighed. "Okay, fine. Where's the Santa suit?"

Maggie squealed in delight and hugged Justin. "Thank you!"

"I'll help you get set up." Philip offered. He followed Justin. "Don't worry- I'll take lots of pictures!"

"Send me some!" Will called out.

"You got it."

Will pulled out his phone to text Lucas. "Hey, so, Aunt Maggie read the Christmas Story this year, and Justin is going to be Santa!"

"LOL Please tell me you have pictures!"

Will laughed. "I will. I told Uncle Phil to send some to me. I'll forward them to you."

"THANKS!"

Justin was less than enthusiastic, partially because Philip was filming the entire thing. He handed out presents and they all sang "Away In A Manger".

Sonny smiled, and rested his hands and chin on Will's shoulder. "Best. Christmas. Ever."

Will smiled back at his husband. He then, suddenly had a vision of Victor, unconscious on the couch in the Kiriakis living room with Philip standing over him, not the least bit concerned.


	20. Here's To Us

Paul sat at a table at the Pub drinking coffee and going over his notes for the Basic Black launch. He was really excited about this job and was surprised at how much he enjoyed it. He looked up when Theresa sat down across from him, looking determined.

"Hi." Theresa greeted.

"Hi, Theresa. What can I do for you?" Paul asked politely.

"I'm glad you asked." Theresa grinned, then sobered up. "Kate needs to go. She has been nothing but harsh and controlling since we started this company."

"It's called being professional, Theresa. You should try it sometime." Paul snarked.

Theresa glared at him. "How can you stand up for her after she put you through hell?!"

"Hey, I want her gone as much as you do. But, she knows what she's doing." Paul replied. "Honestly, her control and tough love is exactly what this company needs to keep it going. You haven't already tried to oust Kate, have you?"

"Well, I was going to buy her off. Belle Brady apparently came into a lot of money from the DiMeras or something." Theresa shrugged. Paul blinked in shock. How did…? "Anyway, Brady shot that idea down."

Paul scoffed lightly. "Good thing he did. The DiMeras are dangerous, Theresa. Plus, I don't think Kate would accept their money." Paul gathered his notes and stood up. "Why don't you try hitting her with a fireplace poker? Seems to work well with you."

Theresa looked insulted. "Did you even know John was your father back then?"

"No. Doesn't mean I can't be mad about that." Paul smirked. "Sayonara."

XX

Paul caught up with Brady in the park just outside the square. "Brady! Hey."

"Oh, hey, man. What's up?" Brady asked.

Paul folded his arms against the cold. "I just had an interesting conversation with Theresa."

"Oh yeah?" Brady asked, curious now.

"Yeah. She wants to oust Kate from Basic Black…" Paul said. He glanced around to make sure no one was listening. "…with DiMera money that apparently our sister has."

Brady's eyes widened, then he sighed and shook his head. "Look, Paul, this whole situation is dangerous. Long story short: Sami stole half a billion dollars from Stefano."

"And she gave it to Belle?" Paul asked.

"Actually, she gave half of it to Will." Brady explained. "Belle knows about it because Will went to her for legal advice since he's now an accessory to embezzlement after the fact."

Paul exhaled sharply. "Why Will? I mean, isn't that a little too obvious?"

"Sami thinks that's exactly why he's the best person to hold the money." Brady explained. "The DiMeras wouldn't think Sami would give the money to her son."

"And let me guess: Sonny has no idea." Paul said with a hint of resentment.

"Actually, Sonny does know." Brady replied.

"Really? 'Cause I can't imagine him going along with this." Paul shrugged.

"Well, he, Belle, and I have all tried to convince Will to give the money back to the DiMeras to avoid danger; but, he is convinced that if he does, then Stefano will have all the power and resources to track Sami and his brother and sisters down and kill them in revenge." Brady exhaled again.

Paul nodded. "Good point. So, why doesn't he just use it as leverage or something?"

"I don't know. But that's a good idea." Brady replied.

"So, does anyone else know about this?" Paul asked.

"Dad and Marlena know that Sami stole that money. They just don't know that she gave half to Will." Brady explained. "Look, Paul, too many people know about this already. You can't tell Dad or Marlena about this."

Paul exhaled sharply. "I don't like lying, Brady."

"Is that why it took so long for you to come out?" Brady raised an eyebrow.

"That is completely different!" Paul exclaimed, irritated. "Being gay isn't dangerous! Having stolen DiMera money, however…"

"Okay, okay, sorry." Brady held up his hands in surrender. "Look, if Dad does find out about all this, I'll take full responsibility. I'll tell him I forced you to keep this to yourself."

Paul shook his head. "No…that wouldn't be fair. I'm keeping this a secret to keep everyone safe. I'm okay with that."

Brady smiled and nodded. "Good. Listen, man, I'm sorry you got dragged into this."

"It's okay." Paul shook his head and smiled. "I was wondering how long it would be before I get dragged into a DiMera mess." They both laughed and walked off.

XXX

"Hey, heads up- Paul knows now. Theresa talked to him about ousting Kate, and she let slip that Belle had DiMera money. I had to tell him. I'm sorry."

Will just stared at the text from Brady. He let out a long and loud groan and leaned his head back on the back of the couch. "How many more people are going to find out about this?! Who's next- Abigail?!" Just then, there was a knock at the door. "Oh, hey, Abigail."

"Hey." She walked in. "So, I went to see your grandmother this morning. I had to figure out why Chad was acting so cold and distant."

Will nodded. "Go on."

"Well, apparently, Chad came in for a session. Marlena hypnotized him, but, then she was chloroformed." Abigail replied. "When she came to, Chad was gone and her office was ransacked. Marlena thinks it was Andre…"

"He brainwashed Chad." Will's eyes widened in realization. "He was trying to find information on-" He covered his mouth.

Abigail huffed softly. "Marlena told me about your mom stealing money from Stefano and a flash drive that could bring him down for good."

Will's mouth dropped open. "Why would she tell you about that?!"

"Like I said, we needed to figure out Chad's behavior." Abigail raised an eyebrow. "Look, I swear to God I won't tell anyone."

"Abigail, this is too dangerous. You can't be involved." Will said.

"I already am involved." Abigail stated simply. "Also, I saw your Aunt Belle with Chad a few times. If he's brainwashed, he may be using her to get to your mom and the stolen money."

"She doesn't even have the money! Nor does she know where the hell my mom is!" Will exclaimed.

"Do you?" Abigail asked.

Will shook his head. "No. I've asked where she and the kids are, but she won't tell me. Too dangerous."

Abigail nodded. "So, if Belle doesn't have the money, then Andre's wasting his time."

"Hell, yes." Will nodded.

"Well, I know you don't have the money. You're too obvious a candidate." Abigail replied. Will looked away. "Oh my God. You do have the money, don't you?!"

Will sighed in resignation. "Look, you can't tell anyone."

"Unbelievable." Abigail shook her head and scoffed. "Is Sami trying to get you killed?! Who else knows about this?"

"Sonny, Brady, Paul, and Belle know that I have the stolen money." Will explained. "John and Grandma Marlena only know that Sami stole money from Stefano. Also, Theresa overheard Brady and Belle talking about the stolen DiMera money, but she doesn't know I have it."

"I can't even…" Abigail sighed. "You are gonna give it back, though, right?"

"If I don't, then Stefano's gonna have all the money and power to track my mom and siblings down and kill them in revenge." Will said for what he felt was the hundredth time.

"Once Chad is unbrainwashed, we can tell him, and he'll be able to protect Sami and the kids." Abigail insisted. "Or-or you can use it as leverage. Will…you're connected to every major family in town that Stefano terrorized over the years. You can return the money, but only if he backs off for good!"

Will thought about that. "Good point. I'll think about it."

"Okay. Great." Abigail stood up as Sonny walked into the apartment.

"Hey, Abigail. Where's baby Thomas?" Sonny asked.

"He's at home with my mom." Abigail replied. "Speaking of which, I gotta go." She turned to Will. "Think about what I said, okay?"

"Okay." Will nodded. Abigail left.

"So, what was that about?" Sonny asked.

"She knows." Will said simply.

Sonny was flabbergasted. "What?!"

Will explained how Abigail went to see Marlena about Chad's behavior, how they figured out that Andre hijacked their hypnosis session and chloroformed Marlena, took Chad, and ransacked Marlena's office looking for information about Sami's and the money's whereabouts. Marlena told Abigail everything, and she talked to Will about it and figured out that he was the one who has the money. Abigail suggested he use it as leverage.

Sonny heaved a long sigh and leaned back. "I don't like this, Will. Too many people know about this, now."

"I know. Tell me about it." Will replied. "At least we're the only two people that know that-"

"Gabi!" Sonny exclaimed, looking behind Will, who jumped slightly.

Gabi came out of Ari's room carrying Ari, who was fully dressed. "Hey, guys. What's going on?"

Sonny and Will looked at each other. "Should we tell her?"

"Sure, why not? Pretty much half the town knows, anyway." Will shrugged.

"Knows what?" Gabi asked.

Will explained everything from Sami stealing account codes to stealing half a billion dollars and giving half to Will to Chad being brainwashed to Belle, Brady, Paul, and Abigail finding out.

Gabi just stared in shock. "Uh…wow. Um…are we in danger?"

"Well, Andre hasn't really done anything yet, so, hopefully not." Sonny shrugged.

"Although, he could be leading us all into a false sense of security." Will pointed out.

"I just don't want our daughter caught in the crossfire." Gabi shook her head.

"She won't be. I won't let that happen." Will said firmly. "But, Gabi, in order to keep us all safe, you need to keep this a secret. Even from Rafe."

Gabi exhaled slowly. She really didn't like lying to her brother, but, if it's to keep everyone safe… "Okay. I promise I won't say anything."

"Thank you." Will said. "Hopefully this whole drama will blow over soon."

XXX

Later, Will got coffee from Club TBD on his lunch break. He turned around to see Chad standing in front of him.

"I need you to send your mother a message from me, Andre, and our father." Chad said. "'I hope you're happy. Father's spirit is completely crushed, he is defeated and exhausted. He gave up. He's done.'"

Will nodded. "Okay. I'll pass along the message. But, Chad, what the hell did you guys expect? Your dad has been terrorizing, blackmailing, kidnapping, brainwashing, and killing my family for decades! Oh- let's add ruining and/or straining marriages to the list as well. One word: karma."

Chad chuckled and nodded humorlessly. "Careful with your words. They may leave a bad taste in your mouth."

"Noted." Will replied. He scoffed as he watched Chad walk off. He pulled out his phone and sat down to text Sami.

"I just ran into Chad. He told me that Stefano's spirit is completely crushed and that he's given up. He's completely defeated and exhausted."

"YES! SUCCESS! Now, when the dust completely settles, we'll be able to return to the US."

"Awesome!"

"Yeah. It'll be easier since only you, Sonny, Grandma, and John know I stole money from the DiMeras."

Will bit his lip nervously. "Actually…there's something we need to talk about."

"What?"

"Don't be mad…but, I went to Aunt Belle for legal advice since you made me an accessory to embezzlement. I had to tell her everything. I also told Sonny, and Belle told Brady. Theresa overheard Belle suggest to Brady that I donate the money to charity or something, and she planned on using that money to buy Grandma Kate out from Basic Black, but Brady shot her down. Theresa then wanted Paul to help her oust Kate and let slip about Belle having DiMera money. Paul asked Brady about it, and Brady told him everything. Abigail went to Grandma Marlena because Chad was acting drastically different. They figured out he was brainwashed. But in order for them to come to that conclusion, she told Abigail that you stole the flash drive and money. Abigail saw Chad with Aunt Belle. The DiMeras think she has the money. We think Andre brainwashed Chad to get to Belle to get to you. Abigail came to talk to me about it, and I told her I have half. I figured everyone would find out eventually, so, I told Gabi, too. They all promised not to say anything- not even the police."

Will took a deep breath and looked up, startled to see Lucas sitting across from him. "Geez! Oh, Dad, you nearly gave me a heart attack! Warn me before you do that!"

"Sorry, but you seemed so into whomever you were texting." Lucas said. "Besides, you're too young to have a heart attack."

Will huffed. "I was just texting Mom."

"Oh. How is she and the kids?" Lucas asked.

"Doing good." Will grinned.

"So, what's got you on edge?" Lucas asked. "You seem a little stressed."

Will took a deep breath. "Mom drama. They're still on the run from the DiMeras."

Lucas looked around to make sure no one was listening, and leaned forward. "Has she considered giving the money back?"

"No." Will shook her head. "It's in an account under a fake name, plus, I set up a dummy account to throw the DiMeras off our trail."

"Smart." Lucas commented. "But I still think she should give the money back."

"So Stefano would have all the power and resources to track her and the kids down and kill them in revenge?" Will asked. "No way."

"She could still be charged with embezzlement, though!" Lucas argued.

"I know!" Will whispered loudly. "Believe me, I wish she hadn't dragged me into this." His phone buzzed. "Oh- hold on, it's Mom."

"Will…I gave you that money because I trusted you. NOT SO HALF THE FREAKING TOWN WOULD FIND OUT!"

"I'm sorry! I shouldn't have gone to Aunt Belle. But like I said, they all promised to keep quiet."

"What if they can't? What if Abigail and Gabi can't? What if someone overhears one of you talking about it?"

Will sighed and looked up at Lucas. "Sorry. I gotta deal with this."

"It's okay."

"You know what, Mom? You should have thought about all this before you decided to bankrupt the DiMeras!"

"Hey, it was worth it! You said so yourself: Stefano has given up. He's defeated."

Will exhaled sharply. "Jail is worth it, huh?"

"Oh, please. They'll give me a medal instead of handcuffs! Oh- you at least didn't tell anyone EJ's alive, did you?"

"No, don't worry."

"Great! Talk to you again, soon."

Will put his phone in his back pocket. "Sorry. Remind me in about fifteen years not to drag Ari through any of my drama."

Lucas laughed. "I definitely will!"

"I'm just hoping this whole Sami mess will be over soon." Will replied. "I'm getting sick of all the drama."

"You could always just back out." Lucas suggested. "Stop helping your mom, stop worrying about the DiMeras…"

"True." Will nodded.

XXX

Will stood in front of the mirror in the living room adjusting his tie. Sonny came up behind him fully dressed. He snaked his arms around Will's waist.

"Someone looks very dashing." Sonny smiled at his husband.

Will smirked. "Now, Sonny, remember that conversation we had about having an ego?"

Sonny laughed and swatted Will's shoulder. "I was talking about you, silly!"

Will laughed, turned around, and put his arms around Sonny's neck. "Seriously, though, I bet you will be mistaken for one of the male models."

"So will you." Sonny replied. They kissed. Someone knocked. "Oh, they're here."

"I got it." Will went to the door and opened it to Lucas and Adrienne. "Hey! Come on in."

"Wow, you two look dashing!" Adrienne exclaimed.

"Yeah. You sure you're not in the launch instead of just attending?" Lucas asked, smiling.

Will laughed. "Funny, Dad. So, you sure you guys wouldn't mind watching Ari?"

"Do we ever mind?" Lucas winked.

"No, you don't." Will shook his head. "All right, you know the drill, right?"

Adrienne nodded. "Yes we do. We have it memorized."

"Great! So, Sonny and I are going to dinner at Chez Rouge, then to the launch, and then the after party. We'll be home around midnight. Or later."

"All right. Have a great time!"

"We will!"

XXX

At the warehouse for the launch, Paul and Gabi ran into each other.

"Whoa." Paul said, looking at Gabi's dress. "I'm no fashion expert, but…how is that stylish?"

Gabi exhaled sharply. "I don't know. I'm starting to think that Kate has never cracked open a fashion magazine in her life."

Paul laughed. "Yeah."

They confronted Kate about their outfits, but she was adamant until Nicole told them to change. It took all of Paul's willpower not to kiss Nicole right then and there. They finally changed into clothes that were designed by Theresa.

"Oh, that looks much better!" Gabi commented.

Paul sighed loudly. "What a relief, huh?"

"Yeah. I-I love Theresa's designs, but, um…my stomach is doing flip-flops." Gabi admitted, nervously.

"Oh, don't worry. Nicole has Kate handled." Paul said, reassuringly.

Gabi shook her head. "No, it's not just Kate, it's just, you know the catwalk and this whole thing is a big deal, you know?"

"Well, try pitching in the playoffs in front of 50,000 fans." Paul raised an eyebrow. "And that's not including the people watching at home." He chuckled.

"Wow, no wonder you're so cool about all this." Gabi grinned.

"Well, you know, when I first started off and I was nervous, people used to advise me to, uh, concentrate on one person in the crowd and pretend that they were the only ones there." Paul supplied. "I always thought of someone outside, though, who wasn't there, actually."

Gabi smiled and nodded. "Well, Will and Sonny will be there, so…that helps."

"Oh, good. I'm glad." Paul replied.

Gabi looked around to make sure no one was around. "They told me this morning, by the way. About Sami stealing money from Stefano and giving half to Will, and that you, Brady, Belle, and a bunch of other people know."

"Oh, yeah." Paul sighed. "You know, I'm not sure what makes me feel like a part of my family more: the fact that I'm working for my dad's old company, or that I got dragged into a DiMera mess."

Gabi laughed. "Well, speaking from second-hand experience, being caught in a mess with the DiMeras is not something you should be excited about."

"I'll remember that." Paul replied. "God…can you imagine of Kate were to find out what Sami did?"

"Cosas malas." Gabi said simply. Paul was confused. "Bad things. It would mean bad things would happen. Usually, when Kate takes control of something or gets involved in someone else's- mainly her family- drama, she tends to make things worse. She even does it unknowingly or unintentionally."

"Ah, yes. The psychopathic Westons." Paul nodded. "If that's what happens when Kate is involved, I hope she never finds out."

"Well, too many people already know about what Sami did, so, I'm afraid that it's only a matter of time." Gabi said.

"Okay, look, she won't find out about it if we don't talk about it, right?" Paul asked. Gabi nodded. "Okay, so let's agree to just not talk about it."

"Sounds good." Gabi nodded.

XXX

The launch was in full swing. Will and Sonny arrived hand-in-hand and walked over to Marlena, John, Steve, and Kayla.

"Grandma! Hey." Will greeted.

Marlena turned around and smiled. "Oh, hi! You two made it!"

"Of course we did." Sonny grinned. "We're here to support Gabi, Theresa, Kate, and Paul."

"And I'll try not to fall asleep." Will added with a nod. They all laughed.

They all took their seats. Will kept pinching himself to keep from falling asleep. Meanwhile, Sonny was at the edge of his seat the entire time, which amused his husband. Since when was Sonny so into fashion?

XXX

Will and Sonny got drinks and caught up with Gabi and Paul. "Hey! You guys were so good up there!"

"Oh, thanks! God, I was so nervous. I didn't think I'd get through it." Gabi said.

"Well, it definitely didn't show." Will replied.

"I love your outfits by the way." Sonny complimented.

"Heh. You should have seen what we had on before." Paul shuddered slightly.

"Really? What?" Sonny asked, curious.

"Kate brought in this French designer name Pierre something." Gabi replied. "I had this dress that looked like a cross between a potholder and a Hot Dog On A Stick employee uniform."

"And I looked like a gay, Hawaiian crime boss who didn't know how to dress." Paul replied.

"Oh, honey, that shirt was not Hawaiian print. It was more like a weird, 70s paisley/geometric mess." Gabi said to Paul.

"Wait, wait, wait…are you guys talking about Pierre DuBois?" Sonny asked. Gabi nodded. "Kate does know he was laughed out of the fashion industry in France, right?"

Paul nearly choked on his drink. Will leaned back in surprise at his husband. "Why, Jackson Kiriakis! How did you know that?"

Sonny blushed beet red. "I'm…kind of…a closet fashionista."

Gabi snickered. "What?! Wait…are you the one reading all my fashion magazines I get in the mail?!"

"Guilty as charged. I read them when everyone's asleep. Like porn." Sonny admitted.

Will gave a low whistle. "Wow. Much has been learned of Sonny Kiriakis this year."

"Maybe you should get a job here at Basic Black, then." Paul suggested.

"No. I love my club." Sonny shook his head. "So, this show went off without a hitch, huh?"

"Well, almost." Paul replied. "There was a little backstage drama between two of the models. They got into a catfight. Gabi broke it up."

"Gabi?!" Sonny exclaimed.

"Hey, don't be so surprised." Gabi replied. "I've had a lot of practice in prison."

"Wow. I'm sort of turned on by you right now." Sonny surprised even himself.

"Straight moment." Will quipped. "I guess even Sonny 'gay as pink ink' Kiriakis has them."

"Aw, it's okay, Sonny. I have them, too." Paul grinned.

"Yeah…" Sonny nodded.

Will spotted Kate. "Oh- I better go congratulate my grandma. Be right back."

Paul's phone buzzed. "Excuse me, I gotta take this." He turned away from his friends to read the text message.

"Hey, how was the fashion show?"

"It was good! I actually had more fun than I thought I would."

"Oh, well, I'm glad. Happy New Year."

"Happy New Year. So…when can we see each other again?"

"Someday soon, I hope."

Paul smiled hopefully at that last message.

"Who's that? Derek?" Sonny asked.

Paul turned around and put his phone away. "Uh, no. That's ancient history. That was actually an old teammate of mine I reconnected with before Thanksgiving."

"Oh. He's gay, too?" Gabi asked.

"Bisexual, but, he hasn't told his family yet." Paul replied.

"Oh." Gabi nodded. "What's his name?"

Before Paul could respond, John and Brady came up behind him and clapped him on the shoulder. "Hey! There's our favorite model!"

"Oh, hey!" Paul greeted.

"You guys were great up there." Brady replied.

"I agree. I'm so proud of you." John replied.

"Thanks, Dad." Paul grinned.

XX

Will walked up to Kate. "Congratulations."

"Oh, I was wondering when I'd hear from you." Kate said, half-teasingly.

Will chuckled. "Looks like this show was a huge success."

"Well, we'll see what the critics say tomorrow." Kate said off-handishly. "I, for one, thought it could have been better. We were going to use Pierre DuBois' designs, but…"

"Oh, well, I hope you did a thorough background check on him." Will smirked.

Kate glared at Will. "I did, actually. He's clean."

"Oh. Well, that's good." Will grinned and nodded.

"So, is Sonix gonna write an article on this launch?" Kate asked.

"Yeah. Zoe is getting really annoyed that all major events that's been happening over the last few months- the Necktie Killer, Uncle Bo, the Bicentennial, this launch- involved several of my family members, which means that I can't write about any of those."

Kate chuckled. "The curse of being related to half the town."

"Oh, yeah." Will nodded and chuckled. Sonny walked up to them and put his arm around Will's shoulder. "Oh, hey."

"Hey." Sonny greeted. He turned to Kate. "Congratulations. You made the right decision to use Theresa's designs."

"We'll see…." Kate replied. "I'm gonna get another drink. Excuse me."

Will and Sonny turned to each other and took each other's hands. "You ready to go home?"

Sonny raised an eyebrow in surprise. "Now? It's not even 10:00."

"I know…but…I mean, last New Years' Eve…I wasn't there for you." Will replied. "We both almost didn't make it to this New Years' Eve- you, twice. I want to spend the rest of 2015 with my husband…alone."

Sonny's heart melted at those words. He pulled Will into a kiss. "That sounds nice." They put their arms around each other's waists and walked out of there.

XXX

Will and Sonny approached their door. Sonny unlocked it, and they heard frantic rustling and whispering. Sonny froze and turned to Will. "What are the chances of them being…?"

"Um…pretty high." Will knocked on the door.

"Come in!" Lucas called.

The men walked in on Lucas and Adrienne buttoning up their shirts. They all stared at each other. Sonny noticed a crumpled blanket on the floor, and looked at the older couple, exasperated. "Really, guys?"

"Hey, come on. Would you rather we did it in your bed?" Lucas asked.

Adrienne smacked him on the arm. "Lucas!" She turned to Will and Sonny. "We're sorry, okay? We couldn't help it." She bent down and folded up the blanket.

"That's not from our closet is it?" Sonny asked.

"Hell no. It's from Kate's closet." Lucas replied.

"Anyway! Ari is asleep. Went out like a light." Adrienne jumped in. "We'll be out of your hair. Oh- how was the launch?"

"Great." Will replied, now over his shock and horror. "It was a success. Sonny really enjoyed it."

"Good. That's good." Lucas nodded. "Well, Happy New Year, you two."

"Happy New Year." Adrienne echoed.

"You, too." Sonny replied. After Lucas and Adrienne left, he sighed. "Wow. One minute earlier…"

"I know. Tell me about it." Will shuddered.

They got out a bottle of champagne and sat on the couch. Sonny poured two glasses and gave one to Will. He raised his glass. "Here's to us."

"Here's to love, all the times that we messed up." Will sang softly. They both laughed, and clinked glasses.

They cuddled and watched New Year's Eve at Times Square. Once the ball dropped and the clock struck midnight, the two husbands pulled each other in for a kiss. They heard fireworks going off in the distance.

"Happy New Year." Will said.

"Happy New Year." Sonny replied. They kissed again, stood up, and walked into their bedroom and closed the door. Sonny picked Will up, still kissing him. They laid down on the bed, tore each other's clothes off and made love.

XXX

Will let out a satisfied breath as he leaned back on his pillow. Sonny lay on Will's chest, his arms around him. Will absentmindedly played with Sonny's hair.

"So how'd you do on last years' resolution?" Will asked.

Sonny was quiet for a minute. "Oh. I actually didn't write anything last year."

"I'm sorry. I know it was partially my fault." Will said sincerely.

"No, it's not. Don't blame yourself." Sonny replied and lifted his head and arms. "I wrote something down for this year, though."

"Ooh. Intrigue." Will said, smiling.

Sonny chuckled softly, sat up, and reached for his resolution tin. "It's kind of silly."

"What?" Will asked, curious. Sonny opened the tin, pulled out a piece of paper, gave it to Will to read. Will stared at it for a minute and chuckled softly. "'Have Will Horton's baby'?"

Sonny grinned and nodded. "Gabi had her fun, now it's my turn."

Will laughed. "Um…well, I definitely want to have your baby, and to give Ari a little brother or sister. But…with everything that's happened in the last couple months alone, are you sure this is the right time? I mean, we still have the DiMera money, and Andre keeping a close eye on us."

"That's exactly why we should have a baby right now." Sonny insisted. "Look, these last few years have kicked our asses. We have had to deal with so much drama- Nick, Gabi, TruVista, Sonix, Paul, Ben, Andre… let's have one year where most of our days consist of worrying about other people trying to destroy our lives! Let's make 2016 our year."

Will smiled. "Come on, it wasn't all that bad, was it? Remember when Ari was born? When we got engaged and married? Picnics by the lake? Paris?"

"No. Thankfully there were just as many happy moments as there were sad and frustrating moments." Sonny replied. "Maybe having a baby will take our families away from all the drama. Giving my mom a biological grandchild, possibly giving my dad a grandson…that would definitely bring happiness."

"Okay. Yeah, let's do it!" Will laughed. "But, who would be our surrogate? We're related to practically everyone in town."

Sonny shrugged. "I was thinking maybe Gabi."

Will furrowed his brow in thought. "True, but, she just started a new modeling job at Basic Black. Once she starts showing, she won't be able to model."

"Well, she can still be a spokesperson, right?" Sonny shrugged.

Will nodded. "I guess that's true. Let's talk to her about it tomorrow."

"Wait, so, we're really gonna do this?" Sonny asked, just to make sure.

"Yes. We're really going to do this." Will grinned. They kissed again. Sonny lay back down on Will's chest.

"…You know, if we're bringing one more person into this world, we're gonna need a bigger place to live."


	21. A Not So Happy New Years'

Will was dreaming about a beach at sunset. He and Sonny lay on a double blanket drinking cocktails. Then, he heard vibrating. It grew louder and louder, and the dream faded. Will blinked open his eyes and groaned as he fumbled for his phone. The clock read 2:05 A.M. Lucas was calling.

"Someone better be dying." Will grumbled into the phone, then realized it was a text message.

"Will! I just heard from Grandma that there was a really bad car accident! Jennifer, Daniel, Uncle Eric, and Uncle Brady were all hurt. Brady and Eric need heart transplants and Daniel is dead. I need you to be my eyes and ears on this since I can't be there."

"Oh my god. Sonny, wake up!" Will shook his husband awake, then jumped out of bed to get dressed.

"Hmmm? What happened? Did we get attacked again?" Sonny asked, groggily, sitting up.

"No. Aunt Jennifer, Uncle Eric, Brady, and Dr. Jonas were all in a horrible car wreck. Dr. Jonas is dead, Brady and Eric are in critical condition." Will explained as he put his shirt on.

"What?!" Sonny exclaimed. He too, jumped out of bed to get dressed. "What happened? Are they okay?"

"I don't know." Will exhaled sharply. He grabbed his keys, phone, and wallet. Both he and Sonny ran out into the living room just as Gabi walked into the apartment. Will ran to her and hugged her. "Oh, thank God, you're home! Sonny and I need to get to the hospital."

"Oh, yeah. I heard about that huge car accident. How's Jennifer?" Gabi asked.

"We don't know yet." Sonny replied. "We'll call you later."

"Okay."

XXX

Will and Sonny arrived at the nurse's station on the fifth floor at 2:30. They spotted Abigail and Jennifer sitting on chairs and headed over.

"Aunt Jennifer?" Will asked.

Abigail jumped up and hugged her cousins. "Oh, I'm so glad you're here."

"What happened?" Sonny asked.

"It was a three-car pileup." Abigail explained. "Your Uncle Eric was driving in the wrong lane or something. My mom swerved out of the way and skid on black ice…but, Brady and Daniel were driving behind her, so Eric ended up slamming into their car. Mom's okay. She just has a few bruises and hurt her neck. Daniel died and both Eric and Brady need heart transplants."

Sonny exhaled slowly and looked around. "Where is everybody?"

Abigail shrugged. "I dunno. The waiting room?"

"Okay. Thank you." Will said. He was about to walk off, but Abigail grabbed his hand.

"Will, wait. There's something else you should know." Abigail sighed. "Earlier tonight, I had to rush Thomas to the hospital."

"Is he okay?" Will asked.

Abigail nodded. "He apparently has a blood disorder, but, he'll be fine. Um…we also found out that Ben is not his father. Chad is."

Will scoffed and chuckled softly. "Seriously? That's great! You must be so relieved."

"I am." Abigail laughed.

"Does he know?" Will asked.

"Yeah." Abigail nodded. "It took a while to convince him, but…you know, it's the strangest thing. When Chad held Thomas, he just snapped out of it."

"So, he's unbrainwashed?" Sonny asked.

"Yep!" Abigail chuckled. She glanced towards Jennifer, then turned to her cousins to give them a pointed look. Will and Sonny could tell what she's thinking: 'Now we can tell Chad about Sami and the stolen money. He'll be able to protect her and the kids.'

"We're glad you're okay, Aunt Jen." Sonny said to her. They hugged. "I'm sorry about Daniel. I know what he meant to you."

Jennifer nodded and swallowed. "Thanks."

"We'll be in the waiting room." Will said. They ran to the waiting room where Victor, Maggie, John, Belle, Theresa, and Philip were all either pacing or sitting. Will and Sonny hugged Maggie and Victor. Will then headed to John. "Any word on Brady and Uncle Eric?"

John exhaled slowly. "They're giving Brady Daniel's heart. He's in surgery right now. As for Eric…well, they say they have treatment for him, but, it doesn't look good."

"Why was Uncle Eric driving in the wrong lane?" Will asked.

"He was drunk, but, also he went into cardiac arrest while driving." John answered.

Will exhaled sharply. He couldn't believe that his uncle could be so irresponsible. "Where's Grandma?"

"With Eric." John gave him the room number.

Will nodded and turned to Sonny. "Hey, I'm going to update my mom, then I'm going to visit Uncle Eric."

"Okay."

Will stepped outside to text his mother. "Hey, so, apparently, Uncle Eric was drunk driving in the wrong lane, but his heart also went into cardiac arrest. He almost ran into Aunt Jennifer, but she swerved out of the way. Brady and Daniel were driving behind her, so Uncle Eric ended up hitting them. Daniel died, so they ended up giving Brady his heart. He's in surgery right now. They're going to give treatment to Uncle Eric, but, it doesn't look good."

"Why would you think your Uncle Eric of all people was drunk?"

"That's what they said."

"Well, you also said he went into cardiac arrest."

"Oh yeah. There's apparently an infection in his heart or something. So, maybe that's it."

"So, he couldn't have been drunk at all."

"I don't know." Will sighed.

"Okay, well, thank you."

"You're welcome." Will headed to his uncle's room. Marlena sat by his bed, holding his hand. Will walked in and put a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Hey."

Marlena turned to her grandson and stood up to hug him tight. She took a deep breath. "He's gonna be okay. He has to be."

Will gave Eric a once-over. He didn't look good. "John said they have treatment for him?"

Marlena pulled away. "Yes, they do. Hopefully it'll work."

Will could tell his grandmother was just being strong for his sake. He decided to return the favor rather than calling her out on it. "I'm sure it will. Uncle Eric can't die. Who else will Mom listen to when she schemes?"

Marlena laughed. "Exactly."

"So, I hear Brady's gonna be okay." Will said. "He has Daniel's heart now?"

Marlena nodded. "The doctors are optimistic."

"Good. That's good." Will replied. "I texted my mom to tell her about Eric and Brady."

"Good, I'm glad to hear it."

They stayed for about an hour, then Marlena headed to the chapel, and Will headed to the waiting room.

XXX

Meanwhile, in the waiting room, Kayla updated everyone on Brady's condition. Everyone sighed in relief. Belle and John, Victor and Maggie, and Paul and Theresa hugged each other. Philip and Sonny just smiled at each other. Once Paul pulled away from Theresa, John and Belle pulled him into a group hug and Sonny hugged Victor and Maggie. Then, Sonny and Paul faced each other, smiling.

"I'm glad Brady's okay." Sonny said. "That must be a huge relief to you."

Paul chuckled and nodded. "Yeah, I mean…I've only known that Brady is my brother for eight months. I'm just getting to know him. I…I can't believe we almost lost him."

"I know." Sonny replied. They hugged just as Will entered the room.

Will kept reminding himself that Sonny loves him and not Paul. They are both related to Brady, so, it's natural that they'd share their relief that he's gonna be okay. But, he couldn't help but to feel a little put out by that hug.

Sonny pulled away and saw Will. "Hey." He walked towards his husband. "How's Eric?"

"He's touch and go. There's treatment, but, we're not even sure it's gonna work." Will replied. "I hear Brady's going to be okay."

"He is." Sonny replied. He hugged Will, who glanced at Paul, who looked away, a little jealous.

Will took a deep breath. "Okay, there's really nothing we can do here. Why don't we go home, get some rest?"

Sonny nodded. "Good idea."

XXX

Will and Sonny collapsed onto their bed at 5:00 AM. They didn't wake up until almost noon. Will, Sonny, and Gabi all had lunch together. Will and Sonny smiled at each other and nodded.

"Gabi…we'd like to talk to you about a couple things." Sonny started.

"Okay." Gabi folded her arms on the table. "What's up?"

"Well, we were thinking of having another baby." Will said, smiling.

"Really? Are you sure? I mean, with everything that's been going on…" Gabi's voice trailed off, unsure.

"We need a little happiness with all the doom and gloom." Will replied. "I honestly think that's a good way to honor Bo's, Daniel's, and Paige's memory: by living our lives and creating new life."

Gabi smiled and nodded in agreement. "So, are you going to adopt, or…?"

"Nope. We're looking at surrogacy." Sonny replied.

"Oh! Any ideas on who you want as a surrogate?" Gabi asked. Will and Sonny smiled at her pointedly. Gabi gasped in surprise. "Oh. You want me to be your surrogate?"

Will and Sonny nodded. "We think it'd be nice for Ari to have at least one biological sibling."

"Oh my God, yes! Of course I'll be your surrogate." Gabi smiled and laughed. "This is so amazing."

"Thank you, Gabi." Will replied. They hugged.

"So, how does this work? Do we…?" Gabi asked, gesturing between her and Will.

"Will and I will mix our sperms, then we'll have a fertility doctor inject you with it." Sonny answered. "And we'll pay for everything- sonograms, doctor's visits, prenatals, maternity clothing…"

"Okay. Awesome." Gabi nodded, smiling.

"Great! I'll set up an appointment." Sonny got up and looked up a fertility doctor in the phone book.

Will turned to Gabi. "Also, Sonny and I are looking into buying a house."

"Oh." Gabi replied. "Wow, lots of changes for you guys."

"Yeah." Will laughed and nodded. "We were hoping to find a house with a mother-in-law apartment so you could live with us."

Gabi nodded. "Sounds great!"

Sonny sat back down. "All right, our appointment is scheduled for next Friday at 9:00. The fertility doctor, Dr. Ford, told me that we need to mix our sperms in a turkey baster, and Gabi has to come with us."

"That fast?" Will asked, surprised.

"Yeah. I told her we already have a surrogate and she agreed, so…all that's left for us to do is get Gabi pregnant." Sonny replied.

"Awesome!" Will exclaimed. "Wait…don't we need to get tested for STDs first?"

"I tested for STDs when I tested for the BRCA1 gene. I'm clean." Sonny replied.

"Guess I better head back to the hospital to get tested, then." Will replied. He stood up.

"Wait- now?" Sonny asked.

Will shrugged. "No time like the present. I want to see how Eric and Brady are doing, anyway." He kissed the top of Sonny's head. "Later." He headed to the door and opened it to Philip standing outside. "Uncle Phil! Hey. I was just on my way out."

"Can we talk first? It's important." Philip replied.

"Oh. Okay." Will stepped aside to let him in. "Is it Brady?"

"No." Philip shook his head and glanced towards Sonny and Gabi and turned back to his nephew. "Can I talk to you…alone?"

"No. No, whatever it is you have to say you can say to all of us." Will said firmly.

Philip hesitated. He wasn't sure how much Sonny and Gabi knew… "Fine. Your aunt Belle told me everything."

Will feigned confusion. "What do you mean?"

"She told me that your mom stole half a billion dollars from Stefano and gave you half." Philip replied.

Will laughed softly. "Wow, she has an active imagination."

"You're telling me she lied?" Philip asked, raising an eyebrow. "I've known Belle a long time. She would never lie about something like this."

Will exhaled sharply and shook his head. 'Dammit, Aunt Belle!' "Okay. Fine. What exactly did she tell you?"

"Just that Sami stole $500 million and gave half to you. The only reason she knew about it was because you went to her for legal advice. She also told me you were planning on giving your half back to Stefano." Philip replied.

Sonny walked up behind Will and folded his arms. "So, what's your take on this? Should we give it back?"

"Oh, hell no. That's the last thing you should do." Philip shook his head. "Look, if Stefano finds out you have half, he will stop at nothing to get back the other half. He will come after you and he will hurt your family and everyone you care about."

Will nodded. "Okay, well…keeping it was my original plan, anyway."

Philip nodded, trying to hide his disappointment. "You don't want to invest that money in something?"

"No. It's gonna be used to provide for my family. Any future kids we may have." Will replied. "College funds…trips to Europe…"

"Sounds noble." Philip replied, smiling. "I think the best way to handle this situation is to stay quiet."

"I just wish my Aunt Belle stayed quiet." Will replied bitterly. "Seriously- why doesn't she just get it over with and put an ad in the Spectator about my mom stealing DiMera money and giving me half?!"

Philip was confused. "What is your problem, Will? She only told me!"

"Actually…she also told Brady. Then, Theresa overheard Brady and Belle talking about it and let it slip to Paul, my grandma Marlena told my cousin Abigail, and Sonny and Gabi know." Will sighed. "My grandma, John, and Theresa don't know that I have the money, though."

'Wow, this situation is getting out of control.' Philip thought. "Almost a dozen people know about this, huh? Okay, we really need to be more careful about keeping this whole thing a secret."

"I agree." Sonny replied.

"So, you're not gonna tell my dad or Grandma?" Will asked.

Philip shook his head. "Your dad is going to put me in the ground for this, but, if it keeps everyone safe and it keeps Stefano and Andre from finding out, we need to take this to the grave."

"Okay. Cool." Will nodded. "Thank you, Uncle Phil."

"You're welcome." Philip replied. "Happy New Year." He left.

Sonny walked in front of Will. "You do know he wants the money for himself, right?"

"I did notice he looked a little disappointed when I told him the money is for us and our children." Will nodded. He sighed. "I'm just wondering why the hell Aunt Belle told him." He thought about it for a minute, then scoffed and smiled in dismay. "Oh my God." He laughed scornfully.

"What?"

"She's setting herself up in some twisted love story where she's put in danger and Philip rescues her!" Will exclaimed. He laughed and shook his head. "Oh, I can't."

Sonny was puzzled. "But she doesn't even have the money."

"You think that matters?" Will raised an eyebrow. "Though why she would choose Philip as her Prince Charming after what he put her through…"

"Maybe there will be a plot twist." Sonny grinned. "Shawn could be her Prince Charming."

"I hope so…"

XXX

"I'm glad I could talk you into leaving the hospital for an hour."

John and Paul were sitting at an outdoor table in the Town Square. John exhaled. "Well, just for an hour. I don't want to be away for too long."

Paul smiled. "I know you want to take care of Brady. But you also need to take care of yourself."

John smiled back. "I know. Actually, I'm glad you did. I have to tell you something."

"Okay."

"Sami stole half a billion dollars from Stefano DiMera." John announced.

"I know. Brady told me." Paul admitted. "He also told me she stole a flash drive?"

John nodded, looked around to make sure no one was watching, and pulled out the flash drive. "Since the DiMeras don't really know you, and you them, you'd be the perfect person to keep this safe."

"So, you want me to hide a stolen flash drive?" Paul asked, raising an eyebrow.

"This flashdrive contains Stefano's entire life. It has information on it that can ruin him for good." John explained. "I'm waiting for the right moment to use this, but the DiMeras know I have it."

"And you want me to keep it safe." Paul nodded, understanding where he was going with this.

"Exactly." John smiled and handed over the flash drive.

Paul held the drive to his chest. "Don't worry. I'll guard this with my life."

"That's my boy." John said proudly. "I was going to have Brady hide it, but…" He shook his head. "I don't want Belle to get involved because she's already going through a lot, and Sami would have my head if I gave it to Will."

Paul remembered Brady telling him that Sami gave half of the stolen money to Will and that he went to Belle for legal advice. He swallowed and nodded, hiding his guilt. "Okay. Well, it's safe with me."

Unbeknownst to them, Will was listening to their conversation. Will shook his head. Man, John and Sami have so much in common. He hoped this wouldn't backfire on all of them.


	22. Long Day

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have an exciting, sweeps-worthy (if I say so myself) storyline that I will do, especially if nothing progresses with the stolen money. Until then, our boys will be dealing with getting Gabi pregnant, house hunting, celebrating Chabby's engagement, Deimos (possibly), and a little redemption story for Will.

The following Monday after work, Will went to the store to buy a turkey baster. He walked through the square to get coffee. Lucas accidentally ran into Will, causing him to drop the bag.

"God! Sorry." Lucas said sincerely.

"Oh, no, it's fine." Both Will and Lucas bent down to pick up the bag. The turkey baster fell out.

Lucas picked the turkey baster up and stared at Will in confusion. "Um, why do you need a turkey baster? It's after Thanksgiving."

Will chuckled and reached for the baster. "It's not for Thanksgiving."

Lucas pulled it back out of reach. "Then what's it for?"

"It's none of your business!" Will said a little more firm than he meant. Lucas glared at him sternly. Will sighed and looked around to make sure no one was listening. "Sorry. Look, if I tell you, will you promise not to tell anyone- at least not yet."

"Okay. Should I be nervous?" Lucas asked.

Will chuckled softly. "No. Sonny and I are planning on having a baby of our own."

Lucas smiled and gasped happily. "Seriously? That's fantastic! Who's your surrogate?"

"Gabi." Will replied simply. Lucas' face fell a little, uneasy. "Before you say anything, most of the drama we went through with Ari and Gabi was mostly because of Nick. That's all over now."

"Oh. Okay." Lucas nodded. "Well, congratulations!"

"Let's not get too excited. We're not even sure it's gonna work." Will said, raising his hands, palms out. "So, can you please keep this between us? Don't tell anyone- not even Adrienne and especially not Grandma."

"Okay, I promise." Lucas said sincerely.

"Thank you." Will replied. "I'll talk to you later."

"All right. Good luck!" Lucas called. He turned to see Philip walking towards him. "Hey, baby brother."

"Hey." Philip replied. "So, how's Will holding up?"

"Holding up? What do you mean?" Lucas asked, confused.

Philip closed his eyes and nodded slowly. "Lucas, it's okay. I know about Sami stealing money from Stefano-"

"Who told you that?" Lucas asked.

"Belle." Philip said simply.

Lucas nodded, knowingly. He figured Sami's sister would know about it. "Yeah. That was pretty bold of Sami."

"And epic." Philip grinned.

"True." Lucas nodded. "I'm just glad she didn't do anything stupid and dangerous like give half the money to someone like Will."

'Crap. I almost told him…' Philip thought in dismay. He scoffed and shook his head. "Come on. Sami's not that stupid, is she?"

"Well, I hope not."

XXX

Sonny walked a mug of hot chocolate over to Adrienne and sat across from her. "Here you go."

"Thanks." Adrienne replied. She picked up a spoon and started stirring. "So, how are things at home?"

"They have never been better, actually." Sonny replied, grinning.

"Really? No scheming, lying, or manipulating on Will's part?" Adrienne asked casually.

Sonny rolled his eyes. "No, Mom. He's doing a lot better about that. His near-death experience really changed his perspective on things."

"Oh. I'm glad." Adrienne nodded. She still looked unsure.

"What?" Sonny asked, dreading her response.

Adrienne set her mug down, looked away, then leaned forward to look her son in the eye. "It's just…Will said that before, and it turned out to not be true. I just don't want you to get hurt again."

Sonny nodded forlornly. "You're afraid the other shoe is going to drop. Again."

"Well, yeah." Adrienne shrugged.

Sonny sighed and looked away. As much as he didn't want to admit it… "Actually…so am I."

Adrienne sighed inwardly with relief that this didn't set off yet another argument between them. "Really?"

"I mean, things are going great, and he's back to being the man I fell in love with." Sonny said. "But, you're right. He has regressed before, thanks to his messed-up childhood. I just hope that this new and improved Will is here to stay. Especially now."

"Why especially now?" Adrienne asked.

'Dammit.' Sonny winced. He glanced around to make sure no one was listening and leaned forward. "Okay, try not to get your hopes up, but…Will and I are planning on having a baby."

"What?! Oh my God, that's so exciting!" Adrienne exclaimed in a hushed whisper. "Do you have a surrogate?"

"Yep. Gabi." Sonny replied, smiling.

Adrienne's face fell slightly. "Um…Sonny? Remember the last time Gabi carried Will's baby?"

"Well, I'm trying not to." Sonny shrugged. "But, it's been three years now. Gabi's all grown up and she's totally willing to do it."

Adrienne nodded. "Okay. Well…at least this time will be easier and more fun for you and Will."

"Yeah!" Sonny exclaimed, nodding. "Look, we're not even sure it's gonna work, so, can you please keep quiet about this? If Gabi does end up pregnant, then we will tell people."

"Okay, I promise." Adrienne said, smiling. "You sure Will has changed for the better? Absolutely sure?"

"One hundred and ten percent sure." Sonny said, confidently.

Adrienne nodded. "Okay. I just hope Sami doesn't drag you into yet another one of her messes."

'Conceal, don't feel, don't let her know…' Sonny sang in his head. He nodded. "Me, too. Seriously."

Adrienne stood up. "Thanks for the hot chocolate. And I promise I won't tell anyone."

"Thanks." Sonny smiled and watched her leave. Belle sat down across from Sonny, smiling.

"I thought we weren't going to tell anyone else, Sonny?" Belle whispered.

"Says the woman who broke her lawyer-client confidentiality and told her brother and shady ex-husband." Sonny retorted.

Belle glared at him. "Okay, you know what? Philip has changed! Shawn and I forgave him for what he did to Claire and me. It's been almost ten years now."

Sonny nodded and leaned forward. "Look, I love my cousin, but…even if he has changed, how can you still trust him?"

"Asks the man who took his husband back after he cheated on him twice." Belle smirked.

"Cheating and putting your child in danger are two very different things." Sonny said. "But, you know what? This is between you and Philip. I'm not getting involved. Just…be careful, okay?"

"Okay. Thanks for your concern." Belle nodded.

"You're welcome." Sonny replied. "Oh, and by the way, I didn't tell my mom about Sami. That was actually about something else."

"What?" Belle asked, with interest.

"You'll find out in a few weeks. If all goes according to plan." Sonny smirked and capped her shoulder, then walked off.

XXX

The morning of their appointment came. Will, Sonny, and Gabi arrived at the doctor's office. Dr. Ford walked in. "Good morning, everyone. I'm Dr. Ford."

"Hi." They shook hands with her.

"Now, I've gone over all your medical records and vitals. You have been tested for STDs, correct?"

Will nodded. "Yes, we've all been tested, and none of us have STDs."

"Perfect. So, we're just going to inject Ms. Hernandez with your sperm, and if all goes well, she should start showing symptoms in two weeks." The doctor said. "Do you have the turkey baster?"

Will and Sonny looked at each other expectantly, then their faces fell. "I thought you had it!"

"I thought you did!" Sonny exclaimed. He groaned in dismay.

Gabi cleared her throat to get their attention. Smiling, she pulled the sperm filled turkey baster out of her purse. "You guys left this on the counter."

Sonny sighed with relief. "You're a lifesaver, Gabi."

Gabi gave the baster to Dr. Ford and sat on the patient chair. "You're welcome."

Dr. Ford shook the baster and poured the sperm into a syringe, then injected Gabi. "All right. There we go. Call me as soon as you experience pregnancy symptoms."

"I will. Thank you."

XXX

Later that night, Sonny came home after a long day at work to Will sitting on the couch on his laptop.

"Hey." Will greeted. "How was work?"

"Long." Sonny replied. Will sat up to make room for his husband, who plopped on the couch and sighed. "Although, there was a huge argument between a couple. Apparently, he's been having an affair for a year and she found out in the worst possible way."

"A year?!" Will asked, shocked. Sonny nodded. "Holy crap."

"Yeah. It wasn't pretty. She picked up a chair and started beating him with it. I broke the fight up and…she kissed me to get back at him." Sonny replied.

Will just burst out laughing. "She does know you're gay, right?"

"That's what her husband asked." Sonny chuckled. "She got even more pissed, screamed like a banshee, and smashed his head against the table so hard, it knocked him out. The police and an ambulance were called, but she already left, slamming the door so hard, the glass cracked."

"Ooh, did someone film it?" Will asked hopefully.

"Probably." Sonny shrugged. "I'm just glad we were able to work things out."

Will smiled. "Me, too. And now we're having a baby. Well, hopefully."

"Hey, think positive!" Sonny exclaimed.

"Okay." Will scooted close to his husband. "You wanna know what I think?"

"What?"

"I think…" Will whispered in Sonny's ear, caressed his cheek and stroked his chest. "You are really hot."

Sonny smirked. "Keep going."

"You're kind, compassionate, caring, giving, forgiving, protective…" Will slowly unbuttoned Sonny's flannel and brushed it off his shoulder to kiss it.

Sonny shuddered and sighed with pleasure. "Oh, Will." He cupped Will's face in his hands and kissed him passionately. He then ran his hands under his pants to squeeze his butt, causing Will to squeal in delight. Sonny lifted Will up and carried him to their bed. They tore each other's clothes off and made love.

XXX

"I should tell you this." Will said, laying on Sonny's chest. "I told my dad we're having a baby. We ran into each other, I dropped my bag, and the turkey baster fell out."

"Oh." Sonny nodded. "That's okay. I told my mom, but she promised not to say anything."

"So…with any luck, we won't have anyone left to tell." Will joked. They laughed.


	23. Family Moments

Will stretched and yawned and looked out the window. There was a fresh layer of snow on the trees and windowsill outside. He smiled and turned over to his stirring husband. He leaned forward and kissed Sonny on the cheek.

"Sonny. Sonny…" Will sang softly. Sonny yawned and opened his eyes. "Wanna build a snowman?"

Sonny smiled at his husband.

XX

Two hours later, Will, Sonny, and Ari; fully dressed in snow gear, headed to the park. Sonny carried a bag filled with Oreo cookies, a carrot, an old hat, and an old scarf. Will carried Ari.

"Okay, this looks like a good spot." Will said. He turned to Ari. "Are you ready, sweetheart?"

"Snowman!" Ari cried happily.

Sonny chuckled. "I'll look for sticks."

Will set Ari down and knelt by her. "Okay, now, Ari, we need to roll a big ball out of the snow. Can you do it?"

"Yeah!" Ari exclaimed. They rolled a big ball out of the snow and dug it in place. Sonny came back with two sticks for arms. He smiled at his husband and daughter with love. This was definitely a film-worthy moment. He pulled out his phone and started filming them. If you were to tell Sonny eight years ago that he would be living the suburban life with a husband and kid, he would have thought you were insane. Now, he can't imagine his life without them.

Will noticed Sonny filming. "Oh- Daddy Sonny's got the camera. Wave to the camera!" He and Ari waved to the camera. Ari rolled the smaller ball. "Good job, sweetheart!" Will put the smaller ball on top of the bigger one while Ari went ahead and started rolling the head. Ari stood, picking up the head, and Will picked up Ari. Together, they put the head on the snowman body. "All right! Ready to decorate?"

"Daddy Sonny help!" Ari declared.

Will laughed softly and set her down near the bag. "Okay, get the cookies and carrot." He stood up and turned to his husband. "Your turn."

Sonny chuckled, gave Will the phone, and went to help Ari. "Okay, sweet pea. Got the bag?"

"Yeah." Ari held up the bag.

"All right!" Sonny picked Ari up and carried her to the snowman. "Let's put the eyes and the mouth on."

Will smiled fondly as he filmed his husband and daughter decorate the snowman. Then it hit him. All his life, he wanted to have a normal, happy family; and now he has one. He couldn't believe he almost single-handedly destroyed that, and was now more grateful than ever to be alive to experience this. He blinked away happy tears.

"And now for the nose!" Sonny said. Ari took the carrot out of the bag and pushed it into the snowman's face. "Good job! Now, let's put the buttons, hat, and scarf on."

Will's eyes brimmed with happy tears. This was it. His perfectly normal, happy, functional family. He was determined not to screw it up.

Sonny and Ari put the finishing touches on the snowman. "All done!" They turned to Will, who was wiping away tears.

"Daddy sad?" Ari asked, concerned.

Will chuckled. "No, sweetheart. Daddy's crying because he's really happy." He kissed Ari's cheek. "Sometimes, grownups cry when they're happy."

"Aww." Sonny smiled and kissed Will on the lips. They stood back and admired their work. "You know, I think this is the best looking snowman ever."

"I agree." Will replied. "Come on. Let's take a selfie."

Sonny pulled out his selfie stick, and they all gathered around the snowman. Ari leaned over and hugged the snowman's neck. "Oh, I'm totally putting this on Instagram."

"Don't forget the video, too." Will said. They chuckled. "Hot chocolate at the Pub?"

"Oh, yeah!"

"You know, I wonder how long that snowman will last before it's destroyed by rowdy kids." Will mused.

Sonny laughed. "I'll give it 24 hours."

Will laughed softly. He let Sonny walk ahead and smiled mischievously. He bent down and rolled some snow into a ball and bounced it up and down in his hand and threw it at Sonny's head. Sonny whirled around and Will gave him an innocent look and pointed to Ari. He just turned around, and grinned to himself. Will unlocked the car and put Ari in her car seat. Just as he closed the door, a basketball sized snowball whammed into his face. Sonny laughed uproaringly as Will brushed the snow off, glaring at his husband.

"You're sleeping on the couch tonight." Will said, pointing to him.

"Hey, you started it!" Sonny pointed out.

"I don't care who started it, I'll finish it!"

"Good, 'cause you're the one who started it!" Sonny exclaimed as they climbed into the car. "So, really, you're the one who should be sleeping on the couch."

XX

At the Pub, Will and Sonny sat in a booth. Ari sat between Will and the wall. They were surprised to see Claire walk over in full uniform.

"Hey, guys!" Claire greeted.

"Hey, Claire. I didn't know you work here!" Will exclaimed.

"This is my first week." Claire said, smiling.

"Oh, how's it been?" Sonny asked.

"Ugh! Terrible." Claire threw her head back. "I must have broken half the plate we have in stock here and I got like, three orders wrong…"

"Oh, well, it gets easier, I promise." Will replied, reassuringly.

"You used to work here?" Claire asked.

Will nodded. "Mm-hmm. My senior year in high school."

"Oh!" Claire nodded. "The music program doesn't pay, so, I need to make money somehow."

"I understand. How's that going, by the way?" Will asked.

"Great! I already have a few singing gigs, prom included." Claire replied.

"Well, I'm sure you'll blow everyone away with your singing." Will nodded.

Claire giggled. "Thanks. Was there live entertainment at your prom?"

"My prom was spent in Gabi's hospital room." Will replied. "She had her appendix taken out, so we had prom in her room."

"I wasn't allowed at my prom." Sonny mused, nodding his head forlornly.

"What? That's totally unfair!" Claire exclaimed.

"Well, they can't stop you from getting married." Will smirked.

"Good, 'cause I already am!" Sonny exclaimed. They all laughed.

Claire cleared her throat and brought up her notepad and pen. "May I take your order?"

"Two hot chocolates and apple juice for Ari, please." Will replied.

"Coming right up." Claire replied, then walked off.

"So, have you visited Eric and Brady lately?" Sonny asked Will.

Will shook his head. "I'm actually heading over there later this afternoon."

"Okay." Sonny nodded. "How's Sami holding up?"

"She's still in shock, and frankly, I don't blame her." Will shrugged. "I mean…she held Uncle Eric on such a high pedestal, really looked up to him. She really hopes he will pull through this."

"I do, too."

XXX

Paul walked into Brady's room holding a "Get Well Soon" balloon. "Hey."

Brady turned his head and smiled at Paul. "Hey, baby brother."

"How you doing?" Paul asked, sitting down.

"Better. I have to take anti-rejection meds for a really long time, but, hey…at least I'm alive, right?" Brady replied.

Paul chuckled and nodded. "Well, let me know if you ever need anything, like a sitter for Tate."

"I definitely will." Brady nodded. Paul looked down sadly. "What's wrong?"

Paul sighed and shook his head. "I just can't believe I almost lost you. We are just starting to really get to know each other."

"But you didn't." Brady pointed out. "God gave me a second chance at life. I'm going to make the most of it. I owe it to my friend Daniel."

Paul nodded and smiled, then sobered up. "I'm sorry about Dr. Jonas. He was such a good guy."

"One of the best." Brady replied. "I'm gonna spend the rest of my life missing him."

"Have you…talked to Eric, yet?" Paul asked.

Brady sighed heavily. "No. I'm still trying to work out what I'm going to say to him. I hold him personally responsible for the accident, but, that's what it was: an accident."

Paul nodded again. "I'm sure he feels terrible."

"Oh, I know he does. He's not a killer." Brady raised his eyebrows. "But, what happened happened. He'll have to live with it for the rest of his life."

XX

Paul next visited Eric's room. Eric stared at him and swallowed. "I'm so sorry. You don't know how terrible I feel."

"I don't think I'm the one you should be apologizing to." Paul raised an eyebrow.

"I killed my best friend. I almost killed our brother and another friend." Eric lamented. "You should hate me."

"Yeah, I should." Paul nodded. "But, I don't. My mother raised me better than that."

Will opened the door and saw Paul sitting at Eric's bedside. He pulled it closed until it was open a crack to listen.

"Still…"

"Eric, your friends and family all understand that this was an accident." Paul was saying. "And if it helps, I forgive you."

"You shouldn't." Eric said.

"Well, I do. That's what families do: they forgive each other." Paul said. "Also, you gotta wonder…would Dr. Jonas want you to dwell on this?"

Eric took a deep breath and shook his head. "No…I don't think he would."

"Okay." Paul stood up and squeezed his shoulder. "Don't beat yourself up too bad."

Will snuck out and quietly closed the door. He ducked around a corner as Paul left the room and walked in the opposite direction. He got a text message from Sami.

"Have you visited Uncle Eric yet?"

"I was just about to. Paul just left his room."

"Great. Wonder what that homewrecking has-been has done now."

"I was just in Uncle Eric's room, actually. I overheard part of their conversation." Will replied. He looked up in the direction Paul went. His heart started warming up towards him. "Actually…he was pretty nice, considering. Maybe I judged him too harshly, you know?"

"What, he didn't yell at Uncle Eric for almost killing his brother?"

"No. Actually, he forgives Uncle Eric and told him not to beat himself up about it."

"Hmm. I guess people can surprise you."

"Yeah."

"You know, Sonix is probably gonna have a field day with this."

"Not 'probably'. They will. I'll make sure they don't write an article about the accident."

"Thank you."

Will walked into the room. Eric turned to him. "Hey."

"Hey… I'm popular today." Eric commented.

"Well, you have a lot of people that care about you." Will replied.

"How's your mom?"

"Good. She's worried about you, though." Will sat down. "I'll make sure Sonix doesn't write an article about your involvement in the accident."

"Let them." Eric leaned back and closed his eyes. "I deserve it."

"No you don't." Will shook his head. He stood up. "Get some rest…and try not to be too hard on yourself. It was an accident." After leaving, he texted Sami again. "He's worse than I thought. I told him that I'll make sure Sonix doesn't write an article about him, but, he doesn't care if they do. He thinks he deserves it."

"Wow…"

"Doesn't matter, though. I'm still gonna make sure they don't write an article about him."

"Ur the BEST! : )."

XXX

Paul sat down at a table at Club TBD. His phone buzzed with a text message from a contact he listed as "D".

"Guess what? I may be making it back to Salem earlier than I thought. Say within the next three weeks. It's time to tell my family a certain secret of mine."

Paul's heart leapt with joy. He smiled and typed a reply. "Great! I'm so proud of you. It takes courage to come out to your loved ones."

"Having you by my side will soften the blow if they reject me."

Paul's heart fluttered. That sounded so romantic. "Always."

"Someone special?" Paul turned around and smiled.

"Mother! Hey!" Paul stood up and hugged Tori. "This is a surprise! What are you doing here?"

"I heard about your brothers. I figured you could use some comfort." Tori replied. Paul pulled out a chair for her, and she sat down. "Thank you."

"Brady and Eric are both going to be fine." Paul said.

"That's good." Tori replied. "So, who were you texting just now?"

"Uh-oh. The Mom Alert just went off." Paul said teasingly. They both laughed. "Just a friend that I reconnected with before Thanksgiving. We used to be teammates."

"I see." Tori replied. "And what is his name?"

"D-"

"Good afternoon. May I take your order?" A waiter walked over to them.

"Uh, green tea, please." Tori replied.

"I'll have the same." Paul nodded.

"All right. Anything else?"

Paul and Tori looked at each other, then back at the waiter. "Nope. That should do it."

"I'll be right back with your order, then."

Tori turned to Paul. "So, when you say you two were teammates, do you just mean the same baseball team?"

Paul chuckled. "Actually, no. He's-" He looked around to make sure no one was listening, then leaned forward. "He's bisexual, but he hasn't come out to his family yet."

Tori nodded in understanding. "Oh. You must be a great help and support system for him."

"I hope so." Paul shrugged and smiled. "I'm…I'm falling in love with him."

"What about Derrick?" Tori asked.

"Ancient history. We just didn't connect." Paul replied.

"And Sonny?" Tori asked.

"That ship has sailed." Paul replied. "Honestly, going after Sonny brought me nothing but misery and pain- both physical and emotional."

"I'm sorry." Tori said sympathetically. "What about your job at Basic Black? How's that going?"

"Great! I didn't think I'd like it at first, but I love it." Paul replied excitedly. "I mean, sure, I'm the only male model, so that's a bit of pressure. I am making a few good friends, though."

"Good, I'm glad." Tori replied. "I'm here for a few days, and I'm staying at the Salem Inn…"

Paul shook his head. "Nope. No way. You're staying at my apartment." Tori stared at him. "Come on, I have an extra bedroom, it's free, and there's free food. What do you say?"

Tori sighed and nodded. "All right. I'll check out of the hotel and move my stuff to your apartment."

"Great!" Paul exclaimed, happily. "I'll text you the address and I'll get your room ready."

"Sounds like a plan."

XXX

Will finished off his cup of coffee and threw the cup away. He just got off work, and was just about to head home when he saw a familiar face. Tori Narita was just coming out of a store. She caught sight of Will, glared, then stormed in the opposite direction.

Will realized he has more apologizing to do, so he went after her. "Ms. Narita! Tori! Wait up!"

"I have nothing to say to you." Tori said, not turning around.

Will walked in front of her to stop her. "Okay, wait, just hear me out."

"Hear what? You blackmailing me to get my son out of town?" Tori snapped. Will opened his mouth, but Tori held up a hand to silence him. "I've heard enough! You have brought nothing but pain and misery to both me and my son. Stay away from us, or so help me, I'll press charges against you for harassment!"

Will sighed as Tori walked off. "Okay, then…just wanted to apologize for that is all."

XXX

Tori walked briskly down the dimly lit sidewalk. Paul's apartment is close to the square, so she elected to walk. There were a few shady men around and she walked faster until she almost bumped into someone.

"Hey, sweetheart. What are you doing out on a night like this?" The man slurred.

Tori sighed. "Excuse me." She tried to walk past the man, but he blocked her way. "Let me pass!"

"Tell you what, sweetheart? Why don't you give me a little something-something, then I'll let you pass?" The man replied.

Tori shook her head, turned around, and saw two other creepy men walking towards her. She ran towards the street, but one of the men grabbed her. "Let go of me!"

Another man took her purse and looked through it. "Hmm. What do we have here?"

Tori jammed her heel into her captor's foot causing him to yelp and release her. Tori ran through the alley. The man grabbed her again, and Tori screamed and started hitting him. He threw her down onto a fallen brick, knocking her out. The two men took off her coat, dress, and shoes and started groping, stroking, and tickling her flesh. Tori came to and screamed again, and one of the men squeezed her cheeks and assaulted her with a kiss. The men gang-raped and beat her, then buried her in dirty snow.

XX

Will drove along the quiet and dark streets. He passed an alley and saw three men get into a pickup truck and speed off. He saw a pile of snow separate from the snow at the side of the alley. His curiosity kicked in. Hmm. What did they bury? Drugs? Money? A bomb? He climbed out to investigate. He looked to make sure that pickup truck wasn't coming back and studied the pile of snow, which appeared to be shaking slightly. He also could have sworn he heard teeth chattering. With careful hesitation, Will bent down and brushed snow off of one end. He gasped in horror when he saw the face of Tori Narita, unconscious and bruised. Now, let's be real here: if this was nine months ago, Will would have buried her back up and left her to die. But, things were different now.

"Oh my god!" Will exclaimed as he brushed the rest of the snow off her bruised and bleeding naked body. He took off his coat, scarf, and cardigan to cover and warm up Tori. He then, gently and slowly lifted her up and held her face against his shoulder for body heat, which seemed to help a little. "It's okay. You're gonna be okay." He pulled out his phone and called 911.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whoo! That's what I have so far. From now on, I'll post a chapter when I update on Fanfiction.net.


	24. Misjudgements

Paul sprinted through the hospital. He didn't want to wait for the elevator, so he ran up the stairs to the fifth floor and nearly collapsed against the nurse's station.

"Maxine!" Paul exclaimed, causing the head nurse to jump slightly. "Sorry. They brought my mother- Tori Narita- in here. Where is she? Is she okay? What happened?"

Maxine held up a hand to calm him. "Okay, slow down. Your mother's in the ER. They're bringing her up here to recovery in a few minutes. She's gonna be just fine."

John walked through the area and saw Paul. "Paul? What's going on?"

"My mother was attacked and left for dead tonight." Paul replied, his voice shaking.

"She's in town?" John asked surprised. "I'm so sorry. How bad was it?"

Paul shrugged and shook his head. "I don't know yet. I still need to talk to Dr. Thompson."

Right on cue, Fynn walked up to him. "Mr. Narita?"

"Please, call me Paul." Paul replied. "How's my mother?"

"She's stable. She suffered head trauma, external, and internal bleeding." Fynn replied. "We had reason to believe that she was sexually assaulted, so we had a rape test done."

Paul looked and felt sick to his stomach. He asked in a tiny voice "Was she?"

Fynn nodded. "A cyst had burst and there are tears in her vagina."

Paul gasped and gripped the edge of the counter. "Who would do this?"

"My god." John said softly. "Were the police called?"

"Yes. Detective Price is on her way over here to do some investigating." Fynn nodded. "I should also tell you that she was buried under dirty snow, so some of her cuts are infected."

"How was she found?" Paul asked.

"Someone was driving by and noticed three men getting into a truck and sped off." Fynn answered. "He noticed the pile of snow shaking slightly and checked it out. Good thing he did. A few minutes later, then your mother would have died of hypothermia and/or frostbite."

Paul exhaled sharply and nodded. "Did you get a name? The guy who saved her?"

"It was Will Horton." Fynn replied, gesturing behind Paul.

Paul just stared at Fynn in surprise. "What?" He turned around and saw Will standing on the other side of the station, smiling. Paul turned back to Fynn. "When can I see her?"

"We're running tests right now, but it should be within the next half hour." Fynn replied.

"Okay. Thanks, Doc." Paul replied.

John sighed and pulled Paul into a hug. "She's gonna be okay."

"Physically…" Paul replied. They pulled apart. Paul noticed Will heading in the direction of the waiting room.

"Do you want to call your grandfather?" John asked.

Paul shook his head. "No. She's not going to want him to know…"

John nodded. "Okay. Well, I'm here for you. Marlena can run up a list of psychologists for your mom to talk to, and Belle can represent her when she presses charges."

Paul chuckled lightly. "Thanks. I know you want to check on Brady, so…go ahead."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, totally. I'm fine." Paul said, smiling in reassurance.

John smiled, nodded, and clapped Paul on the shoulder. "Let me know if you need anything."

"I will. Thanks." Paul waited until John walked off, then glared towards the waiting room. Will had a motive. He was sure of it! He walked into the waiting room where Will was pouring himself a cup of coffee. Will turned to Paul. "I suppose I should thank you."

"You're welcome. It was lucky I was passing by." Will replied.

" _Were_ you just 'passing by'?" Paul asked. Then he looked angrier than Will had ever seen him. " _Or did you arrange it_?"

Will was taken aback and a little hurt by that accusation. "What?! Paul, how could you even [i]think[/i] that I would-"

"Don't patronize me!" Paul yelled, pointing an accusing finger at him. "You have had it in for me ever since you found out I was your husband's ex-boyfriend whom he proposed to! You blackmailed my mother to get me to leave Salem, and you called her a whore!"

"I'm a different person than I was back then-"

"That was [i]last year![/i]" Paul yelled, throwing his arms out.

"Paul, several of my family members have been…attacked…sexually." Will replied, his voice shaking. "I would [i]never[/i] do that to anyone! Come on!"

"Oh, please. This has you written all over it." Paul replied.

"Are you [i]kidding[/i] me right now?" Will exclaimed. "Look, Paul, I know you want someone to blame for what happened, but I'm [i]not[/i] responsible!"

"Bull!" Paul yelled as Sonny walked into the waiting room. "You set her up to be attacked."

"Listen to me, you ungrateful bastard." Will pointed and glared at Paul. "I may have made huge mistakes in the past, but I would [i]never[/i] have someone attacked like that! I wouldn't even have [i]time[/i]! I saw your mom in the square two hours ago-"

"What'd you talk about?" Paul asked, folding his arms.

"I tried to apologize for blackmailing her, but she wouldn't hear it." Will replied, shrugging. "She told me to stay away from her and you or she'll sue me for harassment."

Paul nodded. "And an hour later, you find her half-frozen in a dark alley."

"That doesn't make me responsible!" Will exclaimed in frustration.

"Paul…" They turned to Sonny. "Look, I know you're upset. I would be too. But I know my husband. He would never have someone attacked like that."

"Really? Did you also say he would never cheat on you?" Paul asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Okay, you know what? Enough." Sonny frowned at Paul. "If you want to blame someone, blame the guys who attacked her, not the guy who [i]found[/i] her and saved her life!"

"Believe me, I [i]do[/i] blame those…monsters that attacked her." Paul said through gritted teeth. "But, seriously, Sonny, my mother tells Will to stay away from us, and an hour later, she's attacked! How does that look to you?!"

Sonny swallowed. "Only someone as powerful as a DiMera or a Kiriakis would have had time to pay someone to attack her. And even if there [i]was[/i] time, Will would [i]never[/i] do that!"

Paul shook his head and turned around. His cell phone buzzed again with a text message. He ignored it and sighed.

"Who was that?" Will asked.

"Nothing. Just this guy I've been texting for a few months." Paul answered.

"Oh. Well, hopefully he's not married this time." Will smirked.

Something in Paul snapped. He whirled around, screamed in rage, and tackled Will to the ground, his hands closed around his throat.

"Paul!" Sonny yelled. He ran forward to pull him off of Will. Will looked up at Paul, scared. He had a flashback of Ben strangling him. Sonny succeeded in pulling Paul off Will and pushed him towards the door. "What is [i]wrong[/i] with you?!" Paul sighed as Sonny bent down to help Will, who was hyperventilating. Sonny hugged him and started rubbing his back. "It's okay. You're okay. It's over."

Will took deep breaths as he saw Paul back up, then leave the room. Will sighed. They pulled apart. "Sonny, I swear- I had nothing to do with-"

"I know." Sonny caressed Will's cheek. "I know. Come here." They hugged again.

XX

Paul headed back to the nurse's station, rubbing his forehead. Fynn was standing there at the counter handing a folder to the nurse. "Oh, there you are. I was just about to come looking for you. Your mother's in recovery room 235. She's resting."

Paul nodded. "Thank you." He headed into Tori's room. He swallowed back tears as he saw his mother battered and bruised on the hospital bed. There was a space heater nearby for extra warmth. Paul sat at Tori's bedside. "Hey."

"Hey." Tori greeted weakly.

Paul sighed and blinked away tears. "I'm sorry. I should have stayed with you or left work early to pick you up."

Tori squeezed his hand. "Don't blame yourself. I hear that Will was the one who found me."

Paul nodded. "Yeah."

"He had every reason to leave me for dead…but he didn't." Tori said. She smiled softly. "I owe him my life."

Paul swallowed. "I guess?"

"Paul?" Tori looked a little confused. "What is it?"

Paul sighed and shook his head. "Nothing. Um…I just think it's too much a coincidence that he found you just as those…"

"He wouldn't have had time to hire someone." Tori replied, shaking her head. "For once, he's not to blame."

Paul nodded again. "Okay. So, Marlena just texted me the number of a psychologist-"

"You told Marlena?!" Tori exclaimed, slightly angry.

Paul was taken aback. "Mom, you just went through something terrible. You need to talk to someone."

"I am not talking to some nosy stranger about what happened to me." Tori declared.

"Then talk to Marlena. She's had experience." Paul insisted.

"No! Look, I just want to put this whole night behind us and move on." Tori snapped.

"Mom, you can't just pretend something like this never happened." Paul argued. "I did tell you about my stepbrother Eric, right? He never went to therapy after being raped, and now he accidentally killed his best friend and almost killed our brother and a friend of his!"

"So, I won't drink alcohol then." Tori said, not giving up. Paul sighed and leaned back. "I'm tired. I need to rest now, okay?"

Paul nodded. "Okay. Sleep tight." He stood up, kissed her forehead, and left.

XX

Paul ran into Will and Sonny at the nurse's station. Will and Sonny turned around, but Paul stopped them. "Wait, please. I…Will, I owe you an apology. You were right- I was looking for someone to blame. I'm sorry I pointed fingers at you and for attacking you."

Will smiled softly. "Apology accepted."

Paul smiled and pulled Will into a hug and burst into tears. "Thank you. Thank you for saving my mother."

"You're welcome." Will replied and hugged back. "And I'm sorry I provoked you."

Paul laughed softly. "It's okay."

They pulled apart. "How is she?"

"Okay, under the circumstances." Paul shrugged. "I'll see you guys around."

XXX

The next morning, Will stopped by the hospital on his way to work. He walked to Tori's room just as Paul exited, looking exhausted.

"Hey." Will greeted. "How's she doing?"

"She didn't sleep at all last night." Paul admitted. "She kept the TV on for most of the night, and we talked and talked."

"Wow. I'm sorry." Will replied.

Paul exhaled slowly. "It's not your fault. I'm hoping she'll be so tired she'll fall right to sleep without having nightmares." Will nodded. "Anyway, I'm glad you're here. She wants to thank you for what you did."

"Oh. Okay." Will replied. They walked into the room where Tori was reading a magazine.

Tori looked up. "Oh! Hi. That was quick."

"Actually, Will came up just as I left the room." Paul replied.

Tori nodded. "Will…I owe you an apology. I misjudged you."

"It's okay. I would have misjudged me, too." Will admitted.

"Still…thank you for saving me." Tori said sincerely. "Although, I do wish you would have shown up a little earlier…"

"Mom…" Paul said warningly.

"…but, there's nothing we can do to change that." Tori replied. "All we can do now is move on and put the past behind us."

Will nodded. "I'm glad you're okay."

"Thank you."

"Well, I better get to work. I'll see you guys around." Will waved and left.

Paul followed him. "I still need coffee." They chuckled and walked to the elevator. "So…is Sonix gonna write about Eric and the accident?"

"Well, I'm going to try and convince Zoe not to." Will replied. "If she won't budge, then I'll threaten to resign if she won't kill the story."

Paul raised an eyebrow. "Even though somebody else will write that story eventually?"

Will sighed heavily. "Crap. You're right."

XXX

"Will, there's no way I'm killing this story."

Will exhaled sharply. He was in Zoe's office. "Okay…don't you think people would want to read about something a little more interesting and happier?"

"What could be more interesting than a drunk ex-priest killing his best friend and injuring two others? One of them a Kiriakis and the other a Horton?" Zoe asked.

"Look, Zoe, my uncle has been through a lot these past few years." Will said. "He feels bad enough about the accident as it is. Having an article out about it would kill him."

"Well, then he should have thought of that before he drunk and drove." Zoe said simply.

Will nodded. He was losing. "What if I pay you…$250 million to not write the story?"

Zoe scoffed and snickered. "You don't have $250 million."

"My stepfather left it to me after he died." Will lied.

Zoe let out a low whistle, then shook her head. "Sorry, Will. No amount of money is gonna make this article disappear."

Will slumped in his seat. This woman was not letting up. "Okay...I'll write the article, then."

"You signed a contract, remember?" Zoe replied. She dug around for said contract. "You can't write for family ever again."

"Chad and Paul are my stepuncles and I still wrote articles about them." Will pointed out. "Doesn't that kind of make it null and void?"

"You didn't tell me that Chad was your stepuncle and nobody knew that Paul was your step uncle at the time." Zoe replied, raising her eyebrows. "Will, seriously- quit while you're still behind."

"Okay. Fine." Will raised his hands in surrender, and stood up. "In fact, while I'm at it, why don't I resign from Sonix?"

"Excuse me?"

"Well, if you're gonna write the article, I may as well resign." Will said simply.

"I am not going to accept your resignation. You're one of my best writers." Zoe replied. She stood up and leaned forward. "One way or another, that article will be written. I suggest you deal with it, and get back to work."

Will sighed and left her office. "I'm not gonna give up on this." He started heading down the hall and almost bumped into someone. "Hey, Matt!"

"Hey!" Matt replied. "I'm glad I ran into you. What are you doing after you're done here?"

"Nothing exciting. Why?"

"Zoe asked me to write an article about your uncle and the accident." Matt replied. "Since you're here, I figured you'd be my first interview."

An idea came to Will. If he can't stop the article from happening or write it himself…he's gonna have to control it some other way. He made a beeline for his own office, opened his laptop, and pulled up Matt's profile on Facebook. If bribery doesn't work, he's gonna have to try a different tactic. He called a private investigator.

"Hi, I was hoping you could find out everything you can about a Matthew Stevenson."

Operation Sonixgate is in effect.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What could go wrong, right? ;)


	25. Operation: Sonixgate

Will sent Matt a text to meet him at the Brady Pub. He found out it is his favorite restaurant. He then texted Claire to find out what he orders most there. After gathering information, he headed to the Pub early and ordered cherry pie a la mode and a beer for Matt. For himself, he ordered apple pie and water.

Matt sighed as he sat down across from Will. "Thanks for meeting me."

"Of course." Will grinned. The waiter set down their plates and drinks.

"Ahh. Pie and beer. My favorite combination." Matt exclaimed. "How did you know?"

"I have my ways." Will said mysteriously.

Matt chuckled and took a swig. He cleared his throat and pulled out a recorder. "All right, let's get down to business. You don't mind if I record this, right?"

"Of course not." Will smiled.

"Okay…interviewing Will Horton, nephew of subject Eric Brady. So…Will. Are you close with your uncle?" Matt asked.

"We talk, but, we're not that close." Will answered.

"Being an ex-priest, was he okay with…you know…" Matt waved his hands around.

Will chuckled softly. "I don't see how that's relevant."

"It's called a character profile." Matt shrugged.

"Oh. Well, if you must know, he was actually okay with me being gay. He even came to my wedding." Will shrugged.

Matt nodded. "What are your thoughts about the accident? I understand your aunt and uncle were hurt?"

Will nodded. "It _was_ an accident. Uncle Eric wasn't in his right mind…he made a mistake and deeply regrets it."

"Will, I asked for _your_ thoughts on the accident, not your uncle's." Matt sighed.

"Those _are_ my thoughts." Will insisted. He then got an idea. "Okay…how about this: I blame the DiMeras for Uncle Eric's downfall."

"Really? Why is that?" Matt asked.

"Because if Kristen DiMera hadn't completely destroyed and humiliated him in the worst possible way, he would still be a priest, and Dr. Jonas would still be alive." Will said simply.

Matt nodded and started eating his pie. "Hmm. You know, blaming someone who's already dead doesn't really help this story."

"Well, then blame Stefano." Will shrugged. "If he hadn't adopted Kristen, she wouldn't have gone crazy and became evil."

Matt exhaled sharply. "Okay…I see where this is going." He turned off the tape recorder.

"What?" Will asked innocently.

"You're protecting him." Matt said matter-of-factly.

"Actually…" Will leaned forward. "I'm protecting _you_."

Matt scoffed in disbelief. "Really?"

"You've heard of Sami Brady, correct?" Matt nodded. Will continued. "Then you know what she's like when someone hurts a member of her family. She and my uncle are twins. They're really close. If you write an article trashing Eric Brady…I guarantee you: Sami will come at you with everything she's got. Your life, reputation, and career will be _annihilated_."

"Oh, _this_ is something I haven't heard of before." Matt replied, sarcastically. "You're threatening to sic Sami Brady on me if I write the article, right?"

"I'm not _threatening_ you. I'm _warning you_." Will insisted. "But…I have a solution."

"Do you?"

"Yes. _I_ write the article…but your name will be on it." Will offered. "We'll go all Cyrano on this bitch."

"So you write an article about your uncle that will glorify him killing a beloved top surgeon to make him and your family feel better?" Matt raised an eyebrow.

"I didn't say I was going to _glorify_ him committing manslaughter." Will argued.

"Even if I agree to this, what about Dr. Jonas' family? I think they'd have a problem with Eric being painted in a positive light." Matt said, simply.

"I'll make sure everyone is satisfied." Will promised. "So…does this mean you'll let me write the article?"

"Oh, hell no." Matt shook his head. "This article will be the pinnacle of my career, and this story is too juicy to be watered down." He stood up. "Thanks for the pie. See you around."

"But-" Will stood up and followed him out of the pub. "Wait! I'll pay you."

"Now you're trying to bribe me?! Wow, you really want to write this article." Matt scoffed and shook his head.

Will stepped in front of him. "I'm serious. I am prepared to offer you $250 million to let me write that article and let you take credit for it."

Matt just stared at Will in disbelief. That much money is tempting… he shook his head. "Sorry, pal. That article is mine." He walked off.

Will sighed in defeat. There was no way he was going to budge.

XXX

Meanwhile, Club TBD was experiencing one of their slow days. Sonny finished wiping off the counter, and looked around to make sure there weren't any customers waiting, turned around, leaned against the counter, and pulled out his phone.

"Hey, how did everything go?" He asked Will.

"Not good. Zoe won't budge. I tried everything! I also tried it on the person who is writing the article…still no dice. That article's gonna be written." Will groaned slightly.

Sonny sighed in sympathy. "You tried. That's really all you can do."

"Yeah… I'm hoping that our families will go easy on Uncle Eric so his reputation won't be totally ruined."

"I think the only people who wouldn't go easy on Eric are Uncle Vic, Maggie, and Nicole. Melanie is a wild card." Sonny replied.

"Yeah." Will nodded. "Think you can convince your uncle to go easy on mine?"

"I'll try, but I doubt he will." Sonny answered.

"Thanks." Will replied.

XXX

Sonny knocked on the door of the Kiriakis mansion. Henderson answered.

"Hello, Master Sonny. Welcome back." Henderson replied.

"Hey, Henderson." Sonny greeted. "Is Uncle Vic here?"

"I'm always here." Victor quipped. He stood in the doorway of the living room. "Come on in, Sonny." Sonny nodded and walked into the living room. "So, what do you want?"

"Well, this is about Sonix." Sonny replied. "They are writing an article about the New Year's Eve accident."

"Hmph. Who's writing the story?"

"Well, not Will." Sonny shrugged.

"Oh, well, then in that case, thanks for the warning." Victor replied. "Any sleazy journalists come close to this house, I'll threaten to press charges for trespassing."

"So…you don't want to be interviewed?" Sonny asked to make sure.

"Hell no. And I don't want Maggie to be interviewed, either." Victor said sharply. "We've all been through hell."

Sonny nodded, relieved. "You're welcome for the warning."

"Speaking of warnings…you should know that I have another younger brother." Victor said. "Deimos. He was supposed to be in jail for the rest of his life, but he got out on good behavior. He is very dangerous, and will come after the family to hurt me."

"What'd you do to him?"

"What'd _I_ do to him?! He killed my fiancée!" Victor exclaimed. "After seducing her four days before our wedding."

"Okay, okay, I'm sorry." Sonny raised his hands to calm him. "I didn't know."

"It's all right. Just steer clear of him." Victor replied.

"I will."

XXX

Will had to think fast. If he could get all of Matt's potential interviewees to not trash Eric, maybe it won't be so bad. His next stop was Jennifer's house.

"Will! Hi! Come on in." Jennifer greeted, smiling wide.

"Hey, Aunt Jennifer." Will replied. "How are you feeling?"

"Great! Pain meds are the best, aren't they?" Jennifer replied. "Can I get you anything?"

"No, I'm good." Will cleared his throat. They went into the living room and sat on the couch.

"So, what brings you by?"

"Well, I just want to give you the heads-up: Sonix is writing an article about the New Year's Eve accident." Will said. "I'm not writing it, but someone else is."

"Oh." Jennifer nodded. "Hm. Let me guess: you want me to not trash talk Eric, right?"

"Right. He's gone through so much in these last few years. I know he hurt you and Brady and accidentally killed Daniel, but…"

Jennifer nodded and sighed. "I know. I-I forgive Eric for what he did. I was a journalist once. I speak the language. I know what to say to this person."

"Great! Thanks." Will smiled and hugged his aunt. "You're the best."

"Aw. Thanks!" Jennifer replied.

XXX

Will headed to the hospital next. He went to Brady's room just as Brady was climbing back into bed. "Hey, Will."

"Hey." Will greeted. "So…just so you know, Sonix is writing an article about the accident. I'm not writing it, but…"

"You wanna make sure I don't say anything against Eric?" Brady guessed, nodding his head. Will nodded, and Brady sighed. "Look, I understand why Eric did what he did, but, I'm also not going to throw him under the bus."

"Great! Thanks."

"Hold on." Brady held up a hand. "I may be okay with this, but, not even I can protect Eric from Nicole. She's not gonna want to go easy on Eric."

"Not even if you talked her out of it?" Will asked, hopefully.

"Nope." Brady shook his head. "Actions have consequences, my dear nephew. You can't coddle and protect everyone from the fallout. I know. I tried."

 _'Wanna bet?'_ Will thought. "Okay. Thank you for the input. I'll remember that."

"Sure."

XXX

Later, Paul sat in a booth at Club TBD. Matt sat across him. "Thank you for meeting me."

"Sure." Paul smiled.

"This interview is about your thoughts on the accident that claimed Dr. Daniel Jonas' life." Matt replied. "I believe one of the victims is your half-brother?"

"That is correct." Paul nodded.

"And the person responsible, Eric Brady, is your stepbrother."

"Yep."

"Are you close with either of them?" Matt asked.

"I'm closer to Brady than Eric, but I don't see how that's relevant." Paul replied.

"You must have been pretty upset that Eric almost killed your brother." Matt continued.

"Well, I'm not happy that he chose to drink and drive." Paul shrugged. "But, I understand that alcohol can make you do stupid things."

Matt nodded and jotted down some notes. "I also understand you work closely with Nicole Walker, Dr. Jonas' fiancée."

Paul nodded. "I do."

"Do you have her contact information?" Matt asked.

Paul sighed. "Look…I know Nicole. She is extremely devastated. I wouldn't want to add more to her grief by interviewing her."

Matt smiled humorlessly, looked away, then back at Paul. "Will put you up to this, didn't he?"

"Excuse me?" Paul asked, confused.

"He tried to talk me out of writing that article." Matt revealed. "He even tried to bribe me with $250 million!"

Paul tried not to cringe. _'Oh, dammit, Will!'_ "Matt, I promise you. I haven't even spoken to or seen Will in the last few days."

Matt scoffed. "Okay. Fine. Whatever. I'm still gonna hunt Nicole down and get a statement. Oh- Daniel's daughter's name is Melanie, right?"

"I actually never met his daughter. I don't think that's her name." Paul lied.

Matt nodded and stood up. "If you do see Will, tell him no matter how hard he tries, he will not stop me from writing the article?"

"Of course." Paul nodded.

"Thank you." Matt walked off.

XXX

"Will, I think you should just let this go." Sonny said over the phone. "Clearly this guy won't budge. Maybe it won't be so bad."

Will exhaled sharply. "There has to be a way…"

An alarm rang in Sonny's head. "Will…do not do anything stupid or illegal."

"Like what?" Will asked innocently.

"I'm not giving you ideas." Sonny shook his head. "Just…let it be, okay? Promise?"

"Sorry, babe. Can't promise anything."

"Will!" Sonny snapped sternly.

"I gotta go. I have a meeting. Love you! Bye!" Will hung up.

Sonny huffed, shook his head, and turned around. He jumped slightly when he saw a middle-aged man with dark hair sitting at the bar. "Oh, sorry about that. What can I get you?"

"Mimosa, please." The man answered. "You're Sonny, Justin's son, right?"

"I am. How do you know my father?" Sonny asked as he prepared his drink.

"I'm his uncle. Which makes me your great-uncle." He replied. "Deimos Kiriakis."

Sonny nodded. "Oh. Nice to meet you."

"You don't seem surprised." Deimos noted.

"Uncle Vic warned me about you." Sonny replied, gripping the edge of the counter.

"I see. Let me guess: he told you I was dangerous and to stay away from me." Deimos guessed, sipping his drink.

"Can't blame him, given that you slept with and then killed his fiancée." Sonny raised an eyebrow.

"I'm sure that's what he told you." Deimos said bitterly. "Ever thought that he framed me?"

"What?"

"Think about it: why would I kill the woman I love? Why wouldn't I just kill Victor? Hmm?" Deimos raised an eyebrow. "I mean, it wouldn't be so surprising. After all, he did threaten to kill your husband if he ever cheated on you again, right?"

Sonny was thrown. This was the first he was hearing of this! "What?!"

Deimos tried to act surprised and embarrassed. "Oh, I'm sorry. You didn't know?"

"No! How did you know?" Sonny asked, aghast.

"I've been studying our family since I got out of prison." Deimos admitted. "And like the annoying little brother that I am, I discovered and read Victor's journal. There was an entry dated sometime early April of 2015 that said something along the lines of 'I let that cheating manwhore know that if he ever hurts my nephew again, the next time he sees an employee of mine, it won't be to summon him here'. I'm guessing he was talking about your husband."

Sonny fumed and turned around. How could Victor do that?! And why didn't Will tell him? And why did he have to find out from Deimos of all people?

"Sonny, I'm sorry. The last thing I want to do is cause drama." Deimos lied. Justin walked in and his eyes widened when he saw Deimos talking to Sonny. Deimos finished off his drink and slapped money on the counter. "I'll see you around."

Justin smiled and blocked Deimos' path. "Hello, Uncle Deimos. I'm Justin, Sonny's father."

"Oh, hello, Justin." Deimos held out his hand.

Justin shook Deimos' hand, then gripped it tight, and pulled him forward. "If you ever come near my son again, I will revoke your parole. Do you understand me?"

"Perfectly." Deimos replied.

"Good." Justin dropped his hand and glared at Deimos as he walked out of the club, then sat at the bar. Sonny was a little distracted, so Justin cleared his throat. Sonny snapped from his thoughts and turned to his father.

"Hey, Dad. The usual?" Sonny asked.

"Yes, please." Justin replied. "So, I saw you talking with your not-so-great-Uncle Deimos. What were you talking about?"

Sonny shook his head. "Just Uncle Vic. He told me that Uncle Vic threatened to kill Will if he ever cheated on me again."

"Eh, well, I can't blame him." Justin said before he could stop himself. Sonny glared at him. "Look, Sonny…Uncle Deimos obviously holds a serious grudge against Uncle Victor. He could just be saying that to turn you against your uncle."

Sonny sighed deeply. "Well…only one way to find out."

XXX

Will laid out three ads for three different homes out on his coffee table. One house was a 19th century Victorian home- one of the very first homes built in Salem. It was the smallest and cheapest. The second home is fifty years old and slightly bigger with a breathtaking view of the lake. The third one was fairly new- only five years old, and was the biggest and most expensive. He loved all three houses, but, he loved the newest one the best. He looked up when Sonny walked in.

"Oh, hey, I was just looking over our housing options." Will grinned, then his face fell at his expression. "Sonny, what's wrong?" Sonny just sighed and shook his head. Will took a deep breath and stood. He knew what he was thinking about. "Okay, look, I know you're worried about how I'm dealing with this whole article situation, but, it's under control."

"That's not why I'm upset." Sonny said.

"Oh. Then why are you upset?" Will asked.

Sonny hesitated. "I'm going to ask you something, and I need you to be brutally honest with me."

"Okay."

"Did Uncle Vic threaten to kill you if you ever hurt me again?" Sonny asked.

Will laughed softly in surprise. "Um, what brought that up?"

"My long-lost great-Uncle Deimos is in town." Sonny said. "He told me he studied our family, and read Victor's journal. He wrote that he threatened to kill you if you ever hurt me again. That entry was dated early April of last year."

Will's face fell. "Look, Sonny, I didn't want to cause any more pain than I already did."

" _Oh my God!_ " Sonny said through gritted teeth. He turned away.

"I knew this would have caused a rift between you and your uncle, so I didn't tell you. I'm sorry." Will replied sincerely. "Please don't be mad."

"Oh, I'm not mad. I am _furious_!" Sonny turned back around. "But not at you, no. I'm furious with Victor. He had _no right_ to do that to you."

Will was relieved and touched. "Yeah. But…to be fair…you would have done the exact same thing."

"Of course I would!" Sonny yelled, throwing his hands up in frustration. He sighed and shook his head. His face softened as he walked over and took Will's hands in his. "Will…I'm sorry. Victor shouldn't have done that. You must have been freaked out."

"I was. But I understand why he did it." Will admitted. He sighed. "I'm just wondering why this mysterious great-uncle of yours told you about this."

"To turn me against Uncle Vic." Sonny replied.

"Why?"

"Victor put Deimos in jail for killing his-Victor's- fiancée after sleeping with her." Sonny answered. "He wants revenge."

Will nodded. "Wow. No wonder he hates women so much."

"Mm-hmm." Sonny nodded. "This guy- Deimos- is dangerous. You need to stay away from him."

"Okay. I will." Will promised.

"Good. Now…" Sonny took a deep breath. "Let's focus on happier things. You said you were looking at our housing options?"

"Yes!" Will said, relieved and happy. He grabbed the ads. "Okay, so, the Victorian house is cheapest, but it's kind of isolated. I don't know if I like that. The newer one is close to schools and the square and the park, but it's also the most expensive. I can't decide- I like them both. What do you think?"

"Hmm. Well…I kind of like the idea of Salem's first gay couple living in one of the very first homes." Sonny smiled. "And it's cheap. But, like you said, the newer one is closer and near everything…hm. The fifty year old house is right in between Sonix and the club."

Will sighed and blinked slowly. "Oh, yeah, about that."

"What?"

"I decided that I'm leaving Sonix." Will revealed.


	26. Career Change

Sonny was shocked at that revelation. "What? When did you decide that?"

"This afternoon, actually." Will admitted. "I no longer want to be a part of all the underhanded scheming and backstabbing going on with the…articles people write, so…after the next deadline, I'm tendering my resignation."

"Are you sure that's what you want?" Sonny asked.

"Yes." Will nodded. "Sonix was the start of all my troubles. There's a job opening at the Salem Spectator for an editorialist. I'm going to apply."

Sonny nodded. "Okay. But, can I ask you something?"

"Shoot."

"Why not Sonny was shocked at that revelation. "What? When did you decide that?"

"This afternoon, actually." Will admitted. "I no longer want to be a part of all the underhanded scheming and backstabbing going on with the…articles people write, so…after the next deadline, I'm tendering my resignation."

"Are you sure that's what you want?" Sonny asked.

"Yes." Will nodded. "Sonix was the start of all my troubles. There's a job opening at the Salem Spectator for an editorialist. I'm going to apply."

Sonny nodded. "Okay. But, can I ask you something?"

"Shoot."

"Why not _buy_ Sonix? That way you can control which articles are written." Sonny suggested.

"I don't have the money or the experience to run a magazine." Will shook his head slowly. "Besides, I want to _write_ , not manage a magazine."

"Okay. Well, in that case, I hope you get the job at the Spectator." Sonny said, supportively.

Will smiled, grabbed Sonny's face, and pulled him into a kiss. "Thank you."

Sonny's phone rang. "Hey, Gabi."

"Hey, do you have a few minutes?" Gabi asked.

"Yeah. What's up?"

"This photoshoot is running longer than I thought, so would you mind picking Ari up from Lucas'?"

"Sure. I'm actually home now, so I'll pick her up."

"Thanks! You're the best." Gabi replied.

Sonny chuckled. "Bye, Gabi."

"What's going on?" Will asked.

"Her photoshoot is running longer than she thought, so, I'm going to pick Ari up." Sonny replied.

"Okay." Will nodded. He opened up his laptop, searched for the editorialist job, and started filling out the application. There was a knock on the door. Will got up to answer it. "Uncle Philip? This is a surprise." He stepped aside to let him in.

"Hi, Will." Philip walked in, and sighed. "Listen…normally I wouldn't come to you with this, but, I'm getting desperate."

Will was confused. "Okay…"

"I'm assuming my dad warned Sonny about Uncle Deimos, and Sonny relayed the message to you." Philip said. Will nodded. "Good. Ahem. I wish I had gotten that warning before it was too late."

"What do you mean?"

"I met Deimos a while before he came to Salem." Philip admitted. "He told me he was my Uncle- I ran a background check just to be sure. He tried to turn me against my father. But, when he failed, he started to blackmail me."

Will's eyes widened. "What does he have on you?"

Philip shook his head vigorously. "Never mind that! All you need to know is that it would ruin me beyond repair."

"So, what do you need me for?" Will asked.

"I'm hoping that the $250 million you're sitting on would shut Deimos up and make him disappear." Philip said.

"What if he doesn't disappear even with all that money?" Will asked.

"Then I'll threaten to tell my dad everything." Philip said simply. "He's after the serum that you and your great-grandmother took to feel better."

Will nodded, then something occurred to him. "Wait…Uncle Bo was kidnapped and tortured for information about the serum…did…did you know about that before he came back to Salem?"

"No!" Philip shook his head. "Will, Bo and I may have had our differences, and I may have been jealous of him my entire life, but I would _never_ hurt him."

"Okay. Good." Will replied. "So, then…for once, Stefano actually _didn't_ have anything to do with what Bo and Hope went through."

"Crazy, right?" Philip asked. "Now…about the money…"

"I'll give it to you, but first, you have to do something for me in return." Will said.

"Name it." Philip said eagerly.

Will explained about the article about the accident, and that he needs to find some way to save face for Eric. "I don't know what I'm gonna do."

"Well…you could still write that article." Philip replied, getting an idea. "Hear me out: you can break into this guy's computer, rewrite the article, print it out, and swap it with the original before it gets to the printer."

"Yeah…yeah. That will do." Will replied. "That sounds complicated, though."

"Not with my help." Philip replied, smiling. "So…I'll help you with the article and you can give me that money."

"It's not that easy." Will replied. "I put it in an offshore account in Moscow. I can't access the money until this November."

"You forget: I'm a Kiriakis." Philip stated simply. "I'll get that money out within the next week or so."

"Great! The deadline for the article is next Friday. I'll hack into Matt's computer tomorrow while he's on break." Will said.

"Great. Let me know how it goes." Philip replied. "Thank you, Will. You're a good nephew."

"You're welcome. And thanks." Will stared at the door after Philip left. He wasn't completely sure if he could trust him to give his money back if bribing Deimos doesn't work. Just in case, he called his PI. "Hi. I need you to dig up dirt on Philip Kiriakis, please."

XXX

The next afternoon, Will snuck into Matt's office and successfully broke into his computer. He opened up the file on the article, which was complete. He e-mailed it to himself and deleted the e-mail from Trash. "Score!" Will whispered triumphantly. He pulled down his sleeve to wipe off fingerprints and left the office.

Once in his own office, Will opened up the e-mail and file. He saved the file and deleted the e-mail. He pulled out his phone and texted Philip. _"Successfully stole the article. Let's plan on meeting at the printer's office next Friday to make the swap. They know who I am, so you're gonna have to be the distraction."_

"Good for you! I'll make room in my calendar." Philip replied.

Will deleted the conversation, and started revising the article.

XXX

Chad and Abigail walked through the Horton house with Thomas. Jennifer was upstairs resting, and JJ was at school.

"Have you thought more about it? Moving into the mansion?" Chad asked as they sat down.

"Yes. And I want you to know that I'd be happy living anywhere. I don't need a mansion." Abigail said, raising an eyebrow.

"I get that. I totally do." Chad replied. "But, like I said, the bank is foreclosing soon, and we have next to no money thanks to Sami. Who knows what she did with it."

Abigail was a little surprised. "Did I forget to tell you?"

"What?" Chad asked, confused.

XXX

Will opened the door to Chad, Abigail, and Thomas. "Hey, guys. Come on in."

"Hey." Abigail rushed to put Thomas in the bathroom in his car seat, turned the fan on, and closed the door.

"Where's Ari?" Chad asked.

"Napping." Will replied.

Chad nodded. "So…what exactly did you guys forget to tell me?"

"First of all…we weren't sure if we could trust you." Sonny said. "And we wanted to make sure Sami and the kids were safe."

"Okay…" Chad nodded.

"Sami gave half the stolen money to me." Will admitted.

Chad blinked. "Wow. You were the _last_ person I expected would get it."

"Yeah, well…"

Chad sighed. "Guess Andre brainwashed me for nothing."

"Belle still knows, though." Will shrugged. "And Brady, Philip, Gabi, and Paul."

Chad stared in shock. He couldn't blame them for not trusting him, but, still! "Is there anything _else_ you would like to tell me?"

Sonny and Will glanced at each other, unsure whether or not to tell him about EJ. Will took a deep breath. "Just so we're clear…you definitely turned your back on your family, right?"

"One hundred and ten percent." Chad nodded. "Why?"

"It's EJ." Will replied. "He's alive."

That struck Chad. He sank down in a chair. "How is that possible?"

"Apparently, Kristen injected him with a revival drug." Will shrugged. "He was in a coma, then physical therapy, then he was held captive. He escaped and found my mom and the kids."

"Oh my God." Abigail breathed.

It took a few minutes for Chad to process this new information. EJ was alive. He's out there somewhere. He was surprised to find himself to be relieved. He sighed. "Do Stefano and Andre know?"

"Stefano does, but I don't know about Andre." Will shrugged.

"Why…why didn't they tell me, then?" Chad asked, his voice shaking.

"Beats me." Will replied.

Chad exhaled slowly. "If Andre doesn't know, then…maybe we should keep it that way."

"I agree." Will replied. "So, since you now know I have half the money, I'm guessing you want it back, right?"

Chad sighed inwardly, closed his eyes, and bowed his head. "No." He looked up at Will with a look of slight guilt. "Keep it. Call it making it up to you for basically screwing you guys over."

"Yeah, I never understood why you did that." Will said. "I mean, Sonny only saved you and Melanie from being kidnapped, was the best friend you could ever have, and offered to donate his blood after you got shot."

"It actually, um…it had more to do with his dad helping EJ bring him- my dad- down." Chad admitted.

Sonny exhaled sharply and rolled his eyes. "Oh. Wow. I'm used against my dad and my uncle. Who next- _Will_?"

"Hey, don't jinx it!" Will exclaimed. They chuckled.

"You should also know that Andre thinks Hope killed our father." Chad admitted.

Will and Sonny just stared at him, dumbfounded. "Hope? Seriously? Why?"

"Because she thinks my father is responsible for Bo's kidnapping, torture, and death." Chad replied. "He's not."

Will had a flashback of Philip telling him Deimos was interested in the serum. "Hmm. You know, if Stefano really is innocent… and if Hope really did kill him…she killed an innocent old man in a wheelchair."

"Well, innocent at the time of his death, anyway." Sonny shrugged.

"Regardless…this means that Andre is going to be even _more_ on edge and all the more desperate and determined to get his money back. So, you better _pray_ he doesn't find out you have it." Chad said. Will nodded. "Now…on to happier news…" He put an arm around Abigail's shoulders and they both smiled.

"Chad asked me to marry him, and I said yes!" Abigail exclaimed excitedly.

Will and Sonny gaped happily. "Oh my God! Congratulations!" They hugged the newly engaged couple.

"Sonny, I would love for you to be my best man." Chad said, grinning.

"Of course." Sonny replied. "Maybe after all this drama with your family ends, we can be better friends."

"I'd like that." Chad said. They hugged.

Will was suddenly hit with inspiration. He gasped slowly, and a smile formed on his lips. "Oh my god…I just got an idea!"

"Should we be worried?" Sonny asked.

"No! This is a great idea for a novel!" Will exclaimed. "Two guys from rival crime families becoming best friends- kind of like a platonic Romeo and Juliet- the story writes itself!" Will squealed, kissed Sonny on the mouth, and kissed Chad on the cheek. "I love you guys."

Chad cleared his throat. "We love you, too. Uh…heh…you're…gonna use different names, though, right?"

"Of course, of course." Will replied.

Sonny chuckled. "Chad, we better get to work. We'll see you guys later."

"Bye." Abigail kissed Chad, and Sonny kissed Will. After Chad and Sonny left, Abigail turned to Will. "Would you mind if I just hang out here 'til Thomas wakes up?"

"Sure!" Will replied. They sat on the couch. "So, have you set a date, yet?"

"Well, we were going to do it on Valentine's Day, but…" Abigail shrugged sadly. "We are going to get married next month, though."

"Well, I can't wait." Will said, grinning. "You two look so happy together."

"Aw, thanks. So do you and Sonny." Abigail replied.

"Where are you guys going to live?"

"Well…Chad wants us to move to the DiMera mansion." Abigail said, sounding unsure.

"And you're not happy about that?" Will guessed.

Abigail shook her head. "I just don't like what that house represents, you know? And…children can get lost in that huge house. It's better if someone who doesn't know who the DiMeras are buy that house."

Will nodded in understanding. "True, but…you could redecorate. Maybe add a little more color, get rid of all that gothic furniture…"

"True, but, the exterior alone…it looks like something out of The Addams Family." They both laughed.

"You can always remodel and repaint." Will suggested.

"Why do you want me to move into the DiMera mansion?" Abigail asked.

"I just…" Will sighed. "A lot of people would kill for a chance to live in a mansion. I mean, big rooms, butlers, maids, a cook, a limo! Why wouldn't you want all that?"

"Because unlike you, I'm not high-maintenance." Abigail smirked.

Will huffed and pretended to be insulted. "Fine."

XXX

Chad and Sonny busied themselves at TBD. "So, have you bought an engagement ring yet?"

"No. I'm going shopping sometime this weekend." Chad carried a tray of food to a table and placed the plates in front of a few customers. He headed back just as Sonny served drinks to a couple.

"Where are you going to live?" Sonny asked.

"Well, I'm trying to talk her into moving into the mansion." Chad admitted as he clipped an order to a rotating rack.

Sonny scoffed. "Good luck with that."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Chad asked.

"Abigail isn't Sami. Or Nicole, or Will, even." Sonny explained. "She's very low-maintenance. She doesn't need butlers and maids and fancy dinners at expensive restaurants. Or designer clothes and fine jewelry. She's okay with living in the suburbs, making dinner herself and eating at family restaurants in jeans."

Chad took a deep breath and leaned against the counter. "I know, I get that. It's just…."

" _You_ want all those things." Sonny guessed.

"Yeah." Chad nodded.

"You do know it's important to make your spouse happy, right? Love is full of compromises." Sonny advised.

"I know." Chad replied. He went back to work.

Sonny wiped down the counter and heard someone sit on a stool. "Be right with you." He finished up and turned in surprise. "Shawn! Hey, when did you get back?"

"A few days ago, actually." Shawn replied. "I actually have been thinking a lot about what you said around Thanksgiving. About really not going to bed angry and what almost happened to you and Will. Because of that, I decided to fight for my marriage."

"Really? Well, good for you." Sonny smiled.

"Thanks. And I owe you." Shawn replied.

Sonny chuckled. "Can I get you anything?"

"Hmm. I'll just have hot chocolate. I'm too afraid to drink after what happened on New Years'." Shawn admitted.

"Whipped cream? Marshmallows?"

"Yes to both."

"Coming right up." Sonny scribbled the order down and hung it on the order rack, and turned back to his cousin. He looked around before addressing him. "Now that you're here, I should probably let you know. Uncle Vic has a long-lost baby brother- Deimos."

"Really?" Shawn raised an eyebrow.

"Yep. He's dangerous, though. You need to steer clear." Sonny said. "He hates Uncle Vic with a vengeance and will use his family to hurt him."

"What'd he do?" Shawn asked.

"According to Uncle Vic, Deimos killed his- Uncle Vic's- fiancée after sleeping with her." Sonny answered. "Deimos went to jail for thirty years."

Shawn nodded. "Wow. Does it matter that I don't identify myself as a Kiriakis? No offense."

"None taken." Sonny shook his head.

"I'll relay the warning to Ciara and Claire."

XXX

Will looked over his draft of the article. It looked okay. It didn't glorify drunk driving or manslaughter, and it didn't piss on Daniel's grave. He nodded in satisfaction and saved it. He gathered up his laptop and went to Matt's office. He was glad to find it empty. He hurried and emailed the new article to Matt's email, and opened the original article, erased it, and pasted the new article over it. He then deleted the email from the inbox and trash. He wiped his fingerprints, and headed back to his office to print the article out.

Later that evening, Philip pulled up to the magazine office. Will was dressed in all black. "Are you ready for this?"

"No. Let's go." Will got out of the car, clutching the new article. They snuck up to Zoe's office. Philip knocked on the door.

"Hi, Zoe Browning?" Philip asked. "I'm Philip Kiriakis, CEO of Titan."

"Oh, hi." Zoe greeted. "What brings you here at this ungodly hour?"

Philip stole a quick glance towards Will, who climbed in through the window. "I was hoping you could be bought back to Titan Publishing. It's obvious that DiMera Enterpises is slowly on the decline. I would hate for such a good magazine to get caught in the crosshairs."

Zoe folded her arms and leaned against the doorway. "We can take care of ourselves. If you didn't want DiMera Enterprises to buy us, then you shouldn't have sold us to them."

Philip smirked. "You never know just what you got 'til it's gone."

Zoe chuckled and smiled. "Too bad, blondie. DiMera is stuck with us."

He crept over to the box of manila envelopes of articles that would go in the magazine. He quietly leafed through the envelopes until he found one with Matt's name on it. He quickly and quietly replaced the original article with the one he wrote, and quietly snuck back out the window.

Philip sighed in defeat and pulled out his card. "All right. But, just in case you changed your mind, here's my card."

Zoe took the card and ripped it in half. "I'm not going to change my mind. Good night, Mr. Kiriakis."

"Good night." Philip walked off. Once both he and Will were in the car, he took a deep breath. "Were you successful?"

"Oh, yeah." Will nodded triumphantly. "My heart's still beating pretty fast and I have chills, though."

Philip chuckled. "That's normal. Have you seriously never done something like this before?"

Will shook his head. "By the way, I got the job at the Spectator."

"Congrats!"

"Thanks. Tomorrow, I pack up my office and give Zoe my two-week's notice." Will nodded. "Were you able to get the money?"

"Yep. It's in my bank account, actually." Philip nodded. "I have a meeting with Uncle Deimos tomorrow, so, wish me luck."

"Good luck."

XXX

Sonny lay on the couch, crossing his ankles, and looking up the new Sonix articles online. He already read the article Will wrote about a homeless person becoming a billionaire overnight, which he thought was pretty good. Then, he moved on to the article about the New Year's Eve car accident. It wasn't written by Will, but, the writing was so similar to Will's writing style…

"Oh, dammit, Will. What did you do?" Sonny asked out loud.

XXX

Zoe walked into Matt's office carrying the newest copy of Sonix. "This just came in. I gotta say, Matt, your article is pretty damn impressive!"

"Oh, thank you." Matt grinned.

"I'm just curious, though…why does it sound like you're apologizing for Eric Brady's actions and making him out to be the victim?" Zoe asked.

Matt was confused. "What?" He grabbed the magazine and scanned the article. His face fell into a horrified expression. "Zoe, this isn't my work."

"Excuse me?"

"I didn't write this article." Matt replied. He sat down in front of his laptop. "I kept the original copy." He searched for the article, but couldn't find it. "What the hell? Even my backups are gone!"

"Wait…what is going on?"

"Someone freaking stole my article and rewrote it!" Matt flung his laptop off his desk in fury.

Zoe scoffed and shook her head. "Who would do that?"

"I don't know!" Matt sighed and slumped in his chair.

Zoe had a flashback of Philip Kiriakis paying her a visit the night before. Was it just a coincidence that he visited the night before the next issue went out? Hmm. Kiriakis…as in Sonny Kiriakis? "You know…the CEO of Titan, Philip Kiriakis came to my office last night. I wonder if he's related to Sonny Kiriakis. Will Horton's husband."

Matt had a sudden burst of realization. Will had tried to get him to let Will write the article and Matt would take credit…then he tried to bribe him. Fury bubbled up inside him. "Mother…" He spat on the ground in fury.

XX

Will packed up one last box in his now-empty office. He had set the letter of resignation on his desk. He heard a distant scream of fury, then crashing. Will quickly packed up the box then taped it up. He heard running footsteps, then jumped as the door to his office slammed open.

Matt panted for breath and glared at Will, who stood behind his chair, using it as a shield. "You. Stole. My. Article."

"Now, now, Matt…Matt, listen," Will said as Matt slowly advanced towards him. "I know you're upset, but, think about it. This wouldn't have happened if you had just let me-"

"Don't you _dare_ blame this on me!" Matt hissed. "My entire career could be on the line because you just couldn't stand to see your precious uncle on the firing squad. Well, you know what? Now you will suffer the consequences. Mark my words, Horton: you will pay." He stormed out of the office.

Zoe scoffed, shook her head, and glared at Will. "What the hell were you thinking?"

"My uncle has been through enough in the last few years. You should have read Matt's original article! He completely trashed him!"

"You had _no_ problem throwing your own _mother_ under the bus." Zoe pointed out. "Why is your uncle any different?"

"My mother was hell-bent on revenge against my cousin-"

"Your uncle nearly _killed_ your aunt and uncle and actually killed this town's most beloved surgeons!" Zoe argued. "I think that's a little stronger than just being mean."

"My uncle didn't set out to kill anyone! He wasn't in his right mind." Will argued. "Anyway, what's done is done." He handed Zoe his letter of resignation.

Zoe read it and nodded. "I really hope you can live with yourself." With that, she left, slamming the door behind her.


	27. More Family Drama

Sonny sighed as he lay on the couch. He opened up the Sonix magazine website and looked up Will's article on a homeless person becoming a billionaire overnight. He was pretty impressed. Then, he looked at the article about the New Year's Eve accident. It was well-written and didn't trash Eric at all. In fact, the writing style almost seemed like…

The door opened, and Will walked in, carrying a box. "Oh, good, you're up. Can you please help me unload a couple more boxes from the car?" Sonny smiled, stood up, and nodded. He went out to the car, grabbed a box from the trunk, and headed back inside. "Thanks!" Will said as he passed Sonny to grab the last box. They put the boxes in the corner by the closet. Since they were planning on moving, they figured they might as well just leave them packed. "So, did you read my article?"

Sonny smiled and folded his arms. "Which one? The one about the homeless billionaire or the New Year's Eve accident?"

Will's face fell slightly. "Oh…I was going to tell you about that."

"Were you?" Sonny asked, not convinced. Will chuckled sheepishly. Sonny scoffed. "Oh, I can't wait to hear _this_ explanation."

Will huffed. "Blackmailing, bribing, and scaring Matt didn't work. I had to do _something_! So, I stole the article he wrote and rewrote it…and swapped mine with the original before it went to editing."

"What?!" Sonny exclaimed. He scoffed and shook his head. "Dammit, Will!"

"I tendered my resignation. I got the job at the _Spectator_. I start in a couple of weeks." Will explained.

Sonny took a deep breath. "What will you do when Zoe finds out you tampered with the article?"

"She already did. So did Matt." Will replied. "They were pissed, but, they'll get over it."

"In the article, you pretty much blamed the DiMeras for the accident." Sonny pointed out. "I don't think they'll be too happy about that. Sonix could be shut down for good! Which means Matt is going to be out for your blood."

Will exhaled sharply. "I know. Look, I did this for my family. Kind of a redemption for that article I wrote for TruVista."

Sonny nodded. "Okay. You know what? Fine. I suppose I have myself to blame. I'm the one who got you the job at TruVista in the first place."

"So…you're not mad?" Will asked to make sure.

"No. But if anything happens to our family because of it, _then_ I will be." Sonny raised an eyebrow.

"Nothing will. I promise." Will insisted, rubbing Sonny's arms, then cradling his face.

"I will definitely hold you to that." Sonny replied. They kissed.

Gabi walked into the apartment looking tranquil. "Hey. Am I interrupting something?"

"No, not at all." Sonny said. "What's up?"

Gabi sighed. "I feel kind of bad announcing something like this on a day like today…"

"Hey, I may not have known Daniel for very long, but I _do_ know that he wouldn't want us to put our lives on hold because of his funeral." Sonny said. "He'd want us to keep living our lives."

"Okay, well…in that case…" Gabi cleared her throat. "I have been throwing up all week and feeling dizzy and going to the bathroom constantly, so, this morning I went to the doctor."

"And…?" Will asked, grinning.

Gabi grinned. "It worked. I'm pregnant!"

"What?!" Sonny exclaimed happily. "Oh my God!"

"Oh my God!" Will exclaimed, laughing. He hugged Sonny. "Sonny, we're pregnant!"

Sonny and Will both hugged Gabi, who giggled. "I'm so happy for you guys! I promise- I will take good care of my body and this baby."

"We're holding you to it." Sonny said, grinning. "Do we have a due date?"

Gabi nodded. "October 9th."

"October 9th." Will repeated. "Wow- that's one year to the day that I was almost…"

"Yeah." Sonny nodded. He cleared his throat. "You know, we should probably wait until tomorrow to start telling people. Today is the funeral, so, it'd be in poor taste to tell people today."

Will nodded. "I agree."

XXX

Will and Sonny arrived at Club TBD. Maggie walked over and hugged Sonny. "Thank you for letting us use the club."

"Of course." Sonny smiled.

Everyone sat down. Maggie, Victor, Melanie, Brady, and Jennifer gave speeches. Will stood up and cleared his throat.

"Daniel was a good man. I will never forget how he saved my brother's, my grandmother's, my husband's, and my life." Will got emotional, which surprised even himself. "He will be missed." He sat down and wiped away tears. Why was he so emotional? He wasn't really that close to Daniel.

XXX

A couple hours after the funeral, Will walked through the square drinking a Styrofoam cup of herbal tea. He was feeling nauseous and his head hurt. He almost ran into Marlena. "Grandma! Hey."

"Hey." Marlena greeted. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah. Why wouldn't I be?" Will shrugged.

"You were a little emotional at Daniel's memorial." Marlena noted. "You weren't that close to Daniel, which got me thinking Daniel's death isn't why you were so emotional."

Will sighed. "I don't know. Maybe it's guilt for being so happy and good things are happening with my life when Nicole's, Melanie's, and Parker's lives are forever changed."

"I'm sure they would be happy that at least nobody elses' lives are changed for the worse." Marlena assured him. "By the way, I read the article about the accident. I don't know what you did to convince the guy to go easy on your uncle, and I'm not sure I _want_ to know…but, thank you."

"You're welcome." Will smiled.

Marlena smiled back. "Maybe in the future, if Sonix wants articles about your family, you can talk to the journalists assigned to those articles…"

"Actually…I left Sonix." Will replied. "I'm now an editorialist for the _Salem Spectator_."

Marlena was surprised. "Really? Congratulations. What made you decide to leave Sonix?"

Will sighed heavily and sat down on a bench. Marlena sat next to him. "Honestly? Because working there not only almost ruined my marriage, but almost ruined my relationship with Abigail and what little civility I had with my mom. So…I'm done."

Marlena nodded. "Okay, well, the _Spectator_ definitely seems like a good fit for you."

"Thank you." Will nodded.

"Is that all that's going on with you?" Marlena asked.

Will smiled. "Okay, I didn't want to start telling people until after the funeral stuff died down, but…Sonny and I are having a baby!"

Marlena gasped happily. "What? Oh, my, that is such great news!" She hugged him. "I'm so happy for you. So, are you adopting, or…?"

"No, we hired a surrogate- Gabi." Will answered.

"Hernandez?" Marlena asked. Will nodded. "Oh. Um…"

"Before you say anything, most of the drama we had when she was pregnant with Ari was because of Nick and my mom. Gabi understands what she's doing, and she's gonna be in our baby's life." Will replied.

"Sounds like you got it all figured out."

"I do." Will grinned. His phone buzzed. "Oh, hold on. Sorry."

_"Hey, I read the article online. THANK YOU for talking that Matt guy into going easy on Uncle Eric!"_

_"Actually, I stole the article he wrote, rewrote it, and swapped it with the original."_ Will replied to Sami's text.

_"I hope you didn't lose your job because of that…"_

_"I quit. I'm now working as an editorialist for the_ Salem Spectator."

_"Oh. Congrats!"_

_"Also…Sonny and I are going to have a baby!"_

_"WHAT? OMG! I'M SO HAPPY! When's it due? Who's your surrogate? Is it a boy or a girl?"_

Will laughed. _"The baby's due on October 9th, we don't know yet if it's a boy or a girl, and Gabi's our surrogate."_

_"Gabi? Seriously? After what happened LAST time?"_

_"First of all, what happened last time was mostly due to Nick and well, you. Second of all, Gabi's all grown up. It'll be fine. She's gonna be in our baby's life, too."_

_"Okay, fine. Fair warning, sweetheart: Gabi may be all grown up, Nick may be dead, and I may be out of the country, but you still have Kate to deal with (and quite possibly, Rafe)!"_

_"I can handle that. Don't worry."_ Will sighed and turned to Marlena. "Sorry. I had to tell my mom the good news."

"I'll bet she's excited." Marlena smiled.

"She is. She's a little skeptical about Gabi being our surrogate, but, otherwise, excited." Will shrugged. He stood. "Speaking of which, I better head home. Sonny and I want to tell Ari the good news together."

"All right. Talk to you later."

"Oh- can you please keep quiet about this? Sonny and I want to break the news to everyone." Will said.

Marlena nodded. "Of course."

XX

Will and Sonny sat on each side of Ari on the couch. Will spoke first. "Ari…you're going to have a little brother or sister."

"Liddle brudder or sister?" Ari asked.

Sonny nodded. "Yep. But we want you to know that we will still love you and play with you one hundred percent."

Ari nodded and smiled. "Mmhmm."

"Aww." Will and Sonny both hugged her and blew raspberries into her neck, causing Ari to squeal and giggle. Will's cell phone rang. "Oh, hold on. It's Philip. Hey, Uncle Phil."

"Hi. So, the bribe didn't work. I put the money back into your account." Philip said, a little dejected.

"Oh. I'm sorry it didn't work." Will replied. "Thank you for putting it back."

"You're welcome. Take care."

Will hung up and turned to Sonny, who sighed. "You're not just gonna take his word on that, are you?"

"Nope." Will opened up his laptop and checked his offshore bank account. Sure enough, all $250 million was restored. Just in case, he changed the password. He then deleted the file he had on Philip.

"What was that file?" Sonny asked.

"Dirt on Uncle Phil in case he didn't restore all the money if bribing Deimos didn't work." Will replied. "I didn't look at it, but whatever it was, it must be pretty bad."

Sonny nodded. "Yeah. Knowing Philip."

XXX

The next morning, Will ran into Kate at Club TBD. "Hey, Grandma."

"Hey! I feel like I haven't heard from you in a while." Kate said. "How have you been?"

"Great, actually." Will laughed softly.

"Well, you're smiling more, so things must be." Kate nodded, sipping her coffee.

"They are. I left Sonix and got a job as an editorialist for the Salem Spectator, Sonny and I are buying a new house, and we're having a baby." Will announced, beaming.

Kate's eyes widened. "Seriously? Wow- congratulations. So, are you adopting, or…?"

"Nope. Gabi's our surrogate." Will grinned.

Kate's left eye started to twitch. "Really? The same Gabi who caused all that drama before and after Ari was born and who wanted to keep her away from you?"

"That was mostly Nick, if you remember." Will said. "Besides, Gabi's all grown up now. She really learned her lesson, and we want her in our baby's life."

Kate huffed and shook her head. "Okay, fine. While I have reservations about this, it sounds like you have it under control."

"Thank you." Will replied.

XXX

Gabi and Rafe sat at a table. Gabi had a mug of hot chocolate in her hand and Rafe had coffee.

"So, what is it that you have to tell me?" Rafe asked.

"Well…Will and Sonny are having a baby." Gabi announced, smiling.

"Really? Wow." Rafe said, halfheartedly.

"What?" Gabi asked, slightly surprised.

"Well, it's just…is this really the right time?" Rafe asked. "I mean, with everything that's been happening…"

"Well, not that it's really any of your- or my- business, but, things are actually great between them." Gabi replied.

"Yeah, but for how long?" Rafe asked.

"Why are you so concerned?"

"I'm just worried about Ari's well-being." Rafe explained. "I mean, she's old enough now to tell that something's wrong-"

"Then it's a good thing that nothing's wrong." Gabi said. "Look, Rafe, Will is not your stepson any more. You really don't have any right to comment on his marriage or family life."

"I just don't want Ari to get hurt." Rafe sighed.

Gabi sighed inwardly. She had a feeling she knew why Rafe was so worried. "Rafe…just because our dad abandoned us doesn't mean Will or Sonny will abandon Ari."

"I wasn't implying that Will and Sonny are bad fathers." Rafe said defensively.

"Okay, good." Gabi replied. "They are the best dads. Which is why…I agreed to be their surrogate."

Rafe nearly choked on his coffee. "What?! Are you kidding me right now? Why would you agree to that?"

Gabi was taken aback. "They want another baby. We all thought it'd be good to give Ari another sibling, and this way, they won't have to wait long to find a surrogate."

"I can't believe this." Rafe shook his head and sighed. "Gabi, be honest. Did they _force_ you to do this?"

"No! They would never." Gabi said earnestly. "And they are paying for everything- medical bills, sonograms, vitamins, maternity clothing…"

"Oh, they better." Rafe said.

Gabi huffed. "Plus, I'm going to be in the baby's life."

"How do you know that?"

"Will's parents played tug-of-war with him his entire childhood. He doesn't wish that on his children." Gabi said simply. "Even the children born through surrogacy."

Rafe exhaled sharply. "I still say this is a mistake."

"Hey, you two." Eduardo greeted, walking up to them. He noticed their expressions. "What's wrong?"

"Gabi is going to be a surrogate mother to her 'friends' Will and Sonny." Rafe said.

"Oh. Um…is that really what you want?" Eduardo asked Gabi.

"Yes, that is really what I want." Gabi nodded.

"Okay, well…just as long as they pay for everything. It is their baby, after all." Eduardo shrugged.

"Unbelievable!" Rafe exclaimed, angrily and glared at Eduardo. " _You're_ giving a lecture on parenting?!"

"Rafe." Gabi said warningly.

"Rafe, I was just saying that as long as they are paying for everything, I see no reason why Gabi shouldn't carry a baby for them." Eduardo said, sitting down.

"They're also paying me as well." Gabi pointed out. "Look, everything's going to be fine, okay? Don't worry."

Rafe sighed, giving in. "Fine. But I'm still keeping a close eye on those two."

XXX

"Are you ready for this?"

Will and Sonny stood on the porch of the Kiriakis mansion. Sonny took a deep breath. "Oh, yeah."

"Guys, come on. It's not like you're announcing that you're moving to the moon!" Will and Sonny turned around to see Lucas and Adrienne walk up to them.

"Still." Sonny knocked on the door.

"Hello, everyone!" Henderson greeted. He stepped aside to let the group in and took their coats. "They're waiting for you in the study."

"Thanks, Henderson." Sonny replied. They headed to the study where Victor and Justin waited.

"What the hell are _they_ doing here?" Victor asked, glaring at Will, Lucas, and Adrienne.

"Uncle Vic." Justin said, warningly. He turned to Will and Sonny. "All right, what is it that you have to tell us?"

"I'll just come out and say it." Sonny smiled and held Will's hand in his. "Will and I are having a baby. Gabi's our surrogate."

Adrienne screamed in delight and laughed. "Oh my God!" She hugged both Sonny and Will.

Lucas also laughed in delight and hugged the two. "Way to go, buddies! When's it due?"

"Thank you. The baby's due on October 9th." Will replied.

"You son of a bitch." Victor glared at Will.

"Uncle Vic!" Sonny snapped, glaring back.

"You're trapping him!" Victor accused Will.

"Now hold on, Victor." Lucas glared at Victor.

"Dad, don't. It's okay." Will said, putting a hand on his shoulder.

"Uncle Vic, Will didn't trap me. We _both_ want this baby." Sonny said. "I'm happy. We _both_ are!"

"Yeah, until he cheats again or takes your baby away from you." Victor pointed out.

"I'm not going to do that." Will promised.

Victor just scoffed in disbelief and shook his head.

"Uncle Vic, I know this is a new concept for you, but some people actually _forgive_ their cheaters because they love them." Sonny said, folding his arms. "Especially since the marriage going to hell was partially their own fault."

"You're seriously blaming yourself for Will being a terrible husband?!" Justin exclaimed.

"Well, not completely." Sonny shrugged. "At least he's man enough to admit it, and so am I! I wasn't as supportive or considerate as I should have been. That's on me."

"'Cause he totally deserves support and consideration." Victor quipped.

"Hey! Do not attack my son." Lucas glared at Victor.

"You stay out of this." Victor hissed angrily, pointing at Lucas.

"Uncle Vic, which would you rather: that I forgive him or I throw him off a cliff and frame Paul for the murder?" Sonny quipped.

"Sonny!" Adrienne exclaimed in shock.

"You've been talking to Deimos, haven't you?" Victor guessed. "After I _specifically_ told you not to!"

"He came to the club a few days ago." Sonny explained.

"Unbelievable!" Victor exclaimed, throwing his hands up in frustration. "He's feeding you lies to turn you against me!"

Everyone was quiet for a minute, then Philip walked in, barely acknowledging the group. "Hey, Father, I got the stock stats-"

"DAMMIT, PHILIP, NOBODY CARES ABOUT YOUR STUPID CONQUEST FOR THE SERUM!" Victor thundered before he could stop himself. "STOP KISSING MY ASS AND GET OUT OF MY SIGHT! CAN'T YOU SEE WE'RE TALKING?!"

Philip was taken aback and a little hurt. He swallowed and cleared his throat. "Excuse me." He stormed from the room.

"Okay, I don't care how pissed you are. _Nobody_ talks to my brother that way!" Lucas snapped.

"You don't like how I talk? Then you can follow him." Victor said simply.

Lucas scoffed, shook his head, and headed to the door. He then gathered up some spit in his hand and wiped it down the doorframe.

Will glanced after his dad, sighed, and turned to Sonny. "I'll be downstairs." Will followed Lucas downstairs to the living room. Philip was chugging a bottle of whisky.

Lucas rushed over and grabbed the bottle from Philip. "Okay, I think you've had enough."

Philip sniffed and rounded on Lucas. "You don't get it, do you?! I spent _years_ trying to get my dad's approval, and it's _never_ enough! Brady will always be the favorite and Sonny the second favorite and Justin the third favorite…" Philip started crying into Lucas' shoulder.

Lucas patted his back. "There, there. It'll be okay."

"Don't cry, Uncle Philip. You have us." Will said, grinning.

Philip looked between Lucas and Will, and started sobbing again. "Oh, God help me!"

Lucas just rolled his eyes. "Love you, too, little brother."

XX

Back upstairs, things were getting a little more than intense. It took all of Sonny's energy and willpower not to punch his great-uncle.

"You know what, Victor? I am officially _over_ you trashing my husband every which way." Sonny said with controlled anger. "Just because your precious fiancée cheated on you doesn't give you the right to take it out on everyone you meet."

"I will not have you disrespecting me in my house!" Victor snapped. "Jackson Kiriakis, you are choosing a lying, manipulating-"

"Oh, God, the hypocrisy!" Sonny yelled, threw his arms up, and turned around.

"Jackson, give it a rest." Justin said sternly.

"You're choosing that whiny, flaky, manwhore over your family!" Victor exclaimed angrily.

Sonny held his glare at Victor. "I'm choosing me. I love Will. We are going to spend the rest of our lives together. And if you can't understand or accept that…then I don't want you in my life anymore."

"Sonny, wait, you don't mean that." Adrienne said, alarmed.

"Sonny, we don't want to lose you." Justin said sincerely.

"Keep insulting my husband and you will." Sonny said firmly. He started for the door.

"Don't you dare walk out on this family. You are a Kiriakis!" Victor yelled.

"Not anymore. I quit!" Sonny yelled back. He started storming down the stairs. Victor followed.

"You don't quit being a Kiriakis unless you die or I disown you!" Victor yelled back.

"Then consider me disowned!" Sonny yelled over his shoulder. He threw open the front door, walked out, and slammed it shut so hard, a picture hanging on a wall clattered to the floor.

Will had heard the commotion and ran out to the foyer. Sonny ran out without his coat. He scoffed and glared up at Victor. "You know, he is having his first biological child. He was happy until you decided to ruin it!" He put his own coat on, grabbed, Sonny's, and ran out the door.

Lucas shook his head and turned to Adrienne. "I'll…call you later."

Justin turned to Adrienne after Lucas left. "How can you possibly not be worried about our son having a child with that guy?"

Adrienne smiled in spite of herself, and looked Justin dead in the eye. "Because Sonny is a grown man. I trust him to make his own decisions."

Justin blanched at that. He sighed. "I can always count on you to use my own words against me."

"So, you remember it, too, huh?" Adrienne asked, folding her arms.

"All too well." Justin nodded.

"Yeah, well, I'm not making the same mistake I did last time- which was pushing him away. I almost lost him, Justin." Adrienne replied. "We _both_ did. I learned my lesson. I hope, for your sake, you did too."

XX

Sonny walked down the sidewalk to the wooded area by the lake. He stopped at the water's (now completely frozen over) edge and sat on a fallen log. This was supposed to be a happy day. A happy announcement, and his family completely messed it up. He started sobbing in anger at Victor and Justin and frustration at himself for not expecting this. An icy gust of wind blew through the air, causing Sonny to shiver and rub his arms against the cold. He felt someone put his coat over him and pulled it over his shoulders. He sniffed and blinked away tears. He saw Will sit next to him out of the corner of his eye.

"You okay?" Will asked sincerely.

Sonny shook his head. "You know, I was thinking…I had hoped I would never have to apologize for my family, but…I'm sorry, Will. I'm sorry they are such…" He sighed and shook his head. "I can't even think of the right words."

"Babe, you don't have to apologize." Will said, rubbing Sonny's back. "Hey…why don't we head home? I'll make us some hot chocolate."

Sonny swallowed and nodded. "Okay."

XXX

Sonny lay on the couch, slowly sipping his hot chocolate. His legs were crossed over Will's lap. Will started massaging Sonny's feet.

"I just don't get it." Sonny lamented. "I'm really happy right now. I'm building a family. Why can't they just be happy for me?"

"Because they're extremely judgmental and overprotective?" Will supplied. Sonny laughed and nodded in agreement. "Hey…you wanna get away for a couple of days? Maybe head to Chicago…?"

Sonny took a deep breath. He did have a habit of running away when the going gets tough. "Could we?"

Will chuckled and nodded. "Uncle Philip still has a house up there. I'll ask if we could stay there."

"Thank you." Sonny said, sincerely. He pulled Will in for a hug. "I love you."

"I love you, too." Will replied, hugging back. "Oh, everything's going to be fine. You'll see."

"I know they will." Sonny pulled away, and caressed Will's cheek. "Because I have you and our children."

XXX

Sami looked out the window at the Norwegian landscape. So much has happened in the past month, and she wasn't there to witness it. She sighed.

"Darling, is something wrong?" EJ asked, walking over to his wife.

"No. Um, but…I think I'm going back to Salem." Sami announced.

EJ was surprised. "You do understand the risks, right? Andre is out for your blood."

"I know." Sami said. "But…I just- I have to see my brothers and my son. They are going through so much right now. Seeing me might take their minds off of their problems."

"Yes, and they will worry about you getting caught, kidnapped, or killed." EJ pointed out.

"It's a risk I'm willing to take." Sami replied. "I'm doing this with or without your approval, so…are you going to help me?"

EJ sighed heavily. As much as he thought this was a bad idea, there is no changing Sami's mind. "Bloody hell. All right. I'll help you sneak into Salem."

Sami smiled and kissed her husband. "Thank you. I know you're worried, but nothing is going to happen. I promise."

After all, what could possibly go wrong?

Everything.


	28. Climax

Philip gave Will and Sonny permission to rent the house in Chicago. They planned to leave the following morning. Sonny met with Chad to give him a heads-up.

"Wow- your family's more dramatic than I thought." Chad commented. Sonny glared at him. "Anyway, what I wanted to talk to you about is…I want to sell my interest to the club to you."

Sonny was surprised. "Seriously? Why? The club's doing great. Why do you want out?"

"I need the cash to pay back some property back taxes for my father's house." Chad admitted.

"So, you guys are really going to move in there, then?" Sonny asked.

"Yes, but, if Abigail's not into it 100%, then we won't." Chad assured him. "My father's gone and I will kick Andre out."

Sonny nodded. He still wasn't sure if moving there would be a good idea, but… "Okay. Sure. I'll buy you out."

"Great! Thanks, man." Chad smiled and chuckled. "You know, we should plan a double date with you, me, Will, and Abby."

"Sure, that'd be great!" Sonny exclaimed. "Maybe in a few years, we can also plan on going to Disneyland with our kids."

"You know, I've never been to Disneyland. It'd be fun." Chad mused.

"You've never been to Disneyland?! That's just sad!" Sonny exclaimed again.

Chad shrugged. "DA Woods was never a 'family fun' kind of guy."

"Ah." Sonny nodded. He stood. "Talk to Abigail. If she agrees, then and only then will I write the check."

"Okay. Sounds fair." Chad smiled.

Sonny headed for the door and almost ran into Justin. "Dad."

"Sonny." Justin greeted. Sonny started walking past him, but Justin grabbed his arm. "Sonny, wait. I…" He sighed. "I owe you an apology. You were right- I should have been more supportive of your decision to take Will back, and…from what I understand, he's back to his old unselfish, kindhearted self again. And I'm glad."

Sonny smiled. "Thank you. Sounds like you're back to your old unselfish, kindhearted self again as well."

Justin chuckled. "Come on. Was I really _that_ bad?"

"Eh, you could have been worse." Sonny shrugged.

"True." Justin nodded. He smiled and opened his arms. "Come here." They hugged. "I'm glad we're okay again. I missed our good times."

Sonny chuckled. "We'll have to set up a one-on-one basketball game."

"Oh, definitely." Justin nodded. "How 'bout tomorrow?"

"Oh, actually, Will and I are going to Chicago for the weekend for a mini winter getaway." Sonny replied.

"Oh. Well, have fun." Justin replied. "Maybe next weekend, then."

"Of course." Sonny replied.

XXX

"Are you kidding me right now?"

Will and Gabi were in the living room of their apartment. Gabi just told Will what happened at the Frozen Yogurt place.

"Will, nothing happened." Gabi assured him. "The baby's fine. JJ's going to teach me some self-defense moves that are safe for pregnant women to do."

Will sighed and nodded. "You know, I'm getting Nick flashbacks. He went to prison, and when he got out, his prison life got him and you kidnapped and almost killed."

"That's not going to happen again." Gabi replied, shaking her head.

"You don't know that." Will threw his hands out in frustration. "I'd feel a lot better if JJ, Rafe, your dad, Paul, Sonny, or I go with you everywhere until the dust settles."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, wait…did you actually say you want _Paul_ to help protect me?" Gabi asked in surprise.

"I'm warming up to him, okay?" Will rolled his eyes. "Maybe Sonny and I should cancel our Chicago trip."

"No way. You are _not_ cancelling anything because of one little mishap." Gabi said firmly.

"What mishap?" Sonny asked, walking in.

Will turned to Gabi. "Wanna tell him? Or should I?"

Gabi sighed heavily and turned to Sonny. "I ran into one of my corrections officers tonight. He came close to getting rough, but JJ intervened."

"What?" Sonny exclaimed, a little angry.

"JJ's going to teach me some self-defense moves." Gabi insisted. "I'll be more careful, I promise."

Sonny exhaled sharply. "Fine, but if something like that happens again, I am hiring a bodyguard for you."

"Okay. Sounds fair." Gabi said, relieved. "I'm going to bed now. Good night."

"'Night." Will sighed as he stared after Gabi. "Wow. Looks like all three of us are involved in something dangerous."

Sonny walked up behind Will and put his hands on his shoulders. "We'll get through it. We always do."

"Yeah…I guess."

XXX

The next afternoon, Andre was still plotting his revenge against Hope for killing Stefano. He was finishing up jotting down notes when his phone rang. "This better be good news."

"It is." The voice on the other line replied. "We found the missing money."

"You did? Oh, that's splendid!" Andre exclaimed, happily. Finally! After nearly three months! "Tell me- where did Samantha hide it?"

"Paris. And actually, the money isn't in Samantha's name. It's under a William Horton." The voice said.

Andre was surprised. So he was right after all. "Do you know which bank?"

"The Banque Numora France."

"Thank you. Take care." He hung up and chuckled. He considered grabbing Will and demanding he give the money to him, but that would take time. He needed the money now. He dialed another number. "Laurent! Are you two still in Paris?"

"Yes."

"Good. The money that Samantha stole from me is in the Banque Numora Paris. I need you to secure it for me." Andre said.

"How? It would take time."

"Two words: bank job."

Laurent paused. "Give us one hour."

"That's all I'm giving you." Andre hung up and sighed happily. "Oh, Father…if only you were here to see this. Things are finally turning around. I will now have enough to save this house, avenge you, and get my revenge on Samantha."

Exactly one hour later, Laurent called back. "I have good news and bad news. The good news is, we managed to break into the vault."

"But…?"

"The money's not there."

" _What!_ " Andre yelled. " _What do you mean it's not there?!_ "

"All that was inside is a note and some chocolate gold coins." Laurent revealed. "I'm sending you a picture of the note now."

Andre pulled up the note on his iPad to get a bigger picture of it. The note said

_"Nice try, Andre._

_-Will_

_PS- I told you never to underestimate me"_

Fury beyond anything Andre felt bubbled up inside him. Not only was his father killed by Hope, his house is about to be foreclosed on, his brother is no longer loyal to him…but now…he's been outsmarted by Samantha Brady's son. He screamed in rage, threw the iPad across the room and flung everything off the desk. He caught a glance at his reflection in the mirror and almost scared himself. There was no trace of humanity in his features. He was unhinged.

XXX

Meanwhile, in a small house in Chicago, Will and Sonny sat down to eat lunch. They decided to save a little money and spend more private alone time. Sonny made quiche, which Will practically inhaled.

"Oh my God, this is the best quiche ever!" Will exclaimed, his mouth full.

Sonny chuckled in amusement. "I'm glad you like it."

"'Like it'? I wanna take a bath in it!" Will exclaimed. He polished off his plate. "Seriously- keep cooking like this, I'll be fat in no time."

"Well, you'd have to be on the bottom more." Sonny joked.

Will laughed sarcastically. "You're funny, Mr. Kiriakis."

"I know I am, Mr. Kiriakis." Sonny smirked.

"Oh, I'm supposed to take _your_ last name, huh?" Will joked back. They chuckled and kissed. The doorbell rang. "I'll get it."

Will opened the door to a delivery guy holding a big box, hiding his face. "Delivery for Mr. Horton."

"Oh. Hmm." Will took the box and glanced at the address, but saw that it was blank. He looked up in time to see Andre shoot a tranquilizer dart at his neck. Will grunted and fell to the ground.

Sonny heard the commotion and ran out to the foyer. "Will? Will!" He saw his husband laying on the ground. Before he had time to react, Andre shot him with a tranquilizer dart and he fell to the ground.

Andre stepped into the house, looked outside to make sure no one saw, and shut the door behind him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Now we're having some fun! Whoo! I've been looking forward to this "storyline" for weeks now! FINALLY after three months, the stolen money storyline reaches its' climax (in this story, anyway)!


	29. Leverage

Will slowly came to in a sitting position. He slowly blinked away his blurred vision and saw Sonny sitting across from him, unconscious. "Sonny…"

"Good, you're awake."

Startled at the sound of Andre's voice, Will gasped and tried to jump, but found he was bound to the chair. He grunted and panted for breath. He glared up at Andre. "How did you find me so fast? I left like five hours ago!"

"You know, it's funny. I was just at your apartment." Andre explained. "I planned on interrogating you there, but found the house empty. However…there was a note." He pulled out a piece of paper. "'Gabi- Would you mind dropping Ari off in the morning? Here is the address for the house I'm staying in.' Hmm." Will's face fell. He was relieved Gabi and Ari weren't home when Andre went over there. Andre continued. "Speaking of notes…" He leaned forward so he was face to face with Will. "I know you have my money."

"I don't know what you're talking about." Will said innocently.

"Really? Then what's this?" Andre showed him Will's note on his iPad, and tossed it aside. Will's heart quickened, and shivers ran up and down his spine. "Now…you're going to tell me where it is. Now."

Will glared at him defiantly. "No."

Andre chuckled, nodded, straightened up, and turned around. Will snuck a glance at Sonny who was starting to stir. Andre whirled around and punched Will in the face.

Sonny woke up to find himself bound to a chair. He saw Andre punching Will. "Stop! Let him go." Andre turned to Sonny. "Please, he's done nothing to you."

"Nice of you to join us." Andre quipped. He punched Will again.

"What do you want from him?!" Sonny demanded.

Andre turned to Will. "He's a little late to the party. You catch him up."

Sonny turned to Will, who sighed. "Andre knows we have the money. He wants it back."

"Shouldn't be that difficult, right?" Andre asked.

"What- so you can use that money to hunt Sami and the kids down and kill them?" Sonny asked.

"What do you think I'm going to do you and your husband if he doesn't?" Andre asked again.

Will scoffed. "You can't kill us. Only I can access that account. Sonny is a Kiriakis. Victor is already on edge from losing his son, his godson, almost losing his grandson, and his evil brother being in town. Killing him will result in a fate worse than death for you. So, I say you're out of moves. Can't kill me. Can't kill Sonny."

"Good point." Andre nodded. "True, I can't kill either of you. However…as several members of your family very well know…there are fates worse than death. One way or another…you will give me my money back. How I get the information can either be painful or severely painful. Choose wisely."

Will took some deep breaths and looked at Sonny, desperately. Sonny firmly shook his head, telling Will not to do it. Andre walked over to a large wardrobe. "Stunning wardrobe, isn't it?" He opened it to find it empty. "Spacious. Enough to fit a grown man." He started back towards Sonny. "Yes, I believe a grown man would be quite comfortable in there. Unless of course," Andre put his hands on the back of the chair. "he's highly claustrophobic." Both Sonny and Will stiffened. Sonny tried to keep calm as Andre started dragging him towards the wardrobe.

"Will…don't do it." Sonny said firmly. He tried to hide his anxiety as two of Andre's henchmen picked up the chair he was in and stuffed him in the wardrobe, closing the door after him. Sonny took deep breaths to calm his pounding heart. He could feel the floor with his feet, his head touched the ceiling, and he could feel the walls and the doors with his arms, back, and feet. He tried going to his happy place as his breath quickened and he started to lose consciousness.

"Hmm. I wonder how your dear husband is doing in there." Andre said to Will, who was glaring at him. "I'm assuming he's having trouble breathing. Then, I assume he's going to be sick…then he'll lose consciousness. Terrible ordeal for someone with claustrophobia. Give me the account codes to the account where my money is, and all his suffering goes away." Will swallowed and stood his ground. He shook his head. Andre sighed heavily. "You're trying my patience." He nodded to his henchmen who opened the doors to the wardrobe. Sonny was very pale and slipping in and out of consciousness. They took him out of the closet and carried him, still tied to his chair, back to where it was.

Sonny took deep breaths. "Don't do it, Will." He grunted as a henchmen held his head back and his mouth open. Another henchman slowly pulled one of Sonny's back teeth out, causing him to cry out in pain. Blood ran down his chin, neck, and down his shirt.

"Anything?" Andre asked Will, who still shook his head. "Man. Getting answers out of you two is like pulling teeth." Both Will and Sonny glared at him. "I'm sorry. That was in poor taste. Now…the account codes?" Will didn't respond. "Hm. I wonder which is more painful: pulling out teeth slowly…or ripping it out?" He nodded the henchman who yanked another one of Sonny's teeth out, causing him to scream in pain. "Ouch. That must have been severely painful. Do you really want your husband to suffer more, William? Hmm?"

Will held his glare on Andre. "I'll kill you. I swear to God."

Andre sighed heavily. "Okay…" He nodded to one of his henchmen who left the room and came back with a vat of what smelled like acid. Two more henchmen dipped a long, brick of lead into the acid. The smell of burning metal filled everyone's nostrils. They pulled the lead out, which was halfway completely gone, except for a thin, twisted chunk at the end. "Fascinating, isn't it? If that's what acid can do to metal…imagine what it would do to flesh and bone." Will and Sonny looked a little terrified. "Especially…the flesh and bone of little girls of daddies who won't do as they're told."

To Will and Sonny's complete horror, someone carried Ari out from another room.

"Daddy?" Ari asked, a little scared.

"Ari!" Will exclaimed, horrified. He glared at Andre again. "You son of a bitch. She has Will slowly came to in a sitting position. He slowly blinked away his blurred vision and saw Sonny sitting across from him, unconscious. "Sonny…"

"Good, you're awake."

Startled at the sound of Andre's voice, Will gasped and tried to jump, but found he was bound to the chair. He grunted and panted for breath. He glared up at Andre. "How did you find me so fast? I left like five hours ago!"

"You know, it's funny. I was just at your apartment." Andre explained. "I planned on interrogating you there, but found the house empty. However…there was a note." He pulled out a piece of paper. "'Gabi- Would you mind dropping Ari off in the morning? Here is the address for the house I'm staying in.' Hmm." Will's face fell. He was relieved Gabi and Ari weren't home when Andre went over there. Andre continued. "Speaking of notes…" He leaned forward so he was face to face with Will. "I know you have my money."

"I don't know what you're talking about." Will said innocently.

"Really? Then what's this?" Andre showed him Will's note on his iPad, and tossed it aside. Will's heart quickened, and shivers ran up and down his spine. "Now…you're going to tell me where it is. Now."

Will glared at him defiantly. "No."

Andre chuckled, nodded, straightened up, and turned around. Will snuck a glance at Sonny who was starting to stir. Andre whirled around and punched Will in the face.

Sonny woke up to find himself bound to a chair. He saw Andre punching Will. "Stop! Let him go." Andre turned to Sonny. "Please, he's done nothing to you."

"Nice of you to join us." Andre quipped. He punched Will again.

"What do you want from him?!" Sonny demanded.

Andre turned to Will. "He's a little late to the party. You catch him up."

Sonny turned to Will, who sighed. "Andre knows we have the money. He wants it back."

"Shouldn't be that difficult, right?" Andre asked.

"What- so you can use that money to hunt Sami and the kids down and kill them?" Sonny asked.

"What do you think I'm going to do you and your husband if he doesn't?" Andre asked again.

Will scoffed. "You can't kill us. Only I can access that account. Sonny is a Kiriakis. Victor is already on edge from losing his son, his godson, almost losing his grandson, and his evil brother being in town. Killing him will result in a fate worse than death for you. So, I say you're out of moves. Can't kill me. Can't kill Sonny."

"Good point." Andre nodded. "True, I can't kill either of you. However…as several members of your family very well know…there are fates worse than death. One way or another…you will give me my money back. How I get the information can either be painful or severely painful. Choose wisely."

Will took some deep breaths and looked at Sonny, desperately. Sonny firmly shook his head, telling Will not to do it. Andre walked over to a large wardrobe. "Stunning wardrobe, isn't it?" He opened it to find it empty. "Spacious. Enough to fit a grown man." He started back towards Sonny. "Yes, I believe a grown man would be quite comfortable in there. Unless of course," Andre put his hands on the back of the chair. "he's highly claustrophobic." Both Sonny and Will stiffened. Sonny tried to keep calm as Andre started dragging him towards the wardrobe.

"Will…don't do it." Sonny said firmly. He tried to hide his anxiety as two of Andre's henchmen picked up the chair he was in and stuffed him in the wardrobe, closing the door after him. Sonny took deep breaths to calm his pounding heart. He could feel the floor with his feet, his head touched the ceiling, and he could feel the walls and the doors with his arms, back, and feet. He tried going to his happy place as his breath quickened and he started to lose consciousness.

"Hmm. I wonder how your dear husband is doing in there." Andre said to Will, who was glaring at him. "I'm assuming he's having trouble breathing. Then, I assume he's going to be sick…then he'll lose consciousness. Terrible ordeal for someone with claustrophobia. Give me the account codes to the account where my money is, and all his suffering goes away." Will swallowed and stood his ground. He shook his head. Andre sighed heavily. "You're trying my patience." He nodded to his henchmen who opened the doors to the wardrobe. Sonny was very pale and slipping in and out of consciousness. They took him out of the closet and carried him, still tied to his chair, back to where it was.

Sonny took deep breaths. "Don't do it, Will." He grunted as a henchmen held his head back and his mouth open. Another henchman slowly pulled one of Sonny's back teeth out, causing him to cry out in pain. Blood ran down his chin, neck, and down his shirt.

"Anything?" Andre asked Will, who still shook his head. "Man. Getting answers out of you two is like pulling teeth." Both Will and Sonny glared at him. "I'm sorry. That was in poor taste. Now…the account codes?" Will didn't respond. "Hm. I wonder which is more painful: pulling out teeth slowly…or ripping it out?" He nodded the henchman who yanked another one of Sonny's teeth out, causing him to scream in pain. "Ouch. That must have been severely painful. Do you really want your husband to suffer more, William? Hmm?"

Will held his glare on Andre. "I'll kill you. I swear to God."

Andre sighed heavily. "Okay…" He nodded to one of his henchmen who left the room and came back with a vat of what smelled like acid. Two more henchmen dipped a long, brick of lead into the acid. The smell of burning metal filled everyone's nostrils. They pulled the lead out, which was halfway completely gone, except for a thin, twisted chunk at the end. "Fascinating, isn't it? If that's what acid can do to metal…imagine what it would do to flesh and bone." Will and Sonny looked a little terrified. "Especially…the flesh and bone of little girls of daddies who won't do as they're told."

To Will and Sonny's complete horror, someone carried Ari out from another room.

"Daddy?" Ari asked, a little scared.

"Ari!" Will exclaimed, horrified. He glared at Andre again. "You son of a bitch. She has _nothing_ to do with this!"

"Really? Well, that's just too bad." Andre said simply. "Tell me where the money is or you will watch your daughter die. Oh, dear. How will you ever explain this to her mother?"

"Kill her and your suffering will last for _days_." Will threatened.

"And how will I suffer, exactly? Your incessant whining? Your terrible writing?" Andre mocked.

"You will never get your money back." Will said.

"Hmm. It would seem we have reached an impasse." Andre said. "How 'bout we make a deal: my money for your husband and daughter. Fair trade, I would say." Will was silent, still trying to figure out how to save both Sonny and Ari and keep his mother, EJ, and the kids safe. Andre turned to the man holding Ari and nodded. The man held Ari by her hands and dangled her over the vat.

"Daddy!" Ari cried.

Will took a deep breath and addressed his daughter. "Everything's going to be okay, sweetie. I promise!"

"You're running out of time, William." Andre reminded him.

"You bastard. You wouldn't dare!" Will snapped.

"Watch me." Andre turned to the henchman. "Drop her."

"No! NO!" Will screamed as he watched the henchman drop Ari into the vat. He screamed in anguish as smoke rose up from the vat and the smell of burning flesh filled the air. "NO! NOOO! ARI!" He turned to Andre. "I'LL KILL YOU! I SWEAR I WILL!"

"Now, now William…let's focus on more important matters." Andre replied. "You just lost your daughter. You really want to lose your husband, too?"

"I hate you so much." Will seethed.

"Is that a yes?" Andre raised an eyebrow.

Will closed his eyes and bowed his head. This was an impossible situation. He really wanted the money, but he didn't want to lose Sonny, either. He suppressed a sob and blinked away tears. Looking up at Andre, he nodded. "I'll do what you want. Just…please don't hurt him again."

"That's what I want to hear." Andre chuckled.

Will swallowed. "I'll give you the account codes."

"Very good. But first, I need to know if I can trust you." Andre said. He walked over to the counter and picked up a cell phone. "Is this yours?" Will nodded. "Excellent." Andre walked over, and freed one of Will's hands and gave him the phone. "I need you to contact your mother and tell her to come to Salem."

"What are you going to do to her?" Will asked, his voice shaking.

"All you need to know is that if you don't do as I ask, you will be a widower. Is that what you want?" Andre asked. Will swallowed and shook his head. "Good."

"What do you want me to say?" Will asked.

"You call yourself a writer." Andre said. "Make up a story."

Will nodded and took the phone, his hand shaking. He opened up a new message. _"Mom, you need to come back to Salem right away."_

_"I actually just landed in New York. I'm in a layover flight to Chicago. What's wrong?"_

Will swallowed. _"Something's happened. I can't explain it over text."_

_"Oh. Okay."_

_"How are the kids?"_

_"They're fine. They're with EJ."_

_"Oh. Well, I'm sure he'll keep the tigers away."_

It took a minute for Sami to respond. _"He definitely will."_

Will swallowed. "She'll be in Salem in about three hours."

"Wonderful." Andre said. He chuckled. "Now…for your first task: the flash drive your mother stole from me. I want it back."

Will remembered overhearing John giving the flash drive to Paul. "I know who has it."

"Then you should have no problem getting it back." Andre said. "Clean yourself up and get moving."

One of the henchmen freed Will's other hand and feet, and he stood up and glared at Andre with purest loathing. He then turned to Sonny's whose head was bowed and his shoulders shaking with silent sobs. Will walked over to his husband, knelt down and grabbed his shoulders. "Sonny…baby, I'm so so sorry."

Sonny looked up and glared at Will. "I'll never forgive you for this."

Will swallowed back a lump, sniffed, and stood up. He went to the bathroom to clean himself up, then walked out into the living room, avoiding looking at the vat or Sonny. Andre gave him an earpiece. "So we can hear everything you're saying." He then gave him a gun. "That is your dearly departed great-uncle Bo's gun. Get the drive by any means necessary and then wait for further instructions."

Will nodded and slowly trudged out to his car. He was suddenly hit with memories of car trips with Ari and Sonny. He choked back a sob and climbed in.

"Testing, 1, 2, 3." Andre's voice came over the earpiece.

Will jumped slightly, gasped, and put his hand to his ear. "If my husband dies, I will kill you slowly and painfully."

"Perfect signal! Now…I believe you have an assignment." Andre said. "Start driving."

Will scoffed and drove off. As he drove towards Salem, he fought back tears. He wasn't going to give Andre the satisfaction of him knowing he caused Will the worst possible pain. How was he going to tell Gabi? Will the news cause her to miscarry? He considered just going to the police, but…he didn't want his baby to grow up without a father. As for Sonny…he will probably keep their baby away from him. He deserves it.

XXX

At the house, Andre started packing up. "Lewis, keep an eye on Kiriakis. The rest of you come back to Salem with me. Let's move out!"

Lewis waited until Andre and the others were gone before heading upstairs. He'd do a lot for money, but, killing a harmless young toddler? That was just despicable. Which is why he only faked her death. He opened a bedroom door and checked in on a very much alive, but sleeping Ari. He had given her a mild sedative shortly before bringing her out to the living room. When Andre ordered him to drop her in the vat, he only dropped her to the floor. He had previously added a delayed cherry bomb to the vat. By then, the sedative had kicked in. While everyone was looking the other way, he quickly and quietly snuck her upstairs. He knew that if Andre found out he betrayed him, he would be dead. So, he plans to sell Ari on the black market. With that much money, he'll be able to disappear and hide from Andre for the rest of his life.

XXX

As soon as Sami got Will's text message, she texted EJ. _"Will's in trouble. He used the secret word. He told me that something happened and to get to Salem right away."_

 _"Did he say anything else?"_ EJ responded back.

_"No."_

_"Darling, you need to get back here now. If Andre put him in some sort of danger or if he compromised him, Salem's the last place you need to be."_

_"No. I have to help my son!"_

Back in their safe house, EJ exhaled sharply. "Bloody hell." He muttered. He texted Sami back. _"Okay, fine. Obviously there's no talking you out of this. Just please be careful."_

_"I will. Love you! XOXO"_

_"I love you, too."_ EJ sighed and leaned back in his chair. He knew Sami was capable of taking care of herself, but still…he couldn't help worrying. And William…if he's right and Andre's compromising him…Andre may have kidnapped Sonny and/or Ari and is using them as leverage against Will.

He had to do something.

XXX

Chad gently put Thomas down in his crib. He took a short nap, so Abigail wanted him to go to bed earlier. Of course that meant he'll also be up earlier, but, oh well. His phone buzzed and he went over to the couch and sat down. "Hello?"

"Chad."

Chad gasped in shock and nearly dropped the phone. He couldn't believe it. He never thought he'd hear that voice again. "EJ?" phone. He couldn't believe it. He never thought he'd hear that voice again. "EJ?"


	30. A Few Simple Tasks

It took Chad a minute to process who he just heard over the phone. He couldn't speak. He knew his family members tend to come back from the dead all the time, but, he had only experienced it once with his dad.

"I understand that you've been told everything. That's why I called you." EJ replied.

"Uh…yeah…" Chad choked out. He cleared his throat.

"Chad, I'm afraid something must have happened with William." EJ said.

"W-Will? What?" Chad asked, getting over his shock.

"I can't talk on the phone for much longer. I called you to let you know it's really me." EJ replied. "I'm going to hang up now and explain over texts."

"Uh-" Chad sighed as EJ hung up. He sounded a little serious and cryptic. Did something happen to Will? He called Sonny's phone, but it went straight to voicemail. He then called Will.

"Hello."

"Will, hey. Um, I've been trying to reach Sonny about best man stuff. Um, but I guess his phone's off or something. Is he with you?" Chad lied.

"No. I, um…I'm coming back to Salem as I'm sure your brother told you." Will said.

"No, he didn't tell me." Chad replied. "Will, what's going on?"

"Nothing." Will said unconvincingly. "Look, Chad, I gotta go. I'll call you later."

Chad huffed and his phone buzzed with a text message from EJ.

_"Samantha told me William texted her that he was in trouble by using a code word."_

_"I just called him. He told me he was coming back to Salem, but Sonny and Ari aren't with him."_

_"Where was he supposed to be?"_

_"Chicago at his Uncle Philip's old place."_ Chad replied. _"What is going on?"_

His phone buzzed again, this time with a phone call form Andre. "Hello, little brother."

"Don't call me that. Ever again." Chad snapped.

"I just called to tell you that we will have our money back within the next twenty-four hours." Andre replied. He chuckled. "Thanks to our dear friend William."

Chad's blood ran cold. He took a deep breath and decided to play along. "Really? What- he just told you out of the kindness of his heart?"

"Oh, no. It took some persuasion." Andre admitted. "Oh- and before you even _think_ about interfering with my plan, you may want to think about your fiancée and son. I have men watching the house."

Chad glared at the phone. "You son of a bitch."

"Don't interfere, Chad. Oh, by the way, if you think you're getting your share of the money, you're in for a rude awakening." Andre replied, then hung up.

Chad exhaled sharply and leaned back. He had to come up with a plan without tipping Andre off. He texted EJ and told him about his conversation with Andre.

After a few minutes, EJ responded. _"I don't want to alarm you, but, Andre must be holding Sonny and Ari hostage and are using them as leverage against William to get the money and the flash drive back."_

_"Yeah, that sounds like Andre. What are we going to do? I can't do anything without putting Abigail and Thomas at risk!"_

_"Maybe you can arrange for either her mother or brother to overhear you telling her about Andre and Sonny, Will, and Ari. They can go to the police. Or Rafe at least."_

Chad sighed deeply. It wasn't a great plan, but it's a plan. After all, he would just be telling his fiancée what's going on and her brother just happens to overhear. _"Okay, sounds good. Abigail should be home any minute."_

_"Let me know how it goes. I can't come back to Salem. It's very important that no one knows I'm alive."_

_"I understand."_ Chad took a deep breath. He heard a car pull in the driveway and looked out the window. Abby and Jennifer climbed out of the car and walked up the walkway. Chad walked over to the couch and waited.

"I think I'll turn in early. I'm a little tired." Jennifer said as they walked into the living room.

"Really? It's only 7:00." Abigail replied. She noticed her fiance's serious expression. "But, if you're tired, you're tired. Go ahead and get some rest."

Jennifer nodded. "I'll also tend to Thomas if he wakes up."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, honey, I'm sure." Jennifer squeezed Abigail's arm gently and headed upstairs.

Abigail waited until she heard Jennifer's bedroom door close, then walked over to Chad. "Chad, what's wrong?"

"Come here." Chad lead her to the window and parted the drapes. He pointed to a black car across the street. "See that car?"

"Yeah."

"Andre's having us watched." Chad admitted.

"Why?" Abigail asked, dreading his response.

"To make sure I don't interfere with his plan." Chad replied.

"Which is what?" Abigail asked again.

Chad listened to make sure Jennifer didn't come downstairs. "He knows Will has the money Sami stole from him."

Abigail started to panic. She became fearful for her cousin. "What is he going to do?"

"I think he may have kidnapped Sonny and Ari and is using them as leverage against Will."

Abigail gasped and put a hand to her mouth. "Oh my god…"

"He threatened you and Thomas if I interfered."

"Then why did he tell you the plan in the first place?!" Abigail snapped.

"To tell me that I won't be getting a single penny." Chad said.

Abigail huffed and turned around. "Great. My cousin and goddaughter have been kidnapped, and we can't do a thing about it!"

"Maybe we can." Chad said. "Where's JJ?"

"Oh, no. We are _not_ dragging my brother into this!" Abigail declared.

"We may have to." Chad shrugged. "It's the only way we're going to be able to help Will and Sonny without putting our lives at risk."

"How is that, exactly?"

"We arrange for JJ to eavesdrop on us talking about the plan." Chad said simply.

Abigail took a deep breath. "Okay…yeah, that could work. JJ's at a movie with Gabi." She pulled out her phone and texted Gabi. _"Hey, can we get together to make wedding plans?"_

Gabi texted back. _"Sure! JJ and I are just leaving the theater. I'll come on over with him."_

 _"Okay! See you soon!"_ Abigail looked up at Chad. "They're just leaving the theater now. We got a good ten minutes."

XXX

Sonny took some deep breaths to calm him down. He felt terrible about what he said to Will. They both lost Ari, after all. Pushing him away and never speaking to him again would be a terrible way to honor her memory. He had to escape.

Sonny surveyed the area. The henchman was sound asleep on the couch. Someone left a small knife on the coffee table. Keeping an eye on the henchman, Sonny quietly scooted the chair forward and leaned forward to grab the knife. The henchman stirred, snorted, and rolled over to his side. Sonny cut himself free and quietly left the room. He knew the blood on his clothes would raise questions, so he snuck upstairs to change his clothes. He passed Ari's room and stopped. The door was closed. He swallowed and shook his head. He couldn't afford to grieve now. He had to get the hell out of here and get in touch with Will. He walked towards the staircase and heard a door open behind him. He froze and turned around and gasped in surprise when he saw his very much alive daughter waddle out of the room.

"Daddy!" Ari exclaimed.

Sonny sank to his knees as she ran to him. He cried happy and relieved tears as he hugged her. "Oh, baby. Are you okay? Are you hurt?" Ari rubbed her head and groaned slightly. Sonny checked her head and found a small bruise forming. He heard footsteps rushing up the stairs, picked Ari up, and quickly and quietly ran into a room and hid behind the door. He waited until the henchman went into Ari's room and rushed downstairs.

"Hey!" The henchman yelled. He rushed down the stairs after Sonny, who ran into the kitchen, grabbed the butter dish and smeared butter all over the entrance to the kitchen. He hid from the entryway as the henchman ran and slipped on the butter and skid into the counter, forcing his body forward and smashing his head against the edge. He fell to the ground, unconscious. Sonny grabbed his phone and keys, grabbed his own wallet and a jacket and rushed out to the henchman's car. He climbed in and put Ari in his lap. "Hold on tight, sweetheart, okay?" He buckled up and started driving to Salem. He dialed Will's number. "Come on, Will. Pick up."

XXX

Will parked in the parking lot of Paul's apartment building and turned his phone off. He looked around the parking lot and couldn't see Paul's car. Good, he isn't here. He ran up to Paul's apartment and jimmied the door open. He closed the door behind him and took a deep breath. He started rummaging around his living room. He looked all over until he reached Paul's bedroom. He half-expected to find a Sonny shrine and was relieved he didn't. He rummaged around the room, but STILL couldn't find the drive. "Oh, come on!" He sighed in frustration. He accidentally knocked a baseball off a shelf, and it rolled under the bed. Will heard the apartment door open and voices. He quietly dove under the bed for the ball which rolled all the way to the other end of the bed. He climbed in and grabbed it just in time to hear Paul and his date come into the room.

"Mmm." Paul chuckled seductively. "Are you ready for this, baby?"

Jacob chuckled in response. "The question is, are _you_ ready?"

"Ooh, I'm so turned on now." Paul said. He picked Jacob up and threw him on the bed.

Will groaned inwardly. How was he going to get out of this? All of a sudden, the bed started shaking, and the mattress hit Will in the head. He held back a gag. He grabbed the ball, and part of it fell apart. He examined it, and the flash drive was taped to the inside. He removed the drive and put it in his back pocket.

Jacob groaned in pleasure. "You're a much better partner than my boyfriend."

Will's mouth dropped open. He held back a chuckle.

"Boyfriend?" Paul asked, a little miffed.

"Well, ex-boyfriend. I just broke up with him today." Jacob admitted.

"And you want to just jump right in to a new relationship?" Paul asked.

"Whoa, who says this has to be a relationship?" Jacob asked.

Paul was silent for a minute. "Eh, good point. Now, where were we?"

Will scoffed aloud before he could stop himself. His hand flew to his mouth and his eyes widened.

"What was that?" Paul asked.

"What was what?" Jacob asked.

"I heard something." Paul said. He climbed over to the edge of the bed. Will silently inched towards the wall. Before Paul looked down, and screamed in terror as a spider crawled out. He jumped up and inched against the wall. "Kill it! Kill it!"

Will muffled his laughter, and his shoulders shook.

"Dude, calm down. It's just a spider!" Jacob climbed off the bed and used his shirt to pick the spider up and toss it out the window. "There. Now it's gone."

"Okay. Thank you." Paul sighed with relief. "Sorry. A spider fell on my face once and I've been terrified of them ever since."

"It's okay." Jacob kissed Paul. "Now…where were we?"

"Oh. I remember." Paul chuckled.

Will took that opportunity to quietly climb out from under the bed. He crept to the doorway, held up his phone to the couple, and turned the light on. Paul and Jacob gasped and turned to see Will taking a picture with his phone. "Wow. My grandmother would _love_ this! Isn't there a rule against employees dating?"

Paul jumped from the bed and grabbed his underwear and wife beater. "Will!"

Will took off and ran from the apartment. Paul quickly got dressed and grabbed his keys and ran after Will. He sprinted towards the elevator as the doors closed. He pressed the button, but it didn't open. He ran down the stairs. "Dammit!"

Will stepped off the elevator, took a deep breath, and pulled out the drive. The door to the stairwell flew open revealing Paul, who panted for breath, looking angry. He saw that Will had the flash drive, and his eyes widened. Will ran off again.

"Wait! Will! Stop!" Paul yelled after him. Will got into his car and drove off. Paul sighed and walked back to his apartment. Jacob stood in the living room, fully dressed. "Jacob, I'm sorry. Can we have a rain check?"

"Sure. Is everything okay?" Jacob asked.

"Yeah, it's just family drama." Paul smiled.

"Okay. See you at work." Jacob replied. He kissed Paul on the lips, and left.

Paul walked down the hallway and stood in front of a framed picture of himself, Tori, and Hiro with the Golden Gate Bridge in the background. He pulled away the picture like opening a door to a safe. He opened the safe, and there sat a flash drive exactly like the one Will stole. Only the one Will stole was a fake. Paul smiled in satisfaction.

XXX

JJ and Gabi walked into the house and heard Chad and Abigail talking. JJ motioned for Gabi to keep quiet as they kept out of sight, but within earshot.

"Just tell me what's wrong, Chad." Abigail was saying.

"I told you- I can't. Not without endangering you and Thomas!" Chad exclaimed.

"How would it endanger us? Look, if we're in danger, then I need to know so I'm prepared." Abigail replied.

Chad exhaled slowly. "Okay." He walked to the window. "See that car across the street? We're being watched by Andre's men."

"Why?"

"To make sure I don't interfere with his plan."

"What plan?"

Chad noticed JJ's shadow. "He knows Will has half the money Sami stole from him and my father."

Abigail gasped. "Oh my God. I have to warn Will!"

"Too late. Andre kidnapped Sonny and Ari." Chad replied. Gabi gasped and collapsed against the wall. JJ turned to her. Chad continued. "He's using them as leverage against Will to get his money back."

Gabi and JJ walked into the living room. Abigail and Chad tried to look surprised. "Gabi…JJ. We didn't hear you come in."

"And if you did?" Gabi asked, her voice shaking. She walked towards Chad and glared at him. "Would you have told me my daughter had been kidnapped?!"

"Yes, I would." Chad insisted. "Andre threatened Abigail and Thomas, too. I can't do anything to help."

Gabi exhaled sharply, turned around, and ran her hands through her hair in worry. "Oh my God. She must be so scared and cold and hungry!"

"Sonny is with her, remember?" JJ tried to console her. "I'm sure she's okay."

"But what if she's not? What if she and Sonny are in different rooms or-or buildings? Oh, God, I cannot lose my baby!' Gabi cried. JJ held her.

Chad's phone rang. He didn't recognize the number. "Hello? … Sonny?!" JJ, Abigail, and Gabi whirled around and lunged for the phone. "Ho-hold on. I'm with Abigail, JJ, and Gabi. I'm gonna put you on speaker." He turned the speaker on. "Okay, go ahead."

"Sonny, where's Ari?" Gabi asked.

"She's with me. We escaped." Sonny replied. He lowered the phone to Ari's ear. "Wanna say hi to Mommy?"

"Hi, Mommy." Ari said.

"Ari! Hi, baby." Gabi replied, relieved. "Are you okay?"

"Mm-hmm."

"Oh...I love you so much. I'll see you soon, okay?" Gabi sniffed. "You be good for Daddy Sonny."

"Okay, Mommy."

Gabi sniffed and hugged JJ, who leaned towards the phone. "Sonny, where were you guys being held?"

"At my cousin Philip's old house in Chicago." Sonny replied. "I stole one of the henchman's cell phone, gun, and car. We're about ten miles out of Salem."

"Okay. Where's Will?" JJ asked.

Sonny sighed. "I don't know. Andre told him to complete a few 'simple tasks' in exchange for my and Ari's safety. One of them was to steal back a flash drive Sami stole."

"What are the other tasks?" Chad asked.

"I don't know. But…Andre also gave Will his Uncle Bo's gun." Sonny replied.

Abigail and Chad looked at each other in horror. JJ noticed. "Guys, what?"

"What?" Sonny asked.

"Um…" Chad shifted uncomfortably. "Andre…kinda has this crazy idea that Hope killed our father using her late husband's gun."

"Seriously? Why would she do that?" JJ asked.

"Because she blames him for Bo's death." Chad answered. Everyone looked horrified. They didn't want to say what they thought Will's next task was.

XXX

Hope Brady knew when someone's out for her blood. Despite Rafe convincing her otherwise, Hope was still concerned that Andre will kill her or someone she loves. She dug through her closet and found a bullet-proof vest. She wasn't a coward…she just didn't want her daughter to become an orphan. She put the vest on under her shirt, threw a jacket on, and left the house.

XXX

Will headed to the DiMera mansion through the secret passageway. He set the flash drive on the desk.

"Good boy." Andre complimented. "Now onto your next task…you still have the gun?" Will nodded. "Good. Then your next task is to kill Hope Brady."


	31. Messages

Will just stared at Andre in shock. " _What?!_ Why do you want her dead?"

"She killed my father." Andre said simply. "She blamed him for her husband's death, she demanded to speak with him, and all of a sudden he disappears. A few days later, I find my poor father buried under rubble in a warehouse that was set for demolition."

"A, that doesn't mean she killed him; and B, I am not going to _hurt_ my aunt let alone _kill_ her!" Will exclaimed. "I have a murky enough past with the Hortons as it is!"

"Well, then…you'll have to think about who's more important: your aunt and the Hortons…or your dear husband." Andre smirked. "Choose, or the choice will be made for you."

Will swallowed and nodded. Maybe he can just shoot the ground. "Okay, I'll do it."

"Good. Shoot her three times to be sure. And I want pictures." Andre said.

Will exhaled and nodded. Great. How was he going to get out of _this_ one?

XXX

"We have to find him." Gabi said.

"I'm just driving into Salem right now. Are you guys at the Horton house?"

"Yes, but don't come here- Andre's having this house watched." Chad replied.

"Well, I'm not going to my uncle Vic's. They'll ask too many questions!" Sonny exclaimed. "Plus, I'm not on good terms with Uncle Vic right now…"

"What about our apartment?" Gabi asked.

"If Andre's watching this house, he may be watching yours to make sure you don't find out and call the police." Chad said.

"Okay, what about Paul?" Gabi asked.

"Will's first task was to steal back the flash drive, and Paul has it. He may be being watched, too." Sonny said. "I'll go to Lucas' and my mom's apartment. They're going through the least drama right now."

"Won't they ask questions as well?" Chad asked.

"Yes, but, it won't be as bad as if Uncle Vic knows." Sonny replied.

"Okay, I'll call Will." Gabi said.

"No, don't do that! He's wearing an earpiece." Sonny said. "If we call him and tell him Ari and I escaped, Andre will hear it."

Gabi exhaled sharply. "Okay. I have an idea how we can send a message to him."

"Great. One more thing…Andre had someone dangle Ari over a vat of acid." Sonny admitted.

" _What_?!" Gabi exclaimed.

"Andre ordered his henchman to drop her in the vat, but, the henchman faked her death somehow." Sonny explained. "Will and Andre think Ari is dead."

"Oh my God…" Gabi sighed and rubbed her eyes. "Then we need to secretly tell him before it's too late."

"Well, you said you had a plan, right?" Sonny asked.

"Yes."

"You may want to get moving." Sonny suggested. "All right I'm here, so…I'll stay in touch."

"All right. Later." Chad said and hung up. "Okay, JJ, Gabi, go ahead with your plan. I need to stay here to make sure nothing happens to Abby or Thomas. Or Jennifer."

JJ scoffed. "And I should trust you, because?"

"Oh, but you trust _Gabi_? At least I didn't _murder_ anyone!" Chad exclaimed.

"Guys, not now!" Abigail snapped. "JJ, Gabi- go. We'll be all right here."

"Fine, but I still don't trust him." JJ said.

"Okay, come on." Gabi grabbed JJ's arm and dragged him out.

Abigail exhaled sharply, ran her hands through her hair, and sat down on the couch.

XXX

Sonny knocked on Lucas' door, and Lucas answered. "Sonny?"

Sonny hurried inside, made sure no one was watching, and shut the door and locked it. "Hey, Lucas."

"What happened? Where's Will? I thought you guys were in Chicago." Lucas rambled on.

Adrienne walked out into the entryway. "Lucas? Who was at the door? Sonny! Oh my God, what happened to your face?"

Sonny took a deep breath. "I'll explain in a minute. For now…would you mind putting Ari to bed?"

"Um, okay, sure."

Sonny pulled out his phone. "Oh, hold on." He took a selfie of him and Ari, and turned to her. "I'm going to give you to Grandma Adrienne now, okay? You like Grandma Adrienne, don't you?"

"Mm-hm." Ari hugged Adrienne tight.

"Hi, sweetheart. Oh." Adrienne hugged her back and headed to the spare bedroom.

Lucas held his arms out in confusion. "Okay, what the hell is going on?"

Sonny sighed. "Andre held Will, Ari, and me hostage. He used Ari and I as leverage against Will to get his money back that Sami stole."

"What?!" Lucas exclaimed, then glanced back towards the spare room. "Where's Will?"

"Andre has him doing a few…tasks to gain his trust." Sonny explained. "The first was to steal back a flash drive, and…"

"And what?" Lucas demanded.

Sonny swallowed. "I really, _really_ hope I'm wrong…but…I think Andre wants Will to kill Hope."

Lucas' eyes widened. " _Why_?!"

"He blames her for Stefano's disappearance." Sonny explained.

Lucas exhaled sharply. "Okay…well, we just have to make sure it doesn't get that far." He pulled out his phone to call Hope. "Dammit. Voicemail. Hey, Hope, it's Lucas. Can you please call me as soon as you get this? It's important. Thanks, bye."

"Don't call Will. He's wearing an earpiece." Sonny said.

"Well, we have to tell him you and Ari escaped." Lucas replied.

"I know. JJ and Gabi are working on it." Sonny sighed.

"How is JJ involved? I get Gabi, but, _JJ_?" Lucas asked.

"JJ was with Gabi when I called." Sonny replied. "So were Chad and Abigail."

"Chad?! Well, that's great. We can use Chad as a bargaining chip."

"Andre hates Chad." Sonny said simply.

"Dammit." Lucas muttered. "Okay, but, we need a Plan B in case Gabi's plan doesn't work."

Sonny nodded in agreement. "Well, I could send Gabi and JJ proof of Ari's life."

"Yeah…" Lucas nodded, then realized what he said. "Wait, what?"

Sonny took a deep breath. "Andre had a vat of acid. He threatened to have Ari thrown in there…he…we thought he had her thrown in there. I mean, we saw her drop into the vat-"

"Oh my God." Lucas said, horrified. He sat down.

"-but when I cut myself free, I discovered that her death was faked." Sonny replied. "One of Andre's men faked her death without him knowing about it, so…both Andre and Will think Ari is dead."

Lucas exhaled sharply and stood up. "All right, well, just in case Gabi's plan doesn't work…" Lucas rummaged around until he found a binder. "Ah! Found it!" He opened it to Sonny, revealing scrapbook paper. "Do you think this could pass off as wallpaper?"

"Sure, if you're going for 'eccentric'." Sonny nodded.

"…Good enough for me." Lucas said simply. He laid it open on the counter and got a marker out. "'Ari's alive…she and… Sonny escaped…and…they're…safe.' All right. No time to lose." He grabbed his coat, keys, wallet, and cell phone and left the apartment. A few seconds later, he walked back in and cleared his throat. "Forgot the binder. Heh." He grabbed the binder and left.

Sonny exhaled slowly and sat on the couch. Adrienne walked over and sat next to him. "Where'd Lucas go?"

"To try to help Will."

"With what, exactly?" Adrienne asked.

Sonny really didn't want to tell her, but, she'd find out eventually. "Andre held me and Ari hostage."

"What?!" Adrienne exclaimed.

"He used us as leverage against Will…" Sonny trailed off and huffed. "Sami stole money from Stefano and gave half of it to Will."

Adrienne looked like she was about to have an aneurysm. "I knew it. I _knew_ it was only a matter of time before Sami and Will almost get you killed!"

"They didn't want this to happen, Mom." Sonny sighed. "Look, I'm tired of having this argument, so…just give it a rest, okay?"

Adrienne huffed in anger. "I…just…! Fine! Fine. Obviously, you won't listen to a word I say, so, you know what? I'm just gonna pretend that you climb mountains, avoid avalanches, and dive off of high cliffs instead of being married to the son of Sami freaking Brady! At least for the sake of my sanity."

"You do that." Sonny nodded.

"Well, at least you listened to _that_." Adrienne sighed and stood up. "Now…can I get you anything? Food? Water? Ice?"

"Well, actually, I am a little hungry." Sonny replied.

"Great. There's leftover Hawaiian pizza in the fridge. How 'bout that?"

"Perfect. Thanks."

"Yep."

The henchman's cell phone buzzed with a text message from Andre. _"How are things going over there?"_

 _"Good. He fell asleep."_ Sonny responded back.

_"Good. The police haven't stopped by, have they?"_

_"No, they have not."_

_"Excellent. Stand by for further instructions."_

_"I will."_

XXX

Will walked into the Brady Pub to get coffee. He tried not to let any memories of Ari pass through him. He turned around and saw Gabi walking up to him.

"Will! Hey, what are you doing home?" Gabi asked.

Will couldn't form the words. "Um…"

"Oh…I bet I know." Gabi said knowingly. Will looked confused and a little panicked. Gabi pulled out Ari's favorite blanket with a flourish. "Ari forgot her blankie! She can't go to sleep without it. I was just looking for your uncle Philip so I can get the address, but, now I don't have to!"

Will swallowed and nodded. "Yeah."

"Well…" Gabi held the blanket open revealing the note that said Ari is alive and she and Sonny escaped. "Here you go."

"Thanks…." Will took the blanket without looking at it, and started trudging off.

"Uh-um, are you sure that's the right blanket? Really look at it." Gabi said.

"It's the right one." Will said over his shoulder. He walked out without looking at it.

Gabi sighed in disappointment. JJ walked up to her. "He didn't read the message, did he?"

"Nope." Gabi shook his head.

"All right, time for Plan B, then." JJ pulled out his phone to text Lucas. _"Okay, Uncle Lucas, you're up."_

XX

Lucas waited around the corner of a building and saw Will walking towards him. Lucas put on a big smile. "Will! Hey, man, I'm glad I ran into you."

"Not now, Dad. I'm in the middle of something." Will said, brushing past him.

"Wait- this will only take one quick second." Lucas grabbed Will's arm and pulled out the binder and opened it. "I need your opinion on a wallpaper sample. Look at this. What do you think?"

"Looks great." Will glanced at the paper and didn't see the note written there, and started walking again.

"Hey, come on. You didn't even get a good look!" Lucas exclaimed, jogging after Will.

"I-I'm sorry, but, I'm in a hurry."

"To where? What are you doing?"

"None of your business!" Will snapped. Then, felt bad. He sighed. "I'm sorry. I'll explain everything later, but right now, I have to go." He climbed into his car and drove off.

Lucas sighed and pulled out his phone to text Sonny. _"Will was too much in a hurry. I couldn't get him to read the note. Plan C?"_

XXX

JJ sighed when he read Sonny's text about Plan B failing. "Terrific."

Gabi sat and thought for a minute. "Paul…he had the flash drive and Will stole it from him, right?"

"Right…"

"I have an idea."

XX

Paul flipped through the channels on his TV when his phone rang. "Hey, Gabi. What's up?"

"Hi, Paul, um…this is going to be a little weird, but bear with me." Gabi replied.

"Okay."

"Did Will come to your apartment tonight?" Gabi asked.

"Yeah…actually. He stole a copy of a flash drive with important stuff on it, and ran." Paul replied. "Why?"

"Wait, a _copy_? So, he didn't steal the real thing?" Gabi asked.

"That's correct. Why? What's going on?" Paul asked.

"Sonny and Ari were being held hostage by Andre." Gabi explained.

" _What_?!"

"They're okay. They escaped." Gabi assured him. "Um…Will and Andre think Ari is dead. Andre threatened to kill Sonny if he doesn't do what he says."

"And one of them was to steal a flash drive." Paul guessed. "I don't get it. How did Will know I have it?"

Gabi shrugged. "I don't know. You'll have to ask _him_."

Paul chuckled humorlessly. "Oh, I plan to."

"Great. Um…Will is wearing an earpiece so that Andre can hear everything that's happening, but, we've been trying to secretly deliver the message that Ari's alive and that she and Sonny escaped, but, he's been too distracted or upset to get the message."

"So, you need a plan what now?"

"Plan C."

"Which would be me." Paul said. He chuckled. "Sorry. I didn't mean for that to rhyme."

"It's okay." Gabi replied. "I'll send you a picture that proves Ari's alive. You can show it to him when you see him."

"Great! I'm on my way." Paul jumped up to grab his keys, wallet, and coat. He also grabbed his gun just in case. He threw the door open and gasped when he saw an unmasked man dressed all in black with his gun drawn. He slammed the door shut and ran for the window. The man burst into the room and started firing. Paul jumped out the window and onto the fire escape and sprinted all the way down the stairs and to his car. ' _That man must work for Andre. Probably wanted to stop me from reporting that flash drive stolen._ ' He thought.

XXX

Hope walked through the park and jumped slightly when he saw Will. "Will! Hey, you scared me a little."

"I'm so sorry." Will said sincerely.

"It's okay. It's not that big a deal." Hope assured him. Her eyes widened as he drew Bo's gun. "Why do you have Uncle Bo's gun?"

Will swallowed and aimed the gun at her. "I have to do this. I'm so sorry, Aunt Hope."

Hope raised her hands. "Okay, just calm down. Lower the gun. We can talk about this."

"Andre has my husband." Will said, his voice shaking. "He threatened to kill him if I don't do this."

"Why? I mean, you are no way involved in this." Hope asked, confused.

Will very well couldn't tell her the real reason. Instead he shrugged. "I guess he thought it'd be a better payoff if someone connected to a bunch of families- the Hortons, the Bradys, and the Kiriakis' through marriage- kills the woman he thinks killed his father."

"Enough stalling! Get on with it!" Andre's voice barked into his ear. Will touched his ear, winced, and turned his head to the side revealing to Hope he's wearing an earpiece.

Hope suddenly got an idea. "Will…think about it. What will you tell Sonny when he asks what you did to save him?" She lifted up her shirt, revealing the bulletproof vest. She nodded and winked.

Will sighed inwardly with relief and lowered his gun. "I can't think about that right now."

"How do you know he won't kill him anyway?" Hope asked.

"I can't take that chance." Will shook his head. "I already lost…" He swallowed back a sob.

Hope recognized that look of pain and anguish in his eyes. "Oh my God…"

"Forgive me." Will said. He aimed the gun at Hope's chest and cocked it.

"NO!" Hope screamed.

Will fired three times, and Hope fell to the ground. Will took heaving breaths as he sank to the ground. He felt sick to his stomach and his eyes brimmed with tears. He noticed the blood oozing out of Hope's chest and realized it was fake blood. He sighed, stood up, and took a couple of pictures and sent it to Andre.

"Ah, what lovely photos." Andre said over the earpiece. "I think I'll use one of these as my cell phone background!"

"You're sick." Will hissed.

"Now, you will take Hope's body and toss it into the dumpster behind the Brady Pub." Andre said.

Will exhaled sharply. "Okay. I will dump the body into the dumpster of the Brady Pub."

"Good."

Hope sat up, smirked, and held her arms out. Will picked her up bridal-style and carried her to his car, popped open the trunk, and carefully laid her inside. He made sure no one was watching, shut the trunk, and got into the car to drive to the Pub.

Inside the trunk, Hope pulled out her phone to text Rafe. _"Rafe, drop whatever it is you're doing and meet me in the alley behind the Pub in five minutes. It's an emergency."_

Rafe's reply came just as the car stopped. _"On my way."_

Will opened the trunk, pulled Hope out, shut the trunk, carried her to the dumpster, and carefully dropped her in. Hope played dead again so Will took another picture and sent it to Andre. Will got into his car and drove off just as Rafe pulled up.

Rafe got out of the car, walked down the alley, and looked around. "Hope?"

Hope threw the dumpster lid open and gasped for breath. Rafe whirled around and stared at Hope in surprise. "We have a problem."

XXX

Will walked to the clearing in the park and sighed as he waited for Andre. He heard rustling in the bushes and turned around to see Paul looking irate.

"There you are." Paul said. He stormed towards Will. "Hand over the flash drive, or I will make _sure_ you never father children again."

Will just blinked at Paul in shock. Did he seriously just threaten to _castrate_ him? "Paul, not now."

"Really? That's your takeaway?" Paul rolled his eyes and pulled up the picture of Sonny and Ari on his phone and showed it to Will. "One phone call, Will, and I can have your narrow ass arrested!"

"Okay. Fine. Whatever. Now, excuse me." Will turned to leave, but Paul grabbed him and showed him the picture of Sonny and Ari. Will scoffed in disbelief. "Wow. You are relentless, aren't you? Seriously? You have a picture of my husband and daughter on your phone?!"

"Will…look closer at Sonny." Paul mouthed silently, pointing to Sonny's bruises from Andre's beating.

Will wasn't paying attention. "You know what? I've had enough of you trying to steal my family away from me. As far as I'm concerned, you are _dead!_ "

BAM!

Paul lurched forward and felt blood coming out of a bullet hole in his chest. He sank to the ground, unconscious. Will stared in shock, then looked up to see Andre blowing off smoke from the barrel of a gun.

"Now, then…" Andre said, walking towards a still stunned Will. "Your next task is to get your mother to meet with you."

Will swallowed and nodded. He pulled out his phone to text Sami. _"Where are you? We need to talk."_

_"I'm just visiting Uncle Eric. I should be in the park off the square in ten minutes."_

_"Great. I'll see you then."_ Will replied. He sighed and glared up at Andre. "She'll be in the park off the square in ten minutes."

"Excellent. Shall we?" Andre gestured towards the park. They both walked off.

Paul woke up and gasped in pain.

XXX

Sami walked around a little, and saw Will coming out of the trees. "Will!" She ran to hug him. "Oh, I missed you!"

"I missed you, too." Will replied, hugging back.

Sami sighed, pulled away, and stepped back. "So! What did you want to talk to me about?"

Will swallowed. "Mom…I'm so, so sorry."

Andre walked out of the trees. "Hello, Samantha."

Sami's eyes widened, and two goons surrounded Sami. "Will, get out of here."

Andre laughed loudly. "Oh, Samantha, don't you get it? Will is the one who set you up."

The two goons grabbed Sami's arms. Sami grunted and tried pulling away. She looked at Will, who had Bo's gun drawn at his side. Sami glared at Andre. "You son of a bitch. _You turned my son against me_!"

"Not nice being screwed over, is it?" Andre asked.

"So…this is how it's going to end?" Sami asked. "You gonna kill me in front of my son?"

"Oh… _I'm_ not going to kill you, Samantha." Andre grinned. "William is."

Sami stared at Will. "Will…you wouldn't. Please, I'm your mother!"

"Ah…but not a very _good_ one, are you?" Andre asked. He turned to Will. "All those years using you as a pawn to get her precious Austin or to get back at your father…choosing her men over you, abandoning you."

"Yes, I did all those things, and I'm sorry! I was wrong. I see it now!" Sami exclaimed.

"Face it, William. You would have been better off if you ended up on the Black Market." Andre continued. He chuckled. "I mean, let's face it, you didn't exactly have a happy childhood."

Will closed his eyes and looked back on his childhood. He was right- as far as Sami was concerned, he didn't have the best childhood. But…it wasn't _all_ bad.

"Will….I know I wasn't the best mother during your childhood, but…I was _always_ there for you." Sami said, her voice shaking. "I calmed every nightmare, soothed every fever, and endured every tantrum. I stood up for you, I defended you…for God's sake, you wouldn't be a part of Ari's life if it weren't for me!"

"Ah, yes, Arianna Grace. Funny you should mention her." Andre turned to Sami, then to Will. "Do you want to tell her, or should I?"

"What? Tell me what?" Sami asked.

Will swallowed back tears and sniffed. "Ari's dead. Andre had her dropped in a vat of acid."

That hit Sami like a fast, oncoming train. She took deep breaths, and her eyes burned. Her only granddaughter gone forever. If looks could kill, Andre would have exploded like a nuclear bomb that would have killed everyone within a hundred-mile radius. Sami struggled against her captors. "YOU SON OF A BITCH! YOU KILLED MY GRANDDAUGHTER!"

"Yes. And do you want to know why?" Andre asked, casually.

"'Cause you're a heartless, soulless bastard." Sami hissed.

"Well, that." Andre shrugged. "And also because he wouldn't tell me where he hid the money you stole from me."

Sami's heart sank. "I…I didn't want any of this to happen."

"But it did." Will said, glaring at Sami. "Sonny and I were held hostage and Ari was kidnapped. They tortured Sonny in front of me and threatened to kill them both if I didn't give him his money back. Because you dragged me into this mess. My daughter would still be alive if it weren't for you."

"I would have given my life for that little girl. You know that!" Sami insisted. Will shook his head and aimed the gun at Sami's head. "Will, Will! Think about this: do you want your brother and sisters to hate you? You want them to become orphans? Please, Will, I love you. I may not have done it the way you wanted, but _everything_ I have ever done was so that you and your brother and sisters would have happy lives!"

Will squeezed his eyes shut and fought back tears. He remembered good times with Sami and also all the times she screwed him over, caused mayhem in their family, and put him in danger… He squeezed the gun and cocked it…


	32. Tested

Paul could barely move. His breathing was shallow, and his mouth filled with blood. He struggled to lift his cell phone so he could text Sonny. _"Couldn't deliver the message. I've been shot, but I heard Andre tell Will to lure Sami to the park off the square in ten minutes."_

_"Oh my God… Thanks for the warning. But, are you okay? Where are you?"_

Paul's arm shook, then fell limp. Paul grunted, sighed, and slipped into unconsciousness.

XXX

_Thirty minutes earlier…_

At the Brady house, Hope cleaned herself off and sat next to Rafe on the couch. "Wanna tell me what happened?"

Hope swallowed and nodded. "Sonny and Ari were kidnapped by Andre."

"What?!" Rafe exclaimed.

"He used them as leverage against Will to kill me." Hope replied.

"Will told you this?" Rafe asked. Hope nodded. "Then what happened?"

"He told me that…" Hope swallowed and sniffed. "Rafe, I'm so sorry."

"What?" Rafe asked, concerned.

"It's Ari. She…she died." Hope blinked away tears. "Andre had her dropped into a vat of acid."

Rafe's chest tightened and he felt numb. "No…it can't be."

"I saw that look in Will's eyes." Hope swallowed and stifled a sob. "It's the same look I had after…after I lost…Zack."

Rafe exhaled sharply, stood up and rubbed his eyes. Fury bubbled up inside him. "Son of a bitch!" He flung some knickknacks off a shelf in anger. "I am going to go _all Zero Dark Thirty_ on DiMera's ass!" He sank to the floor and cried softly. "How will I tell Gabi?"

Hope walked over, knelt down, and put a hand on Rafe's shoulder. "We can tell her together."

Rafe nodded and let Hope help him up.

XXX

Jacob walked through the wooded area of the park and called Paul. He heard Paul's phone buzzing and walked towards the sound. He stopped when he saw Paul laying on the ground unconscious and bleeding. "Oh my God!" Jacob exclaimed. He rushed to Paul's side. "Paul?" He felt a pulse and his heartbeat and called 911.

XXX

Meanwhile, Gabi rushed through Lucas' apartment and into the spare room where Sonny was playing with Ari.

"Mommy!" Ari ran to Gabi, who knelt down and hugged her, crying softly.

"Oh, baby. Mama's here." Gabi sniffed. "I love you so much, Ari." She stood up and hugged Sonny. "Thank you."

"You're welcome." Sonny replied.

Gabi's phone rang. "Oh, it's Rafe. Rafe. Hey."

"Hey, sis." Rafe cleared his throat. "Listen, uh…I have to tell you something. Are you at home?"

"Um, no, actually. I'm at Lucas' apartment." Gabi replied. "It's a long story. Why don't you come on over?"

Rafe sighed. "Okay. I'll be there shortly."

XXX

A few minutes later, Rafe arrived at Lucas' door. "Come on in, Rafe. Hey, Hope."

"Hey, Lucas." Rafe greeted. "Where's Gabi?"

Gabi walked out into the living room holding Ari. Rafe and Hope gasped in surprised. "But…Will…he told me…"

"Looks like we have a lot of explaining to do." Sonny spoke up. He and Gabi told Rafe and Hope everything from Sami stealing money from Stefano, to Andre torturing Sonny to get Will to tell him where the money is, to the henchman faking Ari's death, to Ari and Sonny escaping; and to Lucas, Gabi, and Paul trying to let Will know that Ari's alive and that she and Sonny are safe.

Rafe exhaled sharply and sat down. He was going to yell at them for keeping this from the police, but, well…considering what he and Hope did to Stefano… "So where's Will now?"

Just then, Sonny's phone buzzed. His eyes widened in horror. "Oh my God."

"What? What is it?" Lucas asked. They all gathered around Sonny.

"It's from Paul. He couldn't deliver the message and he was shot." Sonny replied.

"Oh my God!" Gabi gasped.

"He also said he heard Andre tell Will to lure Sami to the park just off the square. Will then said she'd be there in ten minutes." Sonny sighed.

"Then we need to warn Sami." Gabi said.

"It may already be too late." Rafe said.

Hope wracked her brain for ideas. If Andre wanted Will to kill her…he may also want him to kill Sami. And if he doesn't... "Sonny, do you have the phone of the guy who held you hostage?"

"Yes." Sonny pulled it out of his pocket. "Why?"

"I have an idea." Hope smiled.

XXX

Sami swallowed as she watched her son aim the gun at her. "Will…you don't want to do this. If you kill me, you won't be able to take it back. You will live with it for the rest of your life."

Andre laughed. "Oh, we're a little too late for that, aren't we, William? Poor Hope. Killed by her own nephew with her husband's gun."

Sami's eyes widened in horror. "No! Will…tell me this isn't true. Tell me you didn't kill Aunt Hope!"

Will closed his eyes and looked away. Andre chuckled again. "And now…he's going to kill you, Samantha Brady. Or should I say Menendez?"

Will swallowed, aimed the gun at Sami's head. He closed his eyes and flashbacks of Sami both treating him terribly and treating him well flooded through his brain. He held the gun with both hands and stifled a scream. He cocked the gun, held his breath, and at the last minute, aimed the gun at Andre's face and fired.

Click, click, click.

Will let out a cross between a sharp exhale and a grunt. The gun was empty. He took some breaths as Andre chuckled again.

"Well…that was a test that you so obviously failed." Andre pulled out his phone to call the henchman. The call picked up. "Kill him."

"NO!" Will yelled.

Andre held the phone out and put it on speaker. However, there was silence. "What are you waiting for?! Hello?!"

"Surprise, bitch." Hope's voice came over the phone. They heard footsteps and turned to see a very much alive Hope walking from the bushes, talking on Lewis' phone. "I'll bet you thought you've seen the last of me."

"No. No!" Andre yelled.

"Oh, um, one more thing." Hope set up FaceTime on her phone and called Sonny, who was holding Ari in his lap. "Hi, sweetheart. Wanna say hi to your daddy?"

Hope held the phone out to Will, who was shocked to see Ari alive and well, sitting on Sonny's lap. "Hi, Daddy."

Will exhaled sharply and sank to the ground in relief. His husband and daughter were okay. Sami sighed in relief that her aunt and granddaughter are alive and well after all. She started chuckling and laughing in triumph. She smirked at Andre, who glared at her.

"You lose. Again." Sami said simply.

Andre seethed, breathed heavily, then screamed in rage. Sami pulled away from her captors as Andre lunged for her. Sami sprinted from the scene with Andre hot on her tail. Will chased after them. Andre lunged forward and managed to knock Sami to the ground and sat on top of her.

"I should have done this a long time ago." Andre said in a dangerously low whisper. He pulled out a silver dagger that shone in the moonlight and raised it high above his head. "Good-bye, Samantha."

Sami tried to move, but couldn't. She squeezed her eyes shut and held her breath, bracing herself. ' _This is it. Good-bye, cruel world!'_ She then felt someone throw himself on top of her and grunted in pain as Andre plunged the dagger into his back. Sami opened her eyes and gasped. "Will!"

Andre yanked the dagger out and ran for it as Rafe ran over, firing his gun. Hope rushed over to Will and Sami and used her jacket to put pressure on Will's wound. Sami cried against his shoulder.


	33. Aftermath

Sami sat on a chair in the waiting area with her head in her hands. She texted Lucas, Sonny, Marlena, and EJ to tell them what's going on. Hope stayed behind to talk to the police about what happened. The elevator door dinged and opened, and Sonny, Adrienne, and Lucas stepped off and rushed over to Sami, who stood.

"Sami, what happened? Where's Will?" Lucas demanded.

"He saved my life." Sami explained, still in shock. "Andre was about to stab me, but…Will threw himself in the way. He was stabbed in the back."

"How bad?" Sonny asked, dreading the answer.

Just then, Fynn walked up to the group. Sonny and Lucas turned around, and Fynn spoke. "He's all right. The knife barely nicked his heart, but we were able to repair it before it did any more damage."

They all sighed in relief. "Thank God!"

"So he's gonna be okay?" Sonny asked to be sure.

"He is. They're just stitching him up. He'll be in recovery soon." Fynn replied.

"Thank you." Sonny replied.

"You're welcome. Excuse me."

Sonny exhaled sharply with relief and collapsed into his mother's arms. "I was afraid I might lose him again."

"Oh…" Adrienne said sympathetically. She rubbed his back. "I know, baby. I know."

Sami approached Lucas who was leaning forward on the counter. "Lucas…"

Lucas was too upset with Sami to speak. She read Kate the mother of all riot acts for indirectly putting Will in danger, and then she turns around and directly puts him in danger?! He shook his head.

Will was wheeled into the room by the nurse's station. Sonny, Sami, and Lucas rushed towards the room, but were stopped by Fynn. "Whoa. One at a time."

"Sonny, you go first." Lucas said.

Sonny nodded and entered the room. Will looked so peaceful sleeping on the bed. Sonny blinked away tears, sat by his side, and took Will's hand in his. "You need to stop doing this, you know. I don't know how many more times I can bear to see you like this." He wiped away tears. "You really are the bravest man I've ever met…and Bo Brady was my cousin." He chuckled. "I'm so sorry. I should have tried harder to send you the message that Ari's alive and that we escaped. I'm just glad that…that we all made it out alive. I shouldn't have been so harsh with you when we thought Ari died. I'm so sorry." Sonny sniffed and blinked away tears. "I love you so much, Will. I can't want to spend all the days of our lives with you and our kids." He stood up and kissed him on the forehead.

Will sighed quietly and slowly opened his eyes. "Sonny?"

"Hey." Sonny said softly, brushing his hand through Will's hair. "You scared the hell out of me."

"Sorry." Will replied. He groaned a little. "What happened after…? Where's my mom? Did they get Andre?"

"Your mom's fine. They're still looking for Andre." Sonny replied.

Will exhaled slowly. "I am going to be in so much trouble…."

"Will, you did what any loving father and husband would do." Sonny shrugged. "No one got hurt."

"Paul did." Will replied. He gasped. "Oh my God, Paul! He could be laying on the ground bleeding to death!"

"Hey, hey, hey, relax. Paul's…sort of boyfriend found him. He just got out of surgery." Sonny reassured him. Will sighed in relief. "Besides, I don't think he'll press charges against you. He understands why you did all those things."

"I hope so." Will sighed.

Lucas and Sami entered the room. "Hey."

"Hey." Will greeted.

Sami walked over to Will and hugged him. She pulled away and squeezed his hand. "You sacrificed yourself for me?"

Will smiled. "I love you."

"What the hell were you thinking?" Lucas snapped at Will. "I mean, who do you think you are- Charles Bronson or something? Come on, man."

"Yeah, well…I wasn't going to have anyone's life on my conscience." Will shrugged. "Besides, my brother and sisters would never forgive me if I let our mom die."

"Still…" Lucas just shook his head. "Just…don't do it again, man, okay? Unless I'm right next to you."

Will chuckled. "Deal." He sobered. "You tried to tell me earlier, didn't you, Dad? With the wallpaper samples?"

Lucas nodded. "I wrote a note."

"And Gabi and Paul…they tried to tell me, too." Will leaned his head back and closed his eyes. "I should have listened."

"It's in the past, Will." Lucas said. "Honestly, if the roles were reversed, I'm not sure if I would have, either."

"Still…" Will took a deep breath.

Nurse Mona walked into the room. "Hello. How are you feeling, Mr. Horton?"

"Tired. A little sore." Will answered.

"Well, that happens after surgery." Mona replied. She gave him some painkillers. "I want you to take these every six hours with food. I also want you to walk around to keep your circulation up. If you need to get up, slowly turn to your side, swing your legs over the bed, and sit up slowly. The doctor will be checking on you shortly."

"Okay. Thanks." Will replied. He stifled a yawn.

"Tired, baby?" Sonny asked, caressing his cheek.

"Mm-hmm."

"All right." Sonny picked up a jello cup and opened it. "Want me to feed you?"

"Sure." Will chuckled.

"We'll leave you two alone. Feel better, Will." Sami said. She kissed his forehead. "You may not see me again for a while."

"Mmkay. Say hi to the kids for me." Will replied.

"I will." Sami promised. She and Lucas left the room. Once out into the waiting area, Lucas turned around to face Sami, folded his arms, and glared at her. "What?"

"'What'?! 'What?', she asks!" Lucas snapped. "My son almost _died_ because of you!"

"Lucas, I didn't want this to happen!" Sami exclaimed.

"Oh, really?" Lucas asked. "'Kate, you stupid, evil bitch. You almost got my son and son-in-law killed! Now excuse me while I do the _exact same thing_ to _my_ kids!'."

"I didn't know Andre was going to find the money!" Sami exclaimed defensively.

"Kate didn't know Clyde and Ben were evil, either." Lucas raised an eyebrow.

"What are you saying, exactly?" Sami seethed.

"I have let several things slide with you: Franco Kelly, all your scheming throughout Will's childhood, Fake Rafe, EJ…" Lucas listed off. "Well, you know what? Now you've gone too far. You took my daughter out of the country without talking to me about it first. You gave my son stolen DiMera money and almost got him and his family killed! Will may even go to jail after what he did tonight!"

"You think I _wanted_ Will to be dragged through all that?!" Sami exclaimed.

"It doesn't matter what I _think_." Lucas said. "What I _know_ is that you are too dangerous and too stupid to be around children. I'm suing for full custody of Allie."

Kate walked up to them. "Music to my ears."

Sami rounded on Kate. "This is _all_ your fault! If you hadn't brought those evil, drug dealing hillbillies to Salem, _none_ of this would have happened!"

"Don't put this all on my mother. _You_ were the one who decided stealing money from _Stefano_ of all people was a good idea!" Lucas came to Kate's defense.

Kate did a double-take. "Wait, what?" She huffed. "Wow. No wonder Will and his husband and daughter were put in danger tonight. Seriously, Sami, what were you thinking?"

"I don't need a lecture on thinking from _you_ of all people!" Sami snapped. "Now…if you'll excuse me, my kids need me."

"Oh, hey, wait up. I'm bringing Allie back to Salem." Lucas said.

"NO! You are _not_ taking her! She needs me!" Sami shouted

"Is _this_ what she needs?! Being in danger and always on the run away from family?!" Lucas shot back.

"She needs her mother. She's a teenager now. She needs me more than ever!" Sami exclaimed.

"You know what? Fine." Lucas replied simply.

"Fine?!" Kate asked in exasperation.

"Just don't blame me if she runs away to me." Lucas said simply.

Sami scoffed. "That's not gonna happen."

" _Will_ ran away." Lucas reminded her. "Let's just hope Allie is smart enough to take along food and money."

"Screw you, Lucas!" Sami shoved him.

"Screw _you_!" Lucas shot back.

"Guys, we are in a _hospital_!" Adrienne scolded.

"Gee, I wonder whose fault _that _is!" Lucas glared at Sami.__

__"Stay out of this, Adrienne!" Sami glared and pointed a finger at Adrienne._ _

__"Gee, I would love to, but, you seem to keep dragging my son through your drama." Adrienne. "Seriously- how many more of your messes are you going to drag him through before-"_ _

__"Oh, before he what, Adrienne? Before he gets stabbed in the back, too?" Sami quipped. "Oh, wait- that already happened…thanks to _you_ r family."_ _

__Adrienne clenched her fists. "That doesn't even come _close_ to what Will did. Sonny should leave his ass!"_ _

__"Wow- what kind of hell would Will have raised had he beat and raped him?" Sami asked._ _

__That did it. Adrienne screamed like a banshee and tackled Sami to the ground. "I'LL KILL YOU!" She screamed angrily and started punching Sami in the face. By then, Sonny had run out into the waiting area to see what was wrong. Sami threw Adrienne off her, and clumsily stood up. Adrienne lunged for her again, but Sami flipped her to the ground. Adrienne stood up as Sami aimed a candle for her head. She ducked as Sami threw the candle which smashed through the window to Will's hospital room, shattering it completely._ _

__Lucas and Sonny sprinted into the room. The candle lay by Will's side. Will was unconscious. Sonny ran to his side and touched his face. "Will?" Will answered with a soft snore. He slept through the whole thing! Sonny sighed in relief._ _

__Kayla and Mona rushed to the room. "What happened?!"_ _

__"Sami and Adrienne got into a fight and Sami threw a candle at Adrienne, but it went through the window." Lucas said simply._ _

__"Is Will okay?" Sami asked._ _

__"Yeah. Luckily he wasn't hurt. Again." Sonny folded his arms and glared reproachfully at Sami._ _

__Roman walked up to them and cleared his throat. Everyone turned around._ _

__"Daddy." Sami greeted. They hugged. They all headed out to the waiting area. "Did you find Andre?"_ _

__"No. There is a state-wide manhunt for him, though." Roman sighed. "Hope and Rafe told me the whole story. Sami…this doesn't look good."_ _

__Sami exhaled sharply. "Dad, he was _forced_ to do all those things because Andre held his family hostage. What would _you_ do in that situation?"_ _

__"I understand that, which is why he'll get a lesser sentence." Roman replied. "Honestly, though- breaking and entering, theft, attempted murder…Sami….we're looking at ten years."_ _

__Sonny sighed and shook his head. "Does my dad know about this?"_ _

__"I believe so, yeah." Roman nodded._ _

__XXX_ _

__Sonny knocked on Justin's office door. "Come in!" Justin called. Sonny walked over to him. "I just heard from Roman that Will might go to jail." Justin nodded. "Dad, he was in an impossible situation."_ _

__"Doesn't matter. He broke the law." Justin shook his head._ _

__"I'm his husband. He did what he had to do to save my life." Sonny protested._ _

__"You escaped anyway." Justin pointed out._ _

__"But he didn't _know_ that." Sonny argued. "Dad…we're having a baby. We're happy again. What would you have done in his position?"_ _

__Justin exhaled sharply. He really didn't want to risk his career. "What would you do in mine?"_ _

__"I would have chosen my family over my career." Sonny said pointedly._ _

__He got him there. Justin rubbed his eyes. He really did _not_ like Andre right now. "Okay. I can't promise anything, but I'll see what I can do."_ _

__"Thank you." Sonny sighed. "That's all I ask."_ _

__XXX_ _

__Marlena caught up with Roman and Sami in the waiting room. "Sami? Where are the kids?"_ _

__"I left them with a friend." Sami replied, which wasn't too far from the truth._ _

__"Sami, Aunt Hope told me that Andre forced Will to kill you." Roman said._ _

__Marlena gasped. "What?!"_ _

__"He fired the gun at Andre at the last minute." Sami admitted. "But, it was empty, and he ended up saving my life!"_ _

__"I know. And I'm grateful." Roman said. "Now, can you tell me why Andre wanted Will to kill you and Hope?"_ _

__"Well, I'm not sure about Aunt Hope, but…" Sami sighed and shook her head. "I don't know- maybe he just wanted to get back at me for that War Zone incident over a decade ago."_ _

__Marlena stared at Sami pointedly. "Sami…"_ _

__"What?" Sami asked, innocently._ _

__Marlena sighed and turned to Roman. "Roman, will you please excuse us for a minute?"_ _

__"Okay. Sure." Roman was confused, but he left the room._ _

__Marlena waited until Roman closed the door behind him, then turned to her daughter. "Sami, you and I both know the real reason behind what happened tonight." Sami exhaled slowly and shook her head. "Sami, you almost lost your son because you stole money from the DiMeras. What else needs to happen before you give that money back?!"_ _

__"If I give it back, they've won!" Sami exclaimed. "Will is okay, Andre's on the run, and Stefano is…God knows where!"_ _

__"Oh! Why must you be so stubborn?" Marlena asked, frustrated. She sighed. "I'm just glad you didn't give the money to Will or Belle."_ _

__Sami tried very hard not to show expression. "Look, the important thing is that no one got killed."_ _

__Marlena exhaled sharply. "Sami, I'm _begging_ you: return the money before someone else gets hurt, or at least tell your father about this!"_ _

__Sami took a deep breath and turned around. "I'll think about it."_ _

__"Okay. Great. I'll leave you alone to think." Marlena left the room and closed the door._ _

__"What's going on?" Roman asked._ _

__"I'm gonna let her explain." Marlena replied. "She just needs to think about what to say."_ _

__Roman nodded. "Okay. I gotta tell you, Doc, this is really strange."_ _

__"I know. And trust me- it will all be explained soon." Marlena promised. They waited for a few minutes._ _

__"She's been in there quite a while." Roman commented. They ran into the room only to find it empty and the window wide open. They rushed to the window to see Sami sprinting down the street. Roman sighed in frustration. "Dammit, Sami!"_ _

__XXX_ _

__Will yawned and stretched and opened his eyes to see Kayla walking into the room. "How are you feeling?"_ _

__"Better, but, that's probably because of the pain meds." Will replied. He noticed the boarded up window. "What happened to the window?"_ _

__"Long story. I'm going to give you something a little milder than what they've given you." Kayla said._ _

__"How come?" Will asked, surprised._ _

__"We found something in your blood." Kayla replied. "Will, have you been feeling dizzy or nauseous recently?"_ _

__"Yeah. Why?" Will asked, a little worried by Kayla's expression. Then realization dawned on him. "I'm sick, aren't I?"_ _

__"No. Um…Will…I'm not sure how to tell you this, but…you're _pregnant_." Kayla replied, raising an eyebrow._ _

__Will just stared at his great-aunt in shock, his eyes and mouth wide open. He instinctively touched his stomach and looked down at it. How is that possible?_ _


	34. The Carrier

Will took a deep breath. "How…?"

"You must be a carrier. There's no other explanation." Kayla replied.

Will nodded. He's heard of male carriers, but, they're _extremely_ rare. Wait…no _wonder_ he's been dizzy and nauseous! Also- at Daniel's memorial…he wasn't broken up about Daniel, he was emotional because of his _pregnancy_! Now he felt a little bad about that.

"You're about four weeks along." Kayla continued. "The baby's due October 9th."

Will laughed softly. "That's also when the baby Gabi's carrying is due!"

"Oh, well, that's _one_ way to have twins." Kayla shrugged, smiling. "Congratulations, by the way."

"Thanks."

"Also, I have to ask: are you still taking that medication Dr. Salinas provided?" Kayla asked.

Will shook his head. "No. I'm one hundred percent recovered. I went to Daniel for a checkup before…before the accident, and he told me I'm fine without it now. That also means that the visions have stopped, which is why I couldn't see the accident or our kidnappings happening."

Kayla nodded and wrote down some notes.

Sonny knocked and entered the room. "Hey."

"Hey." Kayla greeted. "I will leave you two alone."

"Is everything okay?" Sonny asked.

"Better than okay." Will grinned widely. "Sonny…you'll never believe it, but…I'm pregnant."

Sonny was surprised and confused. "Wait, _what_?"

Will shrugged. "I'm a carrier, apparently. I'm with child. The baby's due the same day our other baby is due."

It took a minute for Sonny to process this. Will is pregnant…they're having two babies. "Wow." He laughed softly, smiling. "That was the _last_ thing I expected to hear from you. We're having two babies!" They laughed and hugged.

"Looks like twins definitely run in the family." Will chuckled.

"Yeah, really." Sonny nodded.

"You know what I'm wondering?"

"What?"

"Since I'm a carrier, how the _hell_ have I not gotten pregnant until now?" Will asked.

Sonny laughed. "I'm not sure." He sobered. "Will, listen, I just saw my dad and he said you might do ten years."

Will exhaled sharply and leaned back. "Oh, God…I can't have my baby in prison."

"My dad said he'll see if you can get a lighter sentence." Sonny assured him. "He is a Kiriakis, after all."

"Okay. I won't hold my breath, though." Will replied.

XXX

John stood over a sleeping Paul. Marlena wrapped her arm around John's torso. John exhaled. "First Brady and Eric, now Paul. Are _all_ my children going to land in the hospital this year?"

"I hope not." Marlena shrugged. "John, I'm sorry. I know this was because of Sami."

"I'm just glad Belle and Brady weren't dragged into her mess." John replied.

Paul, who had just started waking up heard that last part and remembered Brady telling him about Sami stealing money from Stefano. He opened his eyes. "Hey."

"Hey. How you feeling?" John asked.

"Sore." Paul replied. "You didn't call my mom, did you?"

"No." John replied. "I figured you wouldn't want her to know given what she's been through."

"Thank you." Paul said. "What happened with Will and Sonny?"

"They're all right." Marlena answered. "Andre forced Will to kill Sami, but he turned the gun on Andre at the last minute, but it was empty. Andre tried to kill Sami himself, but Will got between them. He's all right, but he had to have surgery."

Paul sighed. "Thank God."

"Paul, how did you get dragged into this mess?" John asked.

"Belle told Brady about the DiMera money Sami stole." Paul admitted. "Theresa overheard them talking about it, and she then told me because she wanted to buy Kate out of Basic Black."

"Theresa and Kate know?" John asked, aghast.

"Only that Sami stole DiMera money." Paul said. "I confronted Brady about it and he confirmed."

"Who else knows?" Marlena asked.

"Uh…let's see…you, my dad, me, Brady, Belle, Theresa, Kate, Gabi, Abigail, Chad, JJ, Shawn, Claire, Lucas, Will, Sonny, and Philip." Paul took a breath.

John just stared at his son in disbelief. "Claire knows? _Philip_ knows?!"

Marlena sighed in dismay. "This isn't good. It's only a matter of time before the police find out, and then Sami will be in major trouble!"

"Where is Sami now?" John asked.

"She fled the country again." Marlena admitted. "I'm not sure where."

John nodded slowly. "Okay, well…nothing we can do now. Andre's on the run as well, so…hopefully he'll be found and arrested."

"Hopefully." Marlena echoed.

XXX

Lucas and Gabi, who was holding Ari walked into Will's hospital room. "Hi."

Will laughed and cried in relief as he hugged Ari. "Oh, my sweet girl. I love you. I'm so sorry this happened to you. I promise, it will never happen again."

"I love 'oo, Daddy." Ari said.

"Oh." Will sniffed and pulled away. "I love you, too. Hey…Daddy has some good news for you. You're gonna have another brother or sister."

"Wait- what?" Lucas asked, in surprise.

Will smiled up at his dad. "I'm a carrier. I'm pregnant."

Gabi gasped happily. "Oh my God! That's amazing!"

"Wow, you're gonna have twins!" Lucas exclaimed. "Does Sonny know? How did he react?"

"He _does_ know, and he's excited." Will laughed.

Sonny walked in. "Hey, guys."

"Hey!" Gabi squealed and hugged him. "Congratulations, by the way!"

"Oh, thanks." Sonny replied.

"Congrats, buddy. And best of luck." Lucas chuckled, smiling.

"Gee, thanks." Sonny glared at him playfully. He turned to Will. "So, I told my parents the good news. They're surprised, but happy."

"Good. That's good." Will nodded. Sonny looked at Gabi and Lucas then turned to Will, a little anxious. "Hey, um, Gabi, isn't it getting close to Ari's naptime?"

"Oh! Yeah. I better get this little angel home." Gabi picked Ari up, who whined in protest. "Hey, hey, hey, no whining. I promise, we will come back after your nap, okay, honey?" Ari pouted, then nodded reluctantly. "That's my girl. Bye, guys."

"Bye, Ari." Will waved, smiling. Once the girls left, Will turned to Lucas. "There's something you should know: I may have to go to jail for what I did."

Lucas exhaled sharply. "Seriously? You didn't hurt anyone!"

"I know."

"My dad is still working on your lighter sentence. We'll know soon enough." Sonny replied.

As if on cue, Justin knocked on the door and entered the room. "Hey. Is this a bad time?"

"No. It's fine." Will replied.

"Great. I made some calls and reached a decision." Justin replied. "I don't like the idea of my grandbaby being born in a prison infirmary, so, how does temporary house arrest sound?"

Will exhaled in relief. "Great! It sounds great."

"All right. Two months' house arrest and after that, 3,000 hours of community service- and don't worry, we'll accommodate your pregnancy." Justin said. "You'll wear an ankle monitor and you will only be allowed to travel within two miles of your apartment. If you absolutely need to travel outside your radius, you will need to be escorted by the police- that includes me. Also, you won't be able to leave the state for five years."

"That sounds reasonable." Will nodded. "Thank you, Justin."

"Yeah. Thanks." Lucas nodded.

"You're welcome." Justin smiled and turned to Will. "Rest easy. That's my grandbaby you're carrying."

"I will." Will promised.

"Dad, wait." Sonny stopped Justin at the door and hugged him. "Thank you."

"You're welcome." Justin replied, hugging back.

After Justin left, Marlena arrived. She hugged Will, and he shared the good news- about both the pregnancy and his punishment.

"Will, that's wonderful news!" Marlena said, smiling. "I'm so glad things worked out for you."

"Me, too."

"You should know that…Paul told me and John about your mother giving you half the money she stole from Stefano and that…half the town knows." Marlena replied.

Will felt slightly guilty. "Grandma, I'm sorry. I didn't want to involve you and John, but then it just got out of control."

"I forgive you. But you still should have come to me or John." Marlena replied.

"I know. But, that's over with." Will sighed. "How's Paul?"

"He'll recover soon enough." Marlena replied. "And so will you."

"I know. Thanks." Will replied. "I'm just glad things are starting to get back to normal."

"Me, too." Sonny said, smiling. "Oh- did you tell her about the house?"

"What house?" Marlena asked.

"We finally decided on a house." Will announced. "We move at the beginning of March."

"Oh, that's wonderful! It's like a brand new fresh start." Marlena said.

"Yeah!" Will agreed, laughing. "Things are finally looking up."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Translation: Things are about to get messy. (wink, wink).
> 
> Well, that concludes the stolen money storyline, but this epic novel of a fanfic is far from over!


	35. Babies, Homes, and Valentine's Day

Will was released from the hospital just a couple days before Valentine's Day. Sonny made up the couch in the living room for him, and Roman clapped on Will's anklet. They had an appointment with Dr. Ford, the fertility specialist. Her office was just outside Will's radius, so Shawn volunteered to go with them, but agreed to wait outside the office.

"So, as you know, the carrier gene is extremely rare." Dr. Ford was saying. "I have researched a few medical journals and found six cases. However, none had a happy ending. The male body isn't built for carrying babies. Two of them didn't carry to term, one had a stillborn, and the rest died giving birth."

Will swallowed and rubbed his belly gently. Sonny squeezed his hand comfortingly. "Is there anything we can do to make sure they _both_ live?"

"Take extra caution for one." Dr. Ford replied. "Exercise, be _very_ careful what you eat and drink, take prenatal vitamins, and do not stress yourself out. I promise…I'll do everything I can to make sure you both survive."

"Okay. Thank you." Will nodded. They left quietly.

"Hey, how'd it go?" Shawn asked.

"Great." Will lied, smiling.

XXX

Sonny waited until they got home before speaking. "Wow."

"Yeah, I know." Will sighed. "Look, my family has been through too much in the last four months. I don't want to add the possibility of me and/or our baby not surviving the pregnancy to their troubles."

Sonny nodded in understanding. "Okay. Well…like the doctor said: eat right, exercise, and be very careful."

"I will." Will replied. He didn't want to have this conversation, but, he figured the sooner they have it, the better. "Sonny… if I don't survive this pregnancy-"

"Don't say that, Will." Sonny shook his head vigorously. "You will survive- you _both_ will."

"I know. But just in case-"

"Will, I don't want to hear it!" Sonny snapped. "I won't lose you. I _can't_ lose you."

Will nodded and pulled Sonny into a hug. "You won't."

XXX

The evening of February 14th, Will woke from his long nap to a darkened room lit by candles. The smell of roses filled his nostrils.

"Sonny?" Will called out.

Sonny walked in, carrying two glasses of apple juice. "Happy Valentine's Day."

Will chuckled. "Happy Valentine's Day."

"Do you realize…" Sonny sat on the couch and handed a glass to Will. "that this is our first official Valentine's Day as a married couple?"

Will grinned. "Yeah…I mean, last year…" He shook his head. "But, things are different now. Better."

Sonny nodded in agreement and raised his glass. "Here's to many more drama-free Valentine's Days."

"Hear, hear." They clinked glasses and drank. They fed each other steak and mushrooms and dessert. "You know…if I wasn't recovering from surgery right now…"

Sonny chuckled. "I know. But, I promise: as soon as your full health is restored, we will make love."

"I'll hold you to that." Will replied. They started making out. This was the best Valentine's Day so far.

XXX

The next couple weeks were dedicated to packing up the apartment and moving into their new home. They finally settled on the 19th century Victorian home. They had a contractor (whom Sonny double-checked to make sure he doesn't work for the DiMeras this time) check out the foundation, and it was stable and move-in ready. The basement was furnished for a small apartment, which Gabi happily moved into.

The house was a light blue with a dark gray shingled roof, white baseboards and pillars along the covered porch. The door was white mahogany and had a peephole and windows on each side. Inside was a small entryway with a coat closet to the right, and a spacious living room to the left. Straight ahead is a staircase leading upstairs. The living room had a small bay window with the couch sitting in front. There was an electric fireplace with a flat screen TV above it. There was an arched doorway into the kitchen, which had updated appliances. Through the other side of the kitchen was the dining room. Next to the dining room was a public bathroom and an office. The basement was big enough for two bedrooms, a small living room, a wet bar, a bathroom, and a laundry room. The top floor had a linen closet, a bathroom, a stairway to the attic, and four bedrooms.

Will and Sonny stood in the entryway. The house was completely furnished and decorated.

"Welcome home, Mr. Horton-Kiriakis." Sonny said to Will.

"Why thank you, Mr. Kiriakis-Horton." Will smiled, and they kissed.


	36. Death of A Phoenix

Paul stared at his phone in dismay. He didn't know why he thought his friend was bisexual. Paul thought they had connected last fall when he tracked him down. Jacob was also humped and dumped him. He walked through the square and someone accidentally ran into him.

"Hey!" Paul exclaimed before he could stop himself. He noticed that the guy who bumped into him looked young enough to be in high school and that he looked upset. "Wait, are you okay? What's wrong?"

"Nothing, I-" The guy shook his head.

"No, it's not nothing. I can tell you're upset." Paul said. "Talk to me. Whatever it is, I-I can help."

The guy scoffed and shook his head. "Why are you being so nice to me? We don't even know each other."

"I'm Paul Narita." Paul introduced. "What's your name?"

"Henry Collins." Henry replied.

"Nice to meet you, Henry." Paul nodded. "Let me buy you a hot chocolate. You look like you need it."

Henry stared at Paul for a minute. He seems nice enough. Plus, he's really handsome. He smiled slightly and nodded. "Okay."

XX

Paul and Henry sat at one of the outdoor tables at the café. The waitress set down their hot chocolates.

"I am the only out gay kid at my school." Henry lamented. "And half the guys there give me a hard time. They won't shower after Gym in front of me…they accuse me of checking them out when I'm not. I'm not sure how much more I can take. There's no one to talk to. I reported my bullying to the faculty and they were sympathetic, but, no one really cared. It's like they said 'Hey, you're gay. Your life's just going to be miserable.'"

"That's not true." Paul shook his head. "Just because you're gay doesn't mean your life is going to be miserable. It really does get better."

"Did it get better for you?" Henry asked.

Paul thought about that for a minute. He didn't want to discourage Henry, but he didn't want to lie, either. "If things are bad in my life, it's not because I'm gay, it's mostly my own stupidity or bad luck."

Henry nodded and sipped his hot chocolate. "Have you ever been in love?"

"I have." Paul nodded sadly. "It's the most amazing feeling being in love and sharing your life with someone. He proposed to me, but…I was too much of a coward to say yes. I chose my career over him. When I met him again, he moved on. Got married, has a kid and two more on the way. And my career ended before I turned 30."

"And how is _that_ better?" Henry asked.

"Because I learned from my mistakes." Paul replied. "When you find love, hold onto it as tight as you can and never let it go. And if people give you grief about it, screw them! Prejudice is just ignorance, Henry. Don't let it get to you."

Henry smiled and held back tears. "Thanks. I did hear stories about you…and I read that article in Sonix Magazine. You really didn't come out until last year?"

"That's correct. I wish I had come out earlier, though." Paul admitted.

"Yeah, well, you should consider yourself lucky you didn't come out in high school." Henry chuckled humorlessly. "I watched Glee, and it scared the hell out of me."

Paul laughed. "Yeah, it's that type of show."

"Thank you for the hot chocolate and for listening." Henry said. "I don't really have very many friends."

"Everyone has friends." Paul shrugged.

"Yeah. I have exactly five- Ciara Brady, Claire Brady, Joey Johnson, Theo Carver, and Chase Jennings." Henry said.

Paul grinned. "You know, Claire Brady is my niece."

Henry was surprised and a little confused. "Really?"

"Well, half-niece." Paul said. "Her grandmother is my stepmother."

"Oh. Small town." Henry smiled.

"You can also add me to your list of friends." Paul said sincerely. He pulled out a pen and wrote his number down on a napkin. "Here's my number. Call me if you ever want to talk or vent."

"Thanks." Henry took the napkin and put it in his pocket. "I have to go. I'll see you around."

Paul nodded. "See you." As Henry walked off, Chad sat down. Paul smiled politely. "And here I thought you were done causing me problems."

"Is he even out of high school yet? I mean, I know some gay men go for younger men, but…" Chad shrugged.

"No, actually, he's a senior." Paul said. "He's a friend, nothing more."

"Okay, if you say so." Chad said, not convinced.

Paul scoffed in disgust and stood. "Even if he wasn't just a friend, I would never take advantage of him then dump him. Much like you did to my sister."

"I was brainwashed!" Chad exclaimed defensively.

"And that's an excuse?" Paul raised an eyebrow. "See you around, _Cad_."

Chad glared at Paul. "Later, RuPaul."

XXX

Will sat on the couch typing away at his laptop. It was starting to rain outside. Sonny came into the house and shook out his umbrella. "Whoo! It's really coming down out there."

"Hey, babe." Will greeted. Sonny walked over and kissed him. "How was work?"

"Good. How are you doing?" Sonny sat next to him.

"Good. I can move around without my back hurting now." Will nodded.

"That's good." Sonny replied. He shivered slightly. Will threw an afghan over Sonny's shoulders and wrapped him up, causing him to smile. "Thanks."

"You're welcome." Will replied. "I'm gonna make some hot chocolate. Do you want some?"

"Sure!"

"All right." Will slowly stood up and started heading to the kitchen. Gabi walked downstairs and into the living room. "Oh, hey, do you want hot chocolate? I'm making some."

"Sure, thanks." Gabi replied. She sat on a chair. "I put Ari down for bed, by the way."

"Oh." Sonny nodded and stood. "I think I'll kiss her good night."

A few minutes later, Will and Sonny came back into the living room. Will raised his mug. "I'd like to propose a toast to Stefano dying for real this time."

"Hear, hear!" Sonny chimed in.

"Hey, Will, did you tell your mom and the kids?" Gabi asked.

"I did. The kids are distraught." Will sighed. "I'm just glad that Stefano died before he could screw them over and ruin their lives."

Sonny squeezed his hand. "Me, too."

"You know, when I first met him, I thought he was a sweet old man." Gabi said. "Couldn't have been more wrong, obviously."

"I've heard horror stories from my family about Stefano growing up." Sonny commented. "Most of them gave me nightmares. Especially my first encounter with him."

"Really? What happened?" Will asked, curious.

"Well, it was when my family came to Salem back in 2007."

_Sonny sped along the freeway towards Salem. He just got his driver's license and decided to drive to Chicago and back. He wasn't paying attention, and a car drove in front of him. He yelled in panic and slowed down, and gently bumped the rear end of the car in front. Then, Stefano DiMera whirled around and glared at him. It was so sudden that Sonny jumped, startled, and wet his pants a little. Stefano gave him the "You're dead" gesture, backed into his car, and sped off._

Gabi and Will stifled their laughter. Sonny was slightly miffed. "It was _not funny_! I saw my life flash before my eyes! I kept expecting Stefano to kill me in my sleep!"

"Well, I wouldn't have put it past him." Will remarked. "But I'm glad he didn't."

"Me, too." Sonny replied. "Remember the _last_ time Stefano died?"

"Ah, yes. How could I forget?" Will nodded forlornly. "Half the town confronted him and touched Abe Carver's gun which he left on the table in his living room."

_Will couldn't take it anymore. He lost his job, his apartment, and almost lost his family and friends because of Stefano. He snuck into the mansion and walked into the living room where Stefano sat, not surprised by his visit._

_"You threatened me. You forced me to hurt the people that I love, and you tried to kill my grandmother." Will said, his voice shaking with fury. "What did I ever do to you?_ Nothing. Absolutely nothing! _But you didn't think twice about destroying my life!"_

Will sighed and shook his head. "And almost four years later, his son pretty much does the same thing."

"Well, at least we don't have to worry about Stefano anymore." Sonny said.

"Yeah. No one else in my family will be kidnapped anymore. We are no longer in danger." Will smiled. "Stefano's dead and Andre's locked up."

"Yeah!" Gabi raised her mug.

Once they were all done with their hot chocolates, Gabi took the mugs to the kitchen and went down to her apartment. Sonny lay back against the armrest and cuddled Will, who snuggled up against him. Sonny then wrapped the blanket around both of them. They stayed like that all night. The storm cleared and everything was peaceful.

But wait!

The next morning, Sonny and Gabi were already off to work. Roman called Will.

"Hey, Grandpa, what's up?" Will asked.

"Will, I'm sorry to have to tell you this, but…Ben escaped from the psych ward." Roman announced. "He's on the loose again."

Will froze and his heart skipped several beats. Chills ran up and down his spine and he took heavy breaths. He had a flashback of Ben trying to strangle him. Now he was out… and he will come after him, Sonny, Abigail, Chad, and Gabi.


	37. Missing Again

Sonny went over the payroll for the club. Victor had offered a CEO position at Titan, and he's seriously considering it. He needed a change of scenery. Chad came into the office looking upset.

"Hey, Chad." Sonny greeted. Chad slumped on the couch and exhaled sharply. "What's wrong?"

"Ben escaped from the psych ward." Chad announced.

Sonny's heart sank. "What?!" He pulled out his phone.

"What are you doing?" Chad asked, warily.

"What do you think? I'm calling Will." Sonny replied.

"Oh." Chad replied, relieved.

"Hey." Will answered, sounding a bit freaked.

"Hey. I assume you heard about Ben." Sonny said.

"I did." Will sighed. "Just when I thought all our troubles are over."

"Hey, it's gonna be okay." Sonny said reassuringly. "I'm just finishing up some paperwork, then I'll be home."

"Okay. Love you."

"Love you, too. Bye." Sonny hung up and focused on Chad. "How'd Abigail take it?"

"I didn't tell her." Chad admitted. Sonny looked shocked. "I couldn't. She's already been through so much, and-and…I didn't want to ruin her wedding."

"Don't you think she has a right to know so she can be on the lookout?" Sonny asked.

"I will keep her safe. Then I will tell her as soon as we get back from our honeymoon." Chad assured him.

Sonny was hesitant. But, Chad did have a good point. "Okay. I don't like this, but I won't tell her. I'm not sure about Will, though. He's extremely loyal to her."

"Is that why he added her name in that scathing article he wrote about Sami?" Chad raised an eyebrow.

" _Sami_ added her name, not Will." Sonny said defensively.

Chad raised his hands in surrender. "Okay, okay. Sorry."

"Thank you."

XXX

Sonny entered the living room where Will was reading. "Hey."

"Hi. I texted Abigail, but she hasn't responded." Will said.

Sonny stiffened and sat on the chair. "What did you say?"

"Just that I'm here for her if she needs anything." Will replied. "Why?"

"Abigail doesn't know Ben escaped yet." Sonny admitted.

"What? Why?!" Will asked, bewildered.

"We think it's a good idea for her to have a little worry-free happiness before the bomb drops." Sonny replied.

"'We'?"

"Chad, JJ, and I." Sonny answered.

Will just stared at his husband, appalled. "Don't you think that the person Ben terrorized the most has a right to know that he escaped and might come after her?!"

"Of course I do! We just think that she also deserves a little happiness- her wedding." Sonny argued.

"She may not _have_ a wedding!" Will exclaimed. "Not if Ben's on the loose and she's completely oblivious! She may be dead before she walks down that aisle."

"You're getting a little too paranoid about this." Sonny said calmly.

"And _you_ are getting a little too nonchalant about this!" Will snapped. "This is our _cousin_ we are talking about. She has a baby to think about. We've already suffered so many losses over the last six months, and not telling her about Ben escaping will only make things worse and bite you in the ass!"

"Don't you think I know that?!" Sonny exclaimed. "I am _very_ well aware of the consequences. I just don't think we should tell her just yet."

Will exhaled sharply and threw his head back. "I _really_ don't like this, Sonny."

"I know." Sonny said gently. "I don't either. But, if she gets a happy wedding and honeymoon…won't it be worth keeping it from her?"

Will scoffed and shook his head. "You really _are_ a Kiriakis. Okay. Fine. But if they come back from their honeymoon and Chad _still_ hasn't told her, _I_ will."

"Great. And I'm really sorry it had to come to this." Sonny said sincerely.

"Yeah…" Will turned away. Sonny left the room, and Will called Chad. "Hey, Sonny just told me everything."

"Okay."

"Chad…if you don't tell her sooner rather than later, and if she finds out another way and something bad happens, she'll never forgive you. You better think about that." Will said.

"I am." Chad promised. "Everything's going to be fine."

"They better be." Will said. "If anything happens to my cousin because you didn't warn her of the danger, I will hold you personally responsible."

"Nothing will happen, I promise."

"I'm holding you to that." Will hung up and sighed. His phone buzzed with a text from Abigail.

_"Hey. Sorry. I was working on wedding stuff. What did you mean by you're here for me?"_

Will couldn't help himself. He typed _"Ben escaped from the psych ward."_ He was about to send it, but thought against it. He erased the text and typed _"Just your wedding and I'll babysit Thomas while you're on your honeymoon if you want."_

 _"Thanks."_ Abigail replied. _"Isn't this great? We both have our happy endings. I'm thinking Disneyland trip in the next few years!"_ She added a smiley.

 _"Yeah!"_ Will replied, also adding a smiley. He sighed again in defeat. "Sorry, Abigail…"

He just hoped nothing _else_ will happen.

XXX

The next morning, Will got a text from Chad. _"JJ caved and told Abby. Just so you know."_

Will exhaled sharply. _"Good. She's on her guard, then."_

_"Yeah. Also, apparently Ben hopped on a plane, so he could be anywhere."_

_"Oh? Even better. He won't come near Salem."_

_"Hopefully."_

Will went back to finishing up his editorial on the rising crime in Salem when Gabi texted him. _"Will, call me. It's an emergency!"_

Will called Gabi. "Hey, what's wrong?"

"Have you heard from your grandma Marlena?" Gabi asked, slightly frantic.

"Um, no, why?"

"She's babysitting Ari and she said they'd be in the park off the square, but they're not there and I can't get ahold of them!" Gabi exclaimed.

Will started getting a little worried by that. "Have you called the hospital?"

"Yes, and they said they haven't seen her all day!" Gabi exclaimed. "Oh, Will, I'm getting really worried. I just _know_ something bad happened."

"Okay, just calm down. Did you tell Rafe?" Will asked.

"Yes. JJ and I are heading to the park to look around."

"Okay. I will call Sonny and everyone in my family to see if they've seen them. I will also drop by the house. Maybe they stopped there." Will replied.

"Okay. Keep in touch." Gabi said.

"I will." Will replied. He let his boss know that there was a family emergency, then headed to his house. He called Sonny. "Hey, have Grandma Marlena and Ari stopped by TBD today?"

"No, they haven't. Why?"

"Grandma is babysitting Ari, but now we can't get ahold of them." Will replied.

Sonny exhaled sharply and looked around the restaurant. "Where are you?"

"On my way to the house to see if they stopped there." Will replied. "Listen, I'll keep you updated, but if they come into TBD will you please call me?"

"Of course."

"Thanks. Love you. Bye." Will hung up and pulled up to the house. It didn't look like anyone was home. He walked inside and called for Marlena, but no answer. This was getting more worrisome by the second. His phone rang again. "Gabi, did you find them?"

"No." Gabi sniffed. "We found Ari's stuffed toy that's on her stroller- the one that she talks to laying on the ground."

Will took a deep breath and ran his free hand through his hair. His heart started pounding and his stomach dropped. "Okay, but that doesn't mean anything. They could have just dropped it and didn't notice."

Gabi sighed. "I hope so… JJ and I are going to look everywhere they might have gone."

"Okay. I'll start making calls." Will replied.

"Okay. Bye."

Will called everyone in his family, but no one has seen or heard from Marlena and Ari. He relayed the message to Gabi, who told him to meet her at the station.

XX

Sonny couldn't get his mind off Marlena and Ari. He could barely focus on work. His phone buzzed with a text message from Will. _"No one we know have seen or heard from Ari and Grandma. Come down to the station, ASAP."_

"I'm on my way." Sonny replied. He turned to one of the bartenders. "Terry, I have to leave. Family emergency. Cover for me?"

"Sure thing."

"Thanks." Sonny flew out of the club and almost knocked Paul over. "Paul!"

"Sonny!" Paul exclaimed, half-jokingly, then noticed his expression. "What's wrong?"

Sonny sighed heavily. "Have you seen or heard from Marlena in the last six hours?"

"No." Paul shook his head. "Why? What's wrong?"

"She's babysitting Ari, and they're missing." Sonny said. "No one can find or get ahold of Marlena."

"What?" Paul exclaimed. "Does my dad know?"

"I don't know, but I have to go." Sonny said, then rushed off.

Paul pulled out his phone to call his father. "Dad, hey. Have you heard from Marlena in the last six hours?"

"No. Why?" John asked.

"She's babysitting Ari, and no one can find them." Paul replied. "I just ran into Sonny. He sounds really freaked."

"I know that Marlena and Ari are missing. Eduardo and I are trying to find them." John replied.

"Dad, what's going on? Do you know why Marlena and Ari are missing?" Paul asked.

"Don't worry about that, all right? Just...be careful. I'll talk to you later." John hung up.

Paul scoffed and shook his head. "Okay, fine. I'm sure I'll get dragged into it one way or the other somehow, anyway."

XXX

Sonny and Will rushed into the bullpen/waiting area of the police station where Gabi was pacing and crying silently.

"Anything yet?" Will asked.

"No." Gabi said tearfully.

Will pulled her into a hug. "It's okay. We'll find our daughter. Grandma Marlena is with her. She'll take good care of her."

"I hope so." Gabi replied, sniffing.

Hope walked into the bullpen/waiting area. "Hey, guys." She noticed their expressions. "What's going on?"

"Ari and Marlena are missing." Sonny announced.

"What?!" Hope asked.

"Marlena was babysitting Ari and they never showed up at the pickup spot or maybe they did and they dropped this." Gabi held up Ari's toy. "They just vanished."

"What do you mean vanished?" Hope asked in cop mode.

"They're gone." Gabi replied. "No one has seen them or heard from them. JJ and I looked everywhere, Will called everyone in his family, Rafe made tons of calls."

"Where's Rafe?" Hope looked around.

"I don't know." Gabi shook her head. Hope pulled out her phone to call Rafe. "He went off to make some calls and he said he was going to handle it."

"Rafe, I'm at the station with Gabi, Will, and Sonny. Call me ASAP." Hope hung up. "Come here." She pulled Gabi in a hug.

Will got a text from Abigail. _"Hey, did you find Ari and your grandma yet?"_

_"No."_

_"Chad and I will postpone our wedding until they are found."_

_"No, no. That won't be necessary. I don't want to ruin your day. Besides, Ari and Grandma will be found by the time your wedding starts. We'll be there."_

_"Okay. If you're sure."_

_"I am sure."_

Hope's phone rang. Will and Sonny jumped up, hopeful, then deflated when it turned out that Ciara called Hope. She talked for a minute, put her purse together, and stood up. She noticed JJ. "JJ, I have an emergency. Will you stay with Gabi and your cousins?"

JJ nodded. "Sure. Rafe didn't call?"

"No." Hope turned to Gabi. "I have to go, but JJ's gonna stay here." She turned to JJ. "Call me if you hear from Rafe."

"Will do. Thanks." JJ walked around and leaned against the desk.

Gabi grabbed JJ's hand. "Hey, did you hear anything?"

"No. But Rafe is on it." JJ replied, taking her hand in his.

"JJ, I thought nothing could make me feel more hopeless than being in prison, but I was wrong." Gabi lamented.

"Look, Arianna is with family." JJ said gently. "Marlena will look after her."

"How do you know that?" Gabi lamented.

"Are you kidding me?" JJ raised his eyebrows. "Anyone would throw themselves into oncoming traffic to keep her safe. She's the sweetest little girl."

"That's what I keep telling her." Will spoke up.

"Yeah. She likes you, too." Gabi said to JJ.

"Well, she's a heartbreaker, that's for sure." JJ said. They chuckled.

"Hey, we're gonna find her, right?" Gabi asked, unsure.

"My gut? Ari's going to be safe." JJ replied. "We'll find her."

XX

A while later, Rafe walked into the bullpen/waiting area. Gabi, JJ, Will, and Sonny walked up to him.

"Did you find her? Did you find Arianna?" Gabi asked.

"No."

"What? Then what's going on? What…?" Gabi asked, frantically.

"Okay," Rafe grabbed Gabi's shoulders to calm her. "I do not know where Ari and Marlena are, but John and Eduardo are calling other contacts to find stuff out."

"What does that mean? What other contacts are you talking about?" Will asked.

"Well, from their work." Rafe said.

"What work?" Asked Sonny.

Rafe glanced at JJ. "Can you give us a sec?" JJ nodded and walked off. "Thanks."

"What?" Gabi asked Rafe.

"Someone took Ari and Marlena okay?"

"What?!" Gabi and Will exclaimed.

"And our father, our father thinks it might have something to do with his work. Something he did in the past, okay?" Rafe replied.

"Wait, someone did this to get back at Eduardo?" Gabi asked.

"And John." Rafe deadpanned.

"And they're using my baby and Marlena to do that?" Gabi asked, aghast.

"Well, yeah, 'cause they knew that's exactly where it would them the hardest." Rafe explained.

"Rafe, are they gonna hurt her?" Gabi asked, worriedly.

"No, Gabi…"

"Rafe, what is it that they want? I will do whatever it takes."

"Do they want money? We have money. We can pay…" Will spoke up.

"I highly doubt this is about money." Rafe replied.

"Then what is this about?!" Gabi exclaimed.

"Gabi, listen, shh…" Rafe replied. "They know what they are doing, they know the people they are dealing with, and they are going to bring everyone home safe."

"Yeah, well, what if they can't?" Gabi asked.

"They will, all right? They will." Rafe pulled Gabi into a hug as she sobbed.

XXX

Will sat on a chair against the window, his head in his hands. This was the second time in one month that his daughter was kidnapped and used as leverage. This has got to be a record! How long must they all be put through tragedy? Sonny sat next to him.

"When was the last time you ate?" Sonny asked. "Or had something to drink?"

"I can't think about that right now." Will replied, his voice shaking.

"Will, you're pregnant. You can't skip meals." Sonny said. "You have to think about the baby and what they need."

"What about my first? Huh? What does our daughter need?" Will snapped and stood up. "Because she is missing. Probably in some dark room with a gunman right outside."

Sonny stood up and put his hands on Will's shoulders to calm him. "What Arianna needs is for her dads to be strong and have faith that she will be returned to us." Will swallowed and nodded. Sonny pulled him into a hug and rubbed his back soothingly. "We'll find her."

XXX

Sonny finally got Will and Gabi to eat. Gabi tried contacting her mother, but couldn't reach her. Then she got a call from Rafe.

"Oh my God, Rafe! I love you so much. Thank you so much." Gabi sniffed and hung up and turned to Will and Sonny. "They found Marlena and Ari. They're at the hospital getting checked out."

"Oh, thank God!" They rushed out of the station to Sonny's car.

Will's phone rang. "Dad."

"Where the hell are you? The wedding's about to start!" Lucas asked urgently.

Will sighed and closed his eyes. He'd almost forgotten about that. "I'm on my way to the hospital."

"Hospital?! Why? What happened?!" Lucas demanded.

"Long story short: Ari and Grandma Marlena were kidnapped earlier today."

"What?!"

"They escaped and they're at the hospital to get checked out." Will assured him.

"Why the hell haven't you said anything?!"

"It was a weird situation. Plus it was over just as soon as it started." Will explained, shrugging. "Look, I don't want to ruin Abigail's day. Will you please just tell her that Sonny and I won't make it and that we're really sorry?"

Lucas exhaled slowly. "Fine. But I'm coming to the hospital as soon as the ceremony's over."

"Thank you. See you later."

XX

Will, Sonny, and Gabi rushed through the waiting area and scared the head nurse half to death.

"Excuse me, has Marlena Evans and Arianna Horton checked themselves in yet?" Will asked, hurriedly.

"Yes, they're getting checked out- oh, they're right behind you." The nurse pointed behind them. Marlena walked towards the group smiling and holding Ari.

Gabi started crying and laughing and hugged her daughter close. "My baby, my baby."

Will and Sonny both hugged Gabi and Ari. "Oh, sweetheart."

Will pulled away and hugged Marlena. "I'm so glad you two are safe. Thank you for taking good care of my daughter."

"Aw, you're welcome." Marlena replied.

Gabi sighed. "I was so worried. And I was afraid she'd be hurt…"

"I know. I know." Marlena replied. "The pediatrician gave her a clean bill of health."

"Was, um….was she…?" Gabi was too afraid to ask.

"Oh…no. There was some awareness, but I don't think she knew what was going on." Marlena replied.

"Oh. Thank God." Gabi replied, relieved. "And thank you so much."

"Oh."

"Thank you." Gabi said again.

"Are you kidding? Of course." Marlena smiled. "Look, I wanna go back there and-and find out what's going on with John."

"Okay. We're gonna head home and have ourselves a tubby time." Gabi said to Ari.

"Oh, good." Marlena replied.

"Excuse me," They turned around to see a police officer approaching them. "I just got off the phone with Detective Hernandez, he wants you two to stay right here and I'm not to let you out of my sight."

"What?" Gabi asked.

"Where's John?" Marlena asked.

"We don't know. He disappeared." The officer said simply.

"Disappeared? What do you mean?" Marlena asked

"We don't know where he is."

Sonny's phone rang. "Abigail, hey. This isn't a good time."

"I know. I heard what happened." Abigail replied. "Is Ari and Marlena okay?"

"Yeah, they're both fine."

"Okay, listen…I am going to postpone the wedding-"

"Abigail…"

"But only by one hour." Abigail replied. "I want my two favorite cousins, brother, and best friend all at my wedding. I called JJ and he's on his way to the hospital to pick you guys up."

Sonny sighed. "Okay. Um…Gabi can't leave, though. I'm not sure if Will can, either. One hour, right?"

"Yes."

"Okay, we might only stay for the ceremony and leave right after, though."

"I understand. See you soon!"

"Bye." Sonny hung up and explained the situation to Will.

"Guys, I can't leave." Gabi said.

Marlena turned to Will. "Go on. We'll be fine."

"Are you sure?" Will asked.

"Yeah. Go, go to your cousin's wedding." Marlena insisted.

"Okay." Will nodded. He turned to Ari. "Sweetheart, Daddy and Dada need to go somewhere, but we'll be back real soon, okay? You be good."

"Take pictures." Gabi requested.

"We will." Will and Sonny rushed to the elevator. JJ was waiting for them by the curb. Will was already in a suit, so he didn't need a change of clothes. They got into the car and drove off for the mansion.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Siiiiggghhhh, the kidnapping/rescue mission and the wedding had to happen on the same day... -_-


	38. Family Crisis

Abigail took a deep breath. She couldn't believe what happened to Ari and Marlena. She was glad they're safe now, but did it have to happen today of all days?! Will and Sonny came into the living room.

"Hey!" Abigail greeted. She hugged her cousins. "Are Ari and Marlena doing okay?"

"Yeah, they're fine." Will nodded.

"How are _you_? I mean, this is the second time in a month something like this happened." Abigail asked Will.

Will took a deep breath. "I'm doing okay, considering."

Sonny looked around for Chad and found him and Theo. "Hey, guys."

"Hey. How are Ari and Marlena?" Chad asked.

"They're fine. Gabi is with Ari, so…" Sonny shrugged and turned to Theo. "Okay if I reclaim my best man title?"

Theo chuckled softly. "Sure."

"All right! Let's get this wedding started!" Chad exclaimed.

XX

The ceremony started without a hitch. Then, Abigail saw something in the window and screamed. "I saw Ben!" She shrieked. "He's outside the window!"

JJ and Chad had their security guards check the grounds while Doug, Julie, and Jennifer calmed Abigail down. The police didn't find Ben anywhere on the grounds.

"Do you think Abigail might have imagined seeing Ben?" Will whispered to Sonny.

"I don't know. Maybe." Sonny shrugged.

Abigail apologized for delaying the wedding, and it started again. JJ walked her down the aisle, Jennifer and Julie did readings, and Abigail and Chad said their vows.

Theo, teary-eyed, brought his fists up in victory and whispered. "My OTP is canon." Sonny and Will turned to him in surprise and confusion. "What?"

Once the ceremony was over, Chad pulled JJ aside and they talked about lying to Abigail once again. Sonny couldn't help overhearing. Chad turned around, was startled by Sonny, and sighed. "Okay, let's hear it."

"I'm not gonna lecture you." Sonny said sincerely. "I actually _agree_ with you guys. It's better to let her think Ben is very far away and will not come after her. Don't want to ruin her wedding and honeymoon, right?"

"Right." Chad nodded.

"Of course, it's not a great way to start off a marriage, but, hey, I've been through worse." Sonny smirked.

Chad chuckled. "True. Now, if you'll excuse me…" He walked off.

Sonny turned around to see Will with his arms folded, looking irritated, but smiling in spite of himself. " _Really_?"

"Will, do not start with me." Sonny said firmly. He walked towards the door.

"Fine." Will said. "Don't come crying to me when this all blows up in your face."

Sonny stopped suddenly and whirled around. "Let me ask you something: you hate this whole keeping Abigail in the dark thing so much, why don't you just tell her?"

"And take the chance of her not believing me and causing drama? Hell no." Will shrugged. "I am going to stay out of it."

"Yeah, that's probably for the best."

XXX

Later, Will cut through the park and nearly ran into Paul. "Whoa! Sorry."

"Ah, it's fine. I seem to have developed the habit of running into people while looking at my phone." Paul replied.

Will chuckled. "Well…at least you're not driving."

"True." Paul nodded. "Oh- did you find Marlena and Ari?"

"Yeah." Will sighed. "They were kidnapped-"

"What?!" Paul exclaimed.

"They're-they're fine. Your dad and Eduardo found them a couple hours ago." Will explained. "Eduardo was shot, but he's okay."

"And my dad?" Paul asked.

"I don't know." Will shook his head.

"What do you mean you don't know?" Paul demanded.

"All I know is that he's missing." Will replied. "Grandma, Aunt Hope, and Uncle Steve are all at the hospital, still if you want to head there for answers."

Paul sighed heavily. "Okay. Thanks. I was hoping I wouldn't see that hospital again for a long time."

"Oh, I know what you mean." Will replied. "How's your chest?"

"Completely recovered." Paul said triumphantly. He sobered. "Look, Will, I really am sorry for all the trouble I've caused. I should have done my research about Sonny and you, and I should have gone back to San Francisco."

Will smiled and nodded. "True. But then I also wouldn't have a husband…and Ari wouldn't have either of her dads, 'cause we'd _both_ be dead. So, I can't believe I'm actually saying this, but…I am glad you came to Salem."

Paul was shocked. He dug out his ear. "I'm sorry, can you repeat that? I don't think I heard you correctly."

Will scoffed and shook his head. "I'm glad you came to Salem."

Paul laughed. "Well, that was the _last_ thing I thought you'd ever say."

"Oh, whatever." Will rolled his eyes. "Maybe we can be friends. And if you ever have a boyfriend, he, you, me, and Sonny can double-date. For real. No manipulation."

Paul smiled and nodded. "I'd like that. I'll see you around."

"See you." Will walked off.

Paul sighed and smiled. Things were looking up. He started walking home when all of a sudden, he was jumped from behind. Someone put a hood over Paul's head, dragged him into a van and chloroformed him.

XXX

Will walked into the house. "Sonny?"

"Kitchen." Sonny called back.

"Hmm. Something smells good." Will said, walking into the kitchen.

"Garlic shrimp risotto." Sonny replied.

"Ooh." Will set the table, and they sat down. "So, I ran into Paul earlier. We cleared the air."

"That's good." Sonny nodded. "Hopefully now there will be less drama and we can all be friends."

"Yeah!" Will replied. He took a few bites. "Hey, how did Paul know Ari and Grandma were missing?"

"I ran into him outside TBD." Sonny replied. "I was hoping he had heard from Marlena, but he hadn't, obviously."

"Oh. Okay, well, I told him about the kidnapping and that John is now missing." Will replied.

"Um…are you sure your grandma would want him to know about that?" Sonny asked, raising an eyebrow.

Will exhaled sharply. "I didn't think about that. Should I call her?"

"Probably. Give her a heads-up." Sonny nodded.

"All right." Will replied. He called Marlena.

"Hey, Will, this is kind of a bad time. Can I call you back?" Marlena asked.

"Sorry. I'll make this quick: I told Paul John went missing." Will admitted.

"You what?!"

"I didn't think about whether or not you wanted him to know that. I'm sorry." Will replied hastily. Marlena exhaled sharply. "I told him you guys were at the hospital. Are you still there?"

"No. No, I'm at home, actually." Marlena replied. "Thank you for the heads-up."

"You're welcome. And I'm sorry, again."

"Don't worry about it. I'll call you as soon as John is safe and sound." Marlena replied.

"Okay. Love you."

"Love you, too. Bye." Marlena hung up, sighed, and called Paul, and his phone went to voicemail. "Hey, Paul, I know you're looking for me- Will told me- I am at home now. So…come on over, and we'll talk."

XXX

Later that evening, Will sat cross-legged on his bed, staring at his phone. It was getting late, and he still hadn't heard anything from Marlena about John. What is going on? Sonny crawled into bed next to him.

"You know, a watched phone never rings." Sonny said.

Will sighed heavily. "I know. Why hasn't Grandma called me yet?"

"Will, you need to relax. All this worrying is not good for the baby." Sonny rubbed Will's arms.

Will gently rubbed his belly. "I know. I'm sorry. I just…we just barely went through something like this a month ago and then earlier today, and…" Sonny began massaging Will's shoulders in an attempt to calm him down. "Mm. That feels good. Keep doing that." Sonny continued massaging Will's shoulders until he fell asleep.

XXX

The next morning, the husbands woke up and made their way downstairs for breakfast. Gabi had left a note.

_"Gone to breakfast with Ari and JJ."_

"Well, at least we know where _Gabi_ is." Sonny deadpanned.

Will chuckled dryly. "Yeah."

They ate breakfast and got ready for the day. Then they finally heard from Marlena.

"Grandma! Hey, did they find John?" Will asked.

"Yes. He's all right." Marlena replied.

"Oh, hold on. Sonny's with me. I'm gonna put you on speaker." Will pulled the phone away and put it on speaker.

"Hey, Marlena." Sonny greeted.

"Hi, Sonny." Marlena replied. "It turns out John was held at the same warehouse Ari and I were held. Steve and Rafe figured it out, and I followed them."

"Wait- what?" Will exclaimed, aghast. "You just got away from that place, and you went back?!"

"I couldn't lose John again. I had to help." Marlena said. "What would _you_ have done in my place?"

Will was about to protest, but then sighed. "I would have done the same. Sorry. Continue."

"Well, we finally found John in this large, darkened room held at gunpoint by two goons and- get ready for this- John's father." Marlena revealed.

"His father? Wait, I thought he died?" Will asked.

"Nope. He survived his wounds, made his way to China, and reinvented himself." Marlena explained. "He felt that the army betrayed him, and that caused him to have an extreme hatred for Western society and culture. He later developed Topits disease. A more advanced stage, and he also had a blood disorder. Power-mad and consumed with hatred, he kidnapped me and Ari to draw John and Eduardo out, which worked. Eduardo took a bullet for Rafe- he's fine, by the way. Then they used the shootout as a distraction to get John. He wanted John's blood to rejuvenate himself. Then they kidnapped Paul in order to brainwash him to take Yo Ling's- John's father- place. Make him an assassin."

Will exhaled sharply, then remembered his run-in with Paul. "Oh my God…I was with him before he was kidnapped. He was headed to the hospital. If I had gone with him-"

"Then you probably would have suffered the same fate." Sonny said.

"Still…"

"Will, there is no way you could have prevented this." Marlena insisted. "Don't beat yourself up."

Will nodded. "Okay. Hey…you said he had Topits? Was _he_ the one who wanted the serum so bad?"

"Most likely." Marlena replied.

Will turned away in thought. He remembered that Andre accused Hope of killing Stefano because she thought he was responsible for Bo's death. If Hope really _did_ kill Stefano…she killed an innocent man for nothing.

"Marlena, is Paul okay?" Sonny asked.

"He's fine. John rescued him before Yo Ling did too much damage to his brain. He's at the hospital getting the drugs flushed out of his system." Marlena replied.

"That's good." Will replied. "Does Brady know?"

"I'm not sure yet." Marlena shook her head slowly. "Your Aunt Belle knows, though. Oh- one other thing I forgot to mention: Yo Ling kidnapped Gabi and Rafe's mother, Adriana. They found her at the warehouse, too."

"Why did they kidnap _her_?" Will asked, confused.

"John says it was probably Yo Ling's backup plan in case things went south with John and Paul." Marlena replied.

"Wait- what was the point in kidnapping you and Ari if he already had Gabi and Rafe's mom and planned on kidnapping Paul?" Will asked. "All he had to do was let John think he was going to let Paul go, then grab him; and show Adriana to Eduardo."

"I honestly don't know, honey. He was beyond crazy." Marlena replied. "Anyway, we no longer have to worry about him, because he took a poison capsule right in front of everybody to avoid getting arrested. He's dead."

Will chuckled dryly. "I hope so for all our sakes including his."

"Well, take comfort in the fact that Bo is kicking his celestial ass." Sonny replied.

Will and Marlena laughed. "Yeah!"

"I'm glad both John and Paul are okay." Will said sincerely.

"Me, too." Marlena smiled. "I gotta go, but I'll talk to you soon."

"Okay. See you." Will hung up and sighed. "Unbelievable how much damage one guy can cause without realizing it."

"Yeah, really." Sonny replied. "If Hope really _did_ kill Stefano, I wonder how she'll take this new revelation."

"Yeah, well…Stefano _has_ caused our family so much pain and torment over the last thirty-four years. It's not _that_ crazy to assume he had Uncle Bo kidnapped and tortured." Will shrugged. "Then…Stefano really _didn't_ do anything to hurt our family since he had my mom sent to prison for something she didn't do."

"Aaand Stefano got punished by _both_ his sons going to prison for murders they didn't commit." Sonny pointed out.

"And getting killed for something he didn't do." Will said. Sonny nodded in agreement.

XXX

Sonny and Will stepped off the elevator to the nurse's station. They saw Gabi with Ari and an older woman and walked over.

"Hey, guys!" Gabi greeted, smiling. She turned to her mother. " _Mami_ , these are my two best friends and the main reasons Ari is here- Will Horton and Sonny Kiriakis. Will is Ari's father."

"Nice to finally meet you, Mrs. Hernandez." Will said, smiling and shaking her hand.

"It's a pleasure to finally meet _you_ , Will." Adriana replied, smiling. She turned to Sonny. "And you. I hear you delivered _mi nieta_ and caused her to breathe."

Sonny smiled modestly and nodded. "I did."

"You know, looking back, that was kind of comical." Gabi laughed softly. Will and Sonny laughed and nodded in agreement.

"I want you both to know I have no issue with the two of you being gay." Adriana said sincerely. "My Gabrilita didn't grow up with a father, my granddaughter is lucky to be raised by two."

Will smiled. "Thanks."

"Gabi also told me she's your surrogate." Adrianna said. "Congratulations."

"Thank you. And we want you to know that Gabi is going to be in our baby's life." Will assured her. "She is going to be our baby's godmother. _Madrina_ , right?"

"Right." Gabi nodded and smiled.

"Oh, _disculpe_ , there is something I must do." Adrianna said. She walked off.

Will waited until she was out of earshot and addressed Gabi. "Does she know about your dad?"

"No, and she's not going to." Gabi glared pointedly at Will. She sobered up. "I am going to visit Paul- did you know he's here?"

"Yeah. My grandma told us." Will nodded. "We'll let you visit him first. We don't want to overwhelm him."

"Okay." Gabi gave Ari to Will. "Sugar Bear, Mami will be right back."

Will turned to his daughter. "Hey, sweetheart. Looks like you have even _more_ family to hang out with, huh?"

XX

After Gabi visited Paul, she relieved Ari of Will. "He's completely coherent, but a little weak. You can go in if you want."

"Okay. Thanks. I will." Will replied. He knocked and opened the door. "Hey."

"Hey." Paul smiled softly from his bed. "I'm popular today."

Will laughed and pulled up a chair. "You're popular _every_ day."

Paul laughed. "Yeah, really…"

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have sent you…well, here." Will said sincerely.

"It's not your fault." Paul shook his head.

"Still, I should have gone with you."

"If you did, you would have been either killed or kidnapped with me." Paul said. "Hey…I'm not going to dwell on this, and neither should you."

Will smiled. "All we can do is move on, right?"

"Right!" Paul smiled back. His smile faded, and his eyes glazed over slightly.

"So, are you okay? Like, really okay?" Will asked, concerned.

"Yeah, yeah. I'm fine, really." Paul insisted. "You were right- family love can save your life."

"Wow, I can't believe you remember that." Will chuckled softly. "I can't imagine what you went through. I think I would have been petrified."

"I was. Petrified, I mean." Paul sighed.

"Really?" Will asked surprised. "It's just…I remember Sonny telling me how you burst into Ben's apartment that night he almost killed me, Chad, you, Sonny, and Gabi. You came in, gun blazing. Then last month, you confronted me, completely aware that I was being watched by Andre's men. It's just that…I thought you'd be…braver."

Paul sighed and nodded. "What has become of us, Will? I mean, we're strong- both physically and mentally. How come we're such wimps when it comes to danger?"

"I don't know." Will shook his head. "I guess…we're so used to protecting other people, we don't know how to protect ourselves."

"Seems legit." Paul shrugged. He got that sad, far-off look again, which worried Will.

Will stood. "Well, I will let you get some rest."

"Okay. Thanks for stopping by." Paul said.

"You're welcome." Will said. He left the room and met Sonny at the nurse's station. "Well, that was weird."

"Weird, how?" Sonny asked.

Will dragged him to the elevator and stepped inside. "I…don't think Paul is one hundred percent okay."

"That's to be expected. I mean, he was attacked, kidnapped, and almost brainwashed by none other than his evil grandfather." Sonny raised an eyebrow.

"I know, but, it's more than that. He kept getting this far-off, glazed look in his eyes." Will said. He folded his arms.

"So, what are you saying?"

"That he's a little bit brainwashed." Will admitted. He sighed. "I'm probably just paranoid."

"Yeah, wouldn't be the first time." Sonny half-joked, which earned him a punch in the arm from Will. He laughed. "In all seriousness, Will, I wouldn't worry just yet."

"You're right. I really do hope he _isn't_ brainwashed. The last thing we need is an evil Paul Narita running around town." Will said. They both chuckled.


	39. Lost Inheritance

"So, I'm assuming Brady has no idea of the drama that happened yesterday."

Will and Sonny were on their way to the Edge of the Square for Brady's little announcement party. It was Will who spoke.

"Nope. They don't want to cause strain on his heart." Sonny replied.

"Okay. What do you think he's going to announce?" Will asked.

"Either Theresa's pregnant, Brady proposed, or both." Sonny shrugged.

Will smirked. "Ten bucks says it's both."

"Twenty says he proposed." Sonny chimed in.

"You're on!"

XX

It turns out Brady proposed. Sonny and Will clapped with everyone else. Will pulled out a $20 and gave it to Sonny behind their backs. Maggie fainted and everyone fussed over her, but she insisted she is fine.

Will and Sonny headed home and got into bed. "Do you think Aunt Maggie's okay?"

"I'm not sure." Sonny shrugged. "I hope she is."

"Me, too." Will sighed. "I don't think Grandma and John are too happy about the engagement and Uncle Philip and Aunt Belle being together."

"Oh, they totally aren't." Sonny chuckled softly.

"I hope our kids don't torment us by dating people we don't approve of." Will said.

Sonny chuckled again. "Me too, baby. Me too."

XXX

The next morning, Sonny made breakfast for himself and Will. He was almost finished when his phone rang.

"Hey, Dad. What's up?" Sonny asked.

"Your Uncle Victor and Maggie are both in the hospital." Justin answered.

"What?!"

"Maggie had a bad fall and then later, Uncle Vic had a heart attack."

"Oh my God." Sonny exhaled. "Are they okay?"

"Maggie is in surgery right now- her back is broken, and Uncle Vic had surgery last night. He is…not doing so well." Justin replied, a little choked up.

Sonny shuddered slightly and blinked away tears. "We'll be there soon."

"Okay. Bye."

Sonny took a deep breath and wiped away tears as Will padded into the kitchen. "Hey...what's wrong?"

"It's Uncle Victor and Maggie. They're both in the hospital." Sonny said, his voice shaking. "Maggie had a bad fall and Uncle Vic had a heart attack. He's not doing so well."

"Oh." Will pulled him into a hug. "It's okay. They'll be okay. Especially Victor. He's too stubborn to die."

Sonny chuckled. "Yeah…"

XXX

Sonny and Will stepped off the elevator and walked over to Justin, Philip, Brady, and Theresa, who were getting coffee.

"Hey, how's Uncle Vic and Maggie?" Sonny asked.

"Maggie is just coming out of anesthesia, and Uncle Vic is resting." Justin replied.

"I'm going to visit Aunt Maggie." Will said to Sonny.

"Okay. I'm going to visit Uncle Vic." Sonny replied. "Say hi for me."

"I will." Will walked off.

"I'm gonna get something from the cafeteria." Theresa said. She turned to Brady. "Do you want anything?"

"No thanks. I'm good." Brady replied. He waited until Theresa was in the elevator before turning to Justin and Philip. "I can't _believe_ this is happening right now."

"Yeah, I know. Especially after what happened with your dad-"

"Hey! Why don't we go somewhere more private?" Sonny interrupted Philip. They headed to the waiting room. Sonny pulled Philip aside. "Brady still doesn't know what happened to his dad and Paul. Keep it on the DL."

"Oh…sorry." Philip replied.

They all made it to the waiting room. Sonny turned to Justin. "Dad, what _exactly_ happened to Uncle Vic and Maggie last night?"

Justin took a deep breath. "All I know is that Maggie fell down the stairs and a couple hours later, Uncle Vic had a heart attack in our living room."

"Was he alone?" Asked Philip.

"No, actually, Deimos and Kate were there, too." Justin replied.

Philip looked shocked, then livid. "Oh, that son of a bitch! _He_ did this!" He started for the door, but Justin stopped him.

"Philip, wait. We don't know exactly what happened last night." Justin said. "Let's not go barging in guns blazing."

"Justin, think about it!" Philip shot back. "Maggie falls down the stairs, Dad has a heart attack, and Deimos is there? How does that look to you?!"

"Kate and I were also there." Justin pointed out.

"You guys don't hate my dad as much as Deimos does." Philip reminded him. "I'm gonna _kill_ that bastard."

"So, what are you going to do? Just flat-out ask him if he hurt Maggie and caused Granddad's heart attack?" Brady asked.

"No. You know what? No." Philip calmed down. "He and my mother are dating. I wonder if we can get her to tell us Deimos' plan."

"She knows Deimos screwed you over. She's not gonna tell you anything." Justin said.

"Oh, I know. But she might tell Will." Philip replied, smiling. He, Justin, and Brady all turned to Sonny, who shook his head.

"Nope. No way." Sonny said firmly. "We are _not_ dragging my pregnant husband into this drama."

"Yeah, I would have to agree with that." Brady jumped in.

"But Will is the only person Kate will listen to!" Philip argued. "Sonny…this is our _family_ we are talking about here."

"You know I will do anything to help our family." Sonny said. "But _not_ at the expense of mine."

"Got any better ideas?" Philip asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Asking Granddad once he's healthy again?" Brady asked, raising an eyebrow.

"He may _never_ be healthy again." Philip lamented.

"Hey, don't say that." Justin said calmly.

"Philip, I'm sorry." Sonny said. "We'll find another way to figure out Deimos' plan. Just not by using my husband. Now, if you'll excuse me, I am going to visit Uncle Vic."

Philip glared after him. "Freaking goody two-shoes."

"What about Lucas? He and Kate are now on good terms, right?" Justin asked.

"Yeah, they are, actually." Philip nodded. "You know what? I'll talk to Lucas instead."

"Good plan." Justin replied.

"Lucas…as in Maggie's nephew?" Brady asked.

"Hey, Will is also Maggie's nephew." Philip pointed out.

"Oh, yeah."

XXX

Meanwhile, Will walked into Maggie's room. Maggie smiled at her nephew. "Hey. You just missed your dad."

"I know. I saw him outside, actually." Will sat down. "How are you doing?"

"Okay. I can't feel my legs, but…that's probably normal." Maggie replied. "How are you doing?"

"Good."

"Are you all ready for your surprise anniversary party for you and Sonny?" She asked.

Will's face fell. He had almost forgotten about that. He had planned a surprise dance party for their anniversary at the Edge of the Square. "Oh, yeah. You know what, I'll cancel that."

"What? Why?"

"Well, I mean…you're in the hospital, and having a dance party when you can't dance, it's just…"

"Hey…just because _I_ can't dance anymore, doesn't mean _no one_ can." Maggie said. "Don't cancel the party because of me. I'll feel terrible if you did."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes. Dance for those who can't." Maggie insisted.

Will smiled, nodded, and leaned over to hug Maggie. "I love you, Aunt Maggie."

"Aw, I love you, too." Maggie replied.

"Oh, by the way…if they have technologies in the '70s to repair your legs, they will _definitely_ have technology now." Will smiled.

Maggie smiled and nodded. "Yeah, I guess that's true."

XXX

Sonny and Will met each other by the elevator. "How's Maggie?"

"Good. I may have given her false hope about there being technology in this day and age to repair her legs, but…" Will shrugged. "How's your uncle?"

"Weak, but as grouchy as ever." Sonny replied. "I saw the nurse come out of the room trying not to cry."

"Wow, he really doesn't like women, does he?" Will asked.

"It was a _male_ nurse." Sonny said.

"Oh." Will nodded. "Did he say anything about what happened last night?"

"I didn't ask him." Sonny shook his head. "He wasn't healthy enough."

"Okay." Will replied. His phone buzzed. "Oh- it's Uncle Philip. He wants to meet with me."

Sonny's eyes widened, and he threw his head back and growled in frustration. "He is _relentless_!"

"What?" Will asked in surprise.

"It's nothing. Just forget it." Sonny shook his head. The elevator opened, and they walked out into the hospital lobby.

Will decided to wait until they were home to ask for more information. "Sonny, it's not nothing. What's going on?"

"I don't want you involved." Sonny said.

"You were involved plenty in _my_ family drama. It's only fair that I get dragged into _yours_." Will raised an eyebrow.

"Will, you're pregnant. You've been through more than enough in the last six months." Sonny said. "This is the _last_ thing you need."

"Why don't you let _me_ be the judge of that?" Will asked, taking Sonny's hands in his. "Sonny…seriously, what's going on?"

Sonny took a deep breath. "Maggie fell down the stairs, and an hour later, Uncle Vic had a heart attack not at the hospital, but in his own living room. And Deimos and Kate were there."

"Okay." Will nodded.

"We want to talk to Kate to see if she knows what Deimos is up to." Sonny said.

Will nodded in understanding. "That's why Philip wants to meet with me. He wants me to talk to Grandma."

"Yeah."

"Then what's the big deal? It's just talking." Will said.

"Deimos could find out and he'll come after you or Ari." Sonny replied.

"Kate won't let that happen." Will insisted.

Sonny exhaled sharply. "You really wanna take that chance?"

"Sonny, after everything you've done to help my family, how could I not help _yours_?" Will asked. "Besides, I have my ways with Grandma Kate. She'll talk."

Sonny hesitated. He really didn't want to put Will's and the baby's lives at risk. But he also wanted to help his Uncle Vic. "I really hope you're right…and that Kate does everything she can to protect you and Philip and your dad."

"She will." Will insisted.

"Okay. You may want to respond to Philip, then. Before he bursts a blood vessel." Sonny said.

XXX

Later that afternoon, Will sat at a table at Club TBD. He called Sonny. "Hey. She'll be here any minute."

"Okay. Thank you for doing this." Sonny said. He sat in his office with Justin next to him and Philip and Brady sitting across from them. "I'm gonna put you on speaker, so try not to hang up."

"Okay. Try not to make noise." Will smirked.

"We won't."

Will spotted Kate walking in. "Ooh. Here she comes." He put his phone in his pocket and smiled at Kate. "Grandma! Hey."

"Hey, Will." Kate sat across from her grandson. "I heard about Maggie. How is she?"

Will sighed dramatically. "Not good, I'm afraid. She'll never walk again…or dance again, which she is completely destroyed over. She was strong when I visited her, but I could just tell she's dying inside."

"Oh, come now. I'm sure she'll find some other hobby to get hung up on." Kate said half-dismissively. "Look at Paul Narita. He can't play baseball anymore, but he found a new job: modeling."

"True. And she doesn't even know of Victor's heart attack, either." Will said. "Her life is pretty much destroyed, and she's been through so much already. Remember my Uncle Mickey? He died of a heart attack. She may lose her second husband the same way."

In Sonny's office, Philip leaned forward eagerly. "Good, Will. Send her on a guilt trip."

Back to Kate and Will, Kate stared at her grandson in surprise. "Wow, you're really worried about your Aunt Maggie, aren't you?"

"Well, yeah." Will nodded. "I mean, losing your nephew-in-law, your son, and almost losing your husband the same way your first husband died, and losing your legs is a lot to go through in such a short time."

"I guess it just surprises me." Kate said.

"What does?"

"I mean, Maggie chose Nick's side over yours when it came to Ari…"

"One mistake does not a bad person-or aunt- make." Will pointed out. "Besides, it was three years ago. The past is in the past." Kate just rolled her eyes. Will continued. "But enough about Maggie. Tell me about _you_. I hear you're dating Sonny's great-uncle Deimos?"

"Yes, I guess you can say that." Kate smiled wide.

"You seem happy."

"Oh, yes. I am deliriously happy." Kate replied. "It's going to be champagne wishes and caviar dreams from now on."

"Why do you say that?" Will asked.

"Deimos is now living in the Kiriakis mansion. He took the mansion and all of Victor's money with him." Kate revealed.

In Sonny's office, Brady's and Sonny's mouths dropped open and they stared at each other in horror. Justin's face set into a grimace, and Philip sat, frozen as if his face stopped working. Brady waved his hand in front of Philip's face. Philip took a deep breath and prepared to scream. Sonny quickly hung up.

Out in in the restaurant, Will and Kate were startled by a scream of rage coming from the direction of Sonny's office.

" _I'LL FREAKING KILL HIM_!" Philip screamed angrily as he charged out of the club. He swung the door open so fast, he knocked someone over. Justin and Brady chased after him.

Kate and Will stood up as Sonny addressed the patrons who had turned around at Philip's outburst. "Sorry about that, everyone. Everything's fine. Go about your business." He ran out the door to follow his dad and cousins.

Kate turned to Will, bewildered. "What was that about?"

Will shrugged. "Couldn't imagine."

XXX

Philip found Deimos in the park off the square. He glared at his uncle, beyond livid. "You took my inheritance."

Deimos grinned. "So, Daddy told you, huh?"

"I will make you _suffer_ for what you did." Philip said in a voice just barely above a whisper. "You not only took everything away from my father and me…you almost ended my father's life."

"That's the price for taking away my freedom, my life for thirty years." Deimos said simply. Justin, Brady, and Sonny caught up to them. Deimos glanced between the four men. "I assume you all have people you care about? If I were you, I'd be really careful about what I do next."

Justin, Brady, Sonny, and Philip all glared at Deimos who simply turned around and walked off.

Brady sighed. "I'm glad my dad and brother and sister aren't related to an evil douchebag like I am." Philip and Sonny avoided eye contact and left in different directions. Brady noticed. "Was it something I said?"


	40. We're Gonna Make It Now

Sonny stretched and yawned as he got out of bed. He headed down to the kitchen to make himself some breakfast and saw Gabi already making breakfast.

"Hey! I was hoping I would get this done when you both were up." Gabi replied, flipping the bacon over.

"What's the occasion?" Sonny asked, sitting down.

Gabi stopped and turned around, surprised. "You and Will."

"Oh, yeah. I know Maggie and Uncle Vic are in the hospital. We're going to visit them later." Sonny replied.

Gabi bit her lip. "Um…Sonny, what's the date today?"

"Oh, hmm." Sonny reached for his phone and turned it on. He saw the date and his eyes widened in horror. It's April 3rd…his and Will's second wedding anniversary and he totally forgot! "Oh my God…"

"What?" Gabi asked.

Sonny ran his hands through his hair. "I forgot…it's just that there was so much drama these last few weeks, and I just…"

"Oh, man. Well, I'm sure Will will understand." Gabi said.

Sonny exhaled sharply. "Maybe he forgot, too."

Just then, Will bounded down the stairs and walked into the kitchen, smiling wide. "Happy Anniversary, my favorite husband."

Sonny chuckled. "I'm your _only_ husband."

"And that's why you're my favorite." Will beamed.

Sonny kissed Will on the lips. "Happy Anniversary."

Will sat on Sonny's lap and wrapped his arms around his shoulders. "I have something very special planned for us tonight."

"Really? Well, then I'm glad my surprise is in the afternoon." Sonny grinned. Gabi raised a questioning eyebrow at Sonny behind Will's back. Sonny ignored her.

"Ooh. Intrigue." Will said. He stood up and sat across from Sonny.

"Gabi made us breakfast." Sonny announced.

"Aw, thanks, Gabi!" Will said.

"You're welcome." Gabi grinned. "I'll leave you to your breakfast."

"This was nice of Gabi." Will replied.

"Yeah. I'm proud of her. She really has matured over the last two years." Sonny replied.

Will nodded in agreement.

XXX

After breakfast, Will spent time with Ari while Sonny got ready for the day. He quickly thought up a plan for Will's anniversary present. Everything was closed today, so he can't buy anything. He got an idea: he did some quick online shopping for monogrammed towels. He finally found one that said "W&S" on it, and ordered it for one-day delivery. It won't arrive until the following Tuesday, but, it's something.

Later that afternoon, Sonny pushed back all the furniture in the living room and set up a romantic picnic. Sonny led Will, covering his eyes, then pulled his hands away. "Surprise!"

"Wow!" Will exclaimed. They sat down on the blanket. "I don't know how I'm going to be able to top this."

Sonny chuckled. "I ordered your present online, but unfortunately it won't be here til Tuesday."

"Okay. You know, I gotta be honest. I thought that with everything that's been going on that you'd forget this was our anniversary." Will admitted. Sonny looked down and closed his eyes. Will's shoulders slumped, but he wasn't upset. "You _did_ forget, didn't you?"

"I'm sorry. It's just that with everything that's been going on…" Sonny let out.

"Hey, hey, hey. I'm not mad." Will said reassuringly. "I understand. Honestly, I forgot, too until Aunt Maggie reminded me."

Sonny chuckled. "Man, so much drama happening lately."

"Yeah, really."

"So…can you give me a hint as to what the surprise is?" Sonny asked, hopefully.

Will grinned. "Well…it has to do with something you told me in passing a couple months ago."

"Seriously?" Sonny asked, bewildered. "Hmm…"

"Also, it's black tie." Will grinned.

"Now what would I have told you that would involve a black tie?" Sonny asked.

"You'll see." Will said cryptically.

"Well, I can't wait." Sonny said.

XXX

Later that evening, Will drove to the Edge of the Square with Sonny in the passenger seat, blindfolded. "All right, we're here."

Sonny took his blindfold off, and Will opened his door for him. "The Edge?"

"Wait for it…" Will grinned. They walked hand-in-hand into the club. Sonny was surprised to see that the club was decorated like a high school prom.

"Will, what…?"

"I remember you telling me that you weren't allowed at your prom." Will explained. "So, I decided to put together a little prom anniversary party."

Sonny was touched and amused. He kissed Will. "You silly romantic."

Will chuckled and they talked and socialized with everyone. They finally sat down at a table with Chad and Abigail.

"Happy Anniversary, you guys." Abigail said, smiling.

"Oh, thank you, Abigail." Will replied. "I'm glad you came."

"Me, too. I needed to take my mind off of certain things." Abigail said. She sipped her drink. "I went to visit Aunt Maggie, too. She is a wreck."

"Well, at least Uncle Victor's okay." Sonny said. "Just as long as he doesn't have another heart attack."

"That's good." Chad nodded. "So, Will, how's your pregnancy?"

Will chuckled. "It's good, actually. The baby's healthy and developing pretty well."

"Do you know what it is, yet?"

"No. Not until next month." Will shook his head.

"You know, I've never met a pregnant dude before. This will be interesting." Chad smiled.

"Yeah. Maybe we can set up a playdate with Thomas and our babies." Will suggested.

"Yeah!" Abigail exclaimed, excited. "This is a great party, Will. A lot better than your _last_ anniversary."

"We shall never mention that anniversary drama ever again." Will said, frowning. They laughed.

They continued talking for a while, then Will stood up and walked to the back where there was a microphone stand.

"Hello, everyone. Can I have your attention, please?" Everyone turned to Will. "My husband and I want to thank you all for coming. And I know that one of our own, my Aunt Maggie is in the hospital, paralyzed, and Victor is also in the hospital because of a heart attack. But, Aunt Maggie told me to dance for those who can't. So, without further ado, this first dance is dedicated to Maggie Kiriakis. I am a good writer, but a terrible singer, but I wanted to dedicate a song to my husband, Sonny. So, my amazingly talented cousin Claire will sing for me. Happy Anniversary, Sonny." Will walked towards Sonny as an acoustic version of the song "Mine" by Taylor Swift started playing. "May I have this dance?"

Sonny smiled widely. "You may."

Everyone watched as Will and Sonny slow danced to the song. Will had told Claire previously to change some of the lyrics from "You made a rebel of a careless man's careful daughter" to "You made a rebel of a careless girl's careful child" and of course, the pronouns. Will and Sonny remembered when they first met, their first kiss, when they started dating, and their fights. Towards the end of the song, both husbands imagined their little family- Ari, two boys, and another little girl- at a lakeside picnic.

Will pulled Sonny close and whispered "I can see it now." as Claire sang the last notes of the song. They kissed as everyone applauded.

"Happy Anniversary, Sonny." Will said.

"Happy Anniversary."


	41. Affected

Sonny woke up to his alarm and stretched. Then he groaned in dread when he remembered what today was: his biyearly appointment with the dentist, also known as D-day. Sonny hates the dentist- the drilling, the splashing on the outside of his mouth, the dentist striking up a conversation when he has a million things in his (Sonny's) mouth…

Will burst into the room. "Rise and shine, Sonny boy!"

Sonny groaned loudly in dismay. "I told you never to call me that!"

Will chose to ignore that, and walked over to his grumpy husband, threw off the covers, and lightly slapped Sonny's butt. "Come on. Up and at 'em."

"Why?" Sonny whined.

"Because your teeth are too beautiful to decay." Will replied.

"That's a new one." Sonny sat up and sighed. "You really think my teeth are beautiful?"

"Yes, of course. Even your fake ones." Will replied.

Sonny got his two missing teeth replaced with fake ones after that drama with Andre. He gently rubbed his chin where they were. "Oh, yeah. I almost forgot about that." Will looked down, guilty. Sonny took his hand. "Hey…don't beat yourself up over it. I'm just another in a long line of victims of the DiMeras."

"Still…you wouldn't have been if not for me." Will said.

Sonny pulled him into a hug. "It's okay."

XXX

An hour later, Will, Sonny, and Ari were walking through the Square to meet up with Gabi, who was out for breakfast with her mom. Ari walked in between her daddies and held their hands.

"Ready, Ari?" Will asked.

"Yeah!"

"One…" Will and Sonny lifted Ari up by her hands and swung Ari back and forth. "Two… three!" They swung her high, causing her to giggle and squeal with glee.

"Again, Daddies. Again!" Ari exclaimed.

"Okay. One…two…three!" Will and Sonny swung Ari again. At this point, they were at the outside café table where Gabi and Adriana were.

"Hey, you three." Adriana greeted.

"Abwela!" Ari greeted and ran to her grandmother's arms.

Adriana picked Ari up. "Oh, how are you, _mi querida_?"

Gabi smiled, stood up, and addressed her friends. "So, what's the plan?"

"I am going to drop Sonny off at his dentist appointment, then I am going to the police station to say goodbye to Uncle Eric, then I will pick Sonny up from his appointment, then we'll be back to pick Ari up." Will said.

"Actually, we're almost done here, so we're just gonna head home." Gabi said.

"Oh. Okay. Even better." Will chuckled softly.

Gabi nodded. "How's your uncle holding up?"

Will's shoulders slumped. "Not good."

"You know, when I went to prison, I felt like I was going to hell." Gabi said.

"Any sage advice I can pass along?" Will asked.

Gabi chuckled softly. "Just tell him to keep his head down, be nice, and he'll be fine."

"Thanks."

XXX

Once Will got to the police station, he got a text message from Sami.

_'Have you seen your uncle, yet?'_

_'I was just about to. I'm in the room now. Grandma, Aunt Belle, Grandpa, John, and Jennifer are all here.'_

_'Where the hell is Brady? And Theresa and Grandma Caroline? They should all be there!'_

_'Maybe they were and I missed them?'_

_'Maybe. How's Uncle Eric looking?'_

_'Like hell.'_ Will noticed Eric sitting on a chair by the window. _'He's alone. Give me one minute.'_

Will walked over to Eric. "Hey, Uncle Eric."

"Hey, Will." He stood up and hugged him. "How are you?"

"You're going to prison, and you're worried about _me_?" Will asked, surprised.

Eric chuckled. "Call it keeping my mind off of where I'm going."

"I'm doing fine. The baby is doing fine, too." Will replied.

"You know…I never knew men can get pregnant." Eric said. "It's almost like a miracle."

"I'll send you pictures. Maybe a video." Will suggested.

"I'd like that." Eric nodded.

Will smiled, and his phone rang. "There's one more person who wants to talk to you. I'll give you guys a minute."

"Thanks." Eric watched Will walk away and answered the phone. "Hello?"

"Hey, Twerp." Sami greeted.

"Sami. Wow, you are the _last_ person I expected to hear from." Eric chuckled softly.

"Will told me everything. How could I not call?" Sami asked. "I'm so sorry this is happening to you. I should have taken you with me when I went on the run."

Eric shook his head. "Sami, take it from someone who knows: paying for your mistakes is a lot better than just running from them."

"I have kids to worry about, Eric." Sami said simply.

Eric just sighed quietly. "So, how is freedom treating you?"

"Great! I have never been happier, actually…" Her voice trailed off.

"At least _one_ of us is." Eric replied. He looked towards his parents. "You know, Mom and Dad are here if you'd like to talk to them."

"Actually, um, I'm running out of minutes. I just wanted a chance to talk to you before you go off to prison." Sami replied.

"Sami…"

"I love you. And I promise, when I get back to Salem one day, the _first_ thing I will do is visit you." Sami replied. "Goodbye."

Eric sighed as Sami hung up. "Goodbye, Sis." He stood up and handed Will's phone back to him. "Thank you."

"You're welcome." Will smiled. "You know, Gabi told me that prison wasn't so bad for her. She kept her head down and she was nice, and she was fine."

"Thanks. Tell Gabi thanks for me as well." Eric said, clapping Will's shoulder.

"I definitely will." Will replied.

Eric said his goodbyes and they all watched as he was lead off. Will felt bad for his grandparents- both their children are criminals and their grandson now wears an ankle monitor.

 _'This is all Ben's fault.'_ Will thought bitterly. _'If he hadn't killed Serena, none of this would be happening.'_

XXX

Will snuck into Ben's hospital room. He had no idea why he was doing this. Earlier, he heard about what happened to Abigail- Ben attacked her and she defended herself by throwing a kerosene lamp at him or something. Ben was wide awake and staring at him.

"Hello, Ben." Will greeted calmly. "So, I was just at the police station watching my uncle go to jail for vehicular manslaughter. He drove drunk. Wanna take a guess at what _started_ his downward spiral? You killed his ex-girlfriend whom he was still in love with- Serena Mason. And as if _that_ weren't enough, you tried to kill his mother- my grandmother, his nephew, nephew-in-law- my husband, who has been _nothing_ but a good friend to you since you first came to Salem, and stepbrother. That wasn't the _only_ life you ruined. You made my cousin lose her mind. She may end up institutionalized because of you."

"She tried to kill me." Ben said.

"Because _you_ tried to kill her and her husband and kidnapped their baby and abandoned him in a motel room." Will said, raising an eyebrow. "Not to mention you killed her brother's ex-girlfriend whom he was still in love with, the midwife who delivered her baby, and tried to kill two of her cousins and her friends. How could you? _How could you_?! We have been _nothing_ but nice to you and your sister, and you repay us by ruining our lives, and for _what_?! Because you were cheated on? Really?! _Andre DiMera_ can come up with a better rationalization for murder! For God's sake, I know your coffee order! I let you play with my daughter!" He scoffed. "Who knew that this seemingly troubled but nice man would turn into this monster?" Will shook Ben's handcuffs. "These won't stop you! Nothing will." He turned off the machines and pulled out a red necktie and wrapping it around his hands.

"You're not going to kill me. You wouldn't kill a human being." Ben said, his voice shaking slightly.

Will scoffed in disbelief. "Please. There isn't a shred of humanity in you." Before Ben could scream, Will had the necktie around Ben's neck and pulled tight. "You shouldn't have come here, Ben. You should have just stayed away!" He pulled tighter. Ben felt his cuff loosen as a chain broke apart. Will let go of Ben's neck causing him to exhale sharply and cough. Will turned the machines back on. "I'd kill you, but…I'm not a complete psychopath like you." He leaned down towards Ben's ear. "Not fun having the life choked out of you, is it?" Ben yanked free of his handcuff and grabbed Will's throat. Will gasped and punched Ben out cold, and flew out of the room and almost ran into a police officer. He cleared his throat. "His chain broke, so I knocked him out so he wouldn't escape." The officer nodded and went into the room. Will sighed heavily and walked to the elevator. "Okay, that went well…"

XXX

Later, Sonny got off work early to visit Victor. After a short visit, he walked past the nurse's station and overheard two nurses talking.

"So, Weston almost escaped again, huh?" One nurse asked.

The other nurse nodded. "Yep. One of his victims- Will Horton, I think- paid a little visit, his cuff broke, and he tried to choke him to death again. The vic escaped, though."

"Man! Talk about a close shave."

"Right?"

Sonny stared in horror.

XXX

Will sat on his couch with a slice of chocolate cake with jam on top. Apparently, strange cravings weren't limited to pregnant women. He heard the door slam open and shut and turned to see an infuriated Sonny storm into the living room.

"Are you _freaking insane_?!" Sonny yelled.

Will shrugged and gestured to his cake. "Hey, don't knock it til you try it."

"You know very well I am not talking about…" Sonny stared at the cake for a second. " _that_! I'm talking about your little visit to a certain serial killer."

"Oh, wow. Word travels fast." Will said nonchalantly.

Sonny's left eye started twitching, and his hands shook. He pointed at Will. "Why?"

"Why does word travel fast?" Will asked.

"Stop that! Stop acting like your little visit isn't a big deal!" Sonny snapped. "For God's sake, Will, he tried to _kill_ you again!"

Will's eyes narrowed and he stood up. "You know what? You're right. I'm sorry. I'm sorry for confronting the monster who ruined several of my families' lives including ours and _then_ punished his cheating fiancée and her lover!"

Sonny was shocked. "You're not _seriously_ throwing Abigail and Chad under the bus."

"I'm not! I'm just saying…" Will sighed and rubbed his eyes. "I just had to get that out of my system."

"By risking your and our baby's lives?" Sonny raised an eyebrow.

Will's shoulders slumped. "I really am sorry."

Sonny sighed and nodded. "How _exactly_ did you escape?"

"I punched him." Will replied.

"You punched him." Sonny repeated. "So...why didn't you punch him that night he attacked you?"

"Hey, I _totally_ would have if he hadn't thrown me across the room into the refrigerator." Will insisted. "And…that night, I wasn't sure how to act. So…I thought of Grandma Marlena."

"Marlena. The _same_ Marlena who had been kidnapped and/or attacked at least once a year for almost forty years now? The _same_ Marlena who was possessed by the devil and accused of being a _serial killer_? _That_ Marlena?" Sonny asked.

"Well, the non-violent, reasonable Marlena." Will sat down. "Since the Marlena Approach didn't work, I tried the Sami Approach- without the screaming, anyway."

Sonny chuckled and sat next to Will. "Well, that sort of worked."

"Can I ask you something, though?"

"Sure."

"Why aren't _you_ more affected?" Will asked. "I mean…you gave him a job when no one else did, you gave him an apartment, you took his side over Chad's, you played basketball with him…and he repays you by trying to kill us, our cousin, my grandmother, and three of our friends."

"Of _course_ I'm affected, Will! Are you _kidding_ me?! I can't go a _single day_ without imagining killing him!" Sonny exclaimed angrily. Will blinked at him, and he calmed down. "I'm sorry."

"No, it's fine." Will shook his head. He smiled, unable to help himself. "What was the best way?"

Sonny chuckled softly. "A combination of what you and Abigail did."

"Ah." Will nodded. "We really are two imperfect souls, aren't we?"

Sonny laughed and pulled Will close. "Oh, yeah." His eyes travelled to the abandoned cake with jam. "Dude, seriously? Cake with jam?"

"Don't ruin the moment, please." Will said.

"Fine."


	42. Meetings

Sonny wiped down the counter, then headed to the back room to punch himself out for his lunch break. His phone buzzed with a text message from Justin.

_"Hey, can you meet me and Brady at the Pub? We need to talk."_

_"Okay. Be there in a few."_ Sonny headed out, and drove to the Pub. Brady and Justin were sitting at a booth towards the back. He sat next to Justin. "Hey."

"Hey. I went ahead and ordered your usual for you. Have you eaten yet?" Justin asked.

"No. Thanks for ordering." Sonny replied. "So, what's going on?"

"I just came back from threatening to press charges against Deimos if he doesn't give everything back to Victor." Justin announced.

"And did he?" Sonny asked.

"Nope."

"Do you think you tipped your hand a bit telling Deimos you could press charges?" Brady asked.

"Well, he already knew we weren't just gonna sit back and let him get away with this." Justin replied. "And now I just learned he's not really worried about a legal challenge."

"Well, he doesn't seem worried about _any_ kind of challenge whatsoever." Brady shrugged.

"No. He's not." Justin agreed. "And he's a Kiriakis. He knows deep down there's going to be some kind of pushback."

"Granddad." Brady guessed. "The heart attack- it was real. I mean, Fynn- Fynn is really worried about him."

"Damn right, it was real." Justin replied.

"I just get the sense that Grandfather is hiding something." Brady said. "'Cause the Victor _I_ know would be _screaming_ to get released out of that hospital room _especially_ if he knew that someone is trying to take over his company."

"I think you're right." Sonny spoke up. "I think he's up to something."

Justin smirked and leaned back. "He wants Deimos to have a false sense of security."

Brady stroked his chin in thought. "You know, right before the Greeks sacked Troy, they said they were giving up."

"Uncle Victor's not giving up." Justin leaned forward. "He's building himself a Trojan Horse."

"Well, I'm glad Granddad wants to fight back." Brady said. "I'm just concerned that at this point in time, he may not be a match for Deimos."

Justin nodded in agreement. "He's broke, he's in the hospital, he's worried sick about Maggie."

"So…so Deimos just gets away with this?" Brady frowned.

"Well, Victor _did_ tell us specifically to stand down." Justin pointed out.

"Like _he'd_ ever obey an order like that?" Sonny smirked.

Brady shook his head. "I don't like the idea of Deimos thinking he can just screw with my grandfather and get away with it."

Justin smiled in spite of himself. "I don't like him acting like he's the new head of the family."

"I don't like him at all." Sonny chimed in.

"I think he needs to be taught a lesson." Justin said.

"I agree. I think he needs his Greek ass kicked." Brady said. Sonny nodded in agreement.

"And we're just the Greeks to do it." Justin said.

"The only way to take down a Kiriakis is a Kiriakis." Sonny commented.

Brady pointed at Sonny. "I like that. That is deep." He took a sip of his drink and sighed. "This should be interesting." He shook hands with Justin and Sonny.

"Now, if we're going to do this, we have a set a few ground rules." Justin said. "First of all, no violence and no breaking the law. Okay, _Brady_?"

"Okay. Yeesh. Call me crazy, but I actually _don't_ want to be behind bars while my son grows up." Brady said.

"Good. Just making sure." Justin smiled.

Sonny nodded. "Second- we don't involve our families. Theresa, Tate, Will, and Ari will be left out of this and kept safe."

"I agree." Brady nodded. "Hey, shouldn't Philip and Shawn be included in this?"

"Philip messed up one too many times." Justin replied. "He gave the serum that his brother, Bo, died trying to protect to Deimos."

"And Shawn doesn't identify himself as a Kiriakis." Sonny nodded.

"Okay, then. It's up to us." Brady said, determined.

"I'll keep you two posted." Justin replied. "All right, I need to get back to work."

Sonny moved out of the booth to let Justin pass. "Hey, Dad, you're welcome to stay with me and Will since Deimos kicked you out."

Justin smiled and clapped Sonny's shoulder. "That's very kind of you. But, I'm fine. I'm actually renting a penthouse apartment near the courthouse."

"Oh. Okay." Sonny smiled.

"I'd invite Uncle Vic and Maggie to stay with me, but, it's not wheelchair accessible, unfortunately." Justin shrugged. His phone rang. "I'll see you guys later." He walked away and answered his phone.

Sonny sighed and sat back down. "So…has there ever been a Kiriakis Civil War before?"

Brady laughed softly. "No, there hasn't. Actually, I think the closest we've been to one is when Philip and Shawn fought over Belle, then Claire's paternity issue and Granddad taking Philip's side over Shawn's."

"Which is why Shawn doesn't consider himself a Kiriakis." Sonny nodded in understanding.

"Exactly." Brady nodded. "Now, about Granddad's and Maggie's living situation…"

"Well, I'd invite them to stay with me and Will, but, Will and Uncle Vic may end up killing each other." Sonny said. They both laughed softly.

"Guess they'll have to stay with me, then." Brady said.

XXX

"Hello?" Gabi walked through the square and answered her phone.

"Hey, Gabi, it's Nicole." Nicole replied. It sounded like she was driving. "I have been distracted these last few days, but, I wanted to let you know that my lawyer is working on getting you and Paul out of your contract with Kate. It should be done within a week or so."

"Oh. Awesome! I'll relay the message to Paul." Gabi replied. "We actually have a meeting with Kate at the café in a bit."

"Okay, well….wait until everything has been finalized before you give her your two-week notice."

"I will. Thanks!'

"You're welcome. Bye." Nicole hung up.

Gabi put her phone back in her purse and spotted Paul at a table at the café. As she walked towards him, she noticed that he has that far-off look in his eyes. "Paul?"

Paul jumped slightly, snapping out of his trance. "Gabi. Hey."

"Sorry. I didn't mean to scare you." Gabi said, sitting down.

Paul shook his head. "Don't worry about it. So…" he cleared his throat. "do you know what this meeting is about?"

"No." Gabi shook her head. "I wonder, though…does she know Nicole and Theresa offered us jobs?"

"Well, I _hope_ not." Paul replied. "At least, not yet."

"Oh- speaking of, I just got off the phone with Nicole. Everything should be finalized within the week." Gabi smiled.

"Great!" Paul smiled and chuckled. He sighed. "Remind me again why we started working with her?"

"Well _I_ started working for her because I love modeling." Gabi shrugged. "I also stupidly thought she would go easy on me since I'm Arianna's mother. I guess our little team-up a couple years back meant nothing to her."

"'Team-up'?" Paul questioned.

"Long story short: I thought I killed my ex-husband, and Sami and Kate helped me dump him in the river and cover it up." Gabi replied.

Paul was stunned. "Wow."

"Yep. Nick wanted to take me and Ari away from Will and Sonny because they are gay." Gabi explained. "I didn't realize until too late how insane he was. I snapped and shot him three times."

"And that's why you were in prison for a year." Paul guessed.

Will walked by and noticed Gabi and Paul sitting together and talking. He was about to approach them, when…

"Yep." Gabi nodded. "I would have thought she'd be indebted to me, since I got rid of the guy who was making her grandson's life a living hell!"

"Yeah, you'd think." Paul nodded. "I mean, 18-hour days and uncompensated overtime work seems like a poor way to repay you."

Gabi chuckled humorlessly. "Yeah. You know, if I didn't know better, I'd say Kate is trying to keep me away from my daughter, and I don't know _why_. I have been _nothing_ but nice and respectful to her other than complaining about that potholder dress. I have been nothing but a good friend to Will and Sonny, and a great mother to Ari if I may say so myself."

Will fumed. How could Kate do this? She had _no right_!

"You have." Paul assured her. "Honestly, I'd say you and my mom would tie for first place in the mothering department."

Gabi blushed. "Thanks. You're sweet. You didn't know me a few years ago, though. I was selfish, I was naiive, and immature…I was stupid and practically enabled Nick."

"But you're different now. That's what's important." Paul said. "People should focus on who you are _now_."

Gabi scoffed lightly. "Tell that to Kate. I'd hate to see what she'd do if she found out Ari got kidnapped again and _why_."

"She shouldn't blame you for that." Paul said.

"I know. I mean, Lucas knows, but, he hasn't told her." Gabi sighed. "At least I hope not."

"I'm sure Will and Sonny will stand by you." Paul said.

"I know they will." Gabi nodded. "They've long since forgiven me for being such a horrible friend." She laughed softly. "You know, I remember telling Sonny that having Will's baby is something he'll never have, and, well…" She gestured to her stomach.

"The difference a few years make." Paul nodded.

"Yeah, really."

Paul was about to say something when Kate walked over to them and set her binders on the table. "Sorry I'm late."

"It's fine." Paul smiled politely.

"So…we have a problem." Kate announced.

"What's wrong?"

"Our fashion show is next week, and for some reason, twice the amount of men's clothes have been delivered." Kate replied. "Since these are fall fashion, and the next fashion show won't be until late fall this year, we can't use the remaining clothes. So, we either have Paul work double-time to model all those clothes, or we hire somebody temporarily."

"You know, I know someone who is looking for part-time work." Paul suggested. "He's tall, thin…"

"That doesn't mean he can model." Kate said. "Just because you sleep with him, doesn't mean he can work with you."

Paul glared at Kate, then stared down at a pen. In a trancelike state, Paul slowly picked up the pen and examined it.

"Paul?" Kate said.

Paul slowly turned to Kate, jumped up, held her head back, and stabbed her in the neck. Gabi jumped up and screamed in horror.

"Paul?" Gabi stared at her friend nervously. He looked like he wanted to kill Kate. She snapped her fingers in front of Paul's face. "Hey! Paul! Snap out of it!"

Paul snapped out of his thoughts, shook his head, dropped the pen back on the table, and cleared his throat. "I'm sorry. I don't know what came over me."

Kate leaned back and folded her arms in suspicion. "What was that?"

"What?" Paul asked.

Kate scoffed and gestured to the pen. " _That_! It looked like you wanted to stab me or something."

"Key word: _looked_ like." Paul replied, covering his mistake.

Will took the opportunity, and came out of hiding. "Hi, guys!"

"Oh, hey, Will. We were just having a meeting." Gabi greeted.

"Oh. What about?" Will asked as he sat down.

"Just the fashion show next week and how we have too many men's clothing to show off, and not enough models." Kate replied.

"I'll volunteer." Will spoke up.

Paul just stared at him. "Seriously?"

"Yeah! Why not? You guys don't have enough male models to show off the clothes, and how hard can modeling be? All you do is walk down the catwalk and strike a few poses." Will smiled.

Kate nodded. "True. All right, then. You're hired."

"Awesome!" Will grinned.

Kate smiled. "Terrific. If you can convince Sonny to join up, that would be even better."

"I'll try." Will promised.

"Fantastic!" Kate closed her binder and stood up. "I'll e-mail you the details. Try not to gain weight."

"Grandma, you know I'm pregnant and I need to eat, right?" Will raised an eyebrow.

"Oh. Well, don't eat more than you need to." Kate shrugged and walked off.

Will huffed and shook his head. "Does she ever fat shame you guys?"

"Me, once." Paul waved. "I responded by lifting up my shirt and pounding my chest three times."

"Did it hurt?" Will asked.

"Like hell." Paul nodded. He stood up. "Well, I'm gonna go. See you guys later."

"See you." Gabi watched Paul walk off, concerned.

"Gabi?" Will touched her arm.

Gabi snapped from her thoughts, looked around to make sure no one was listening, and leaned forward. "It happened again."

"What?" Will whispered.

"Paul got that look in his eyes. You know, that creepy look?" Gabi whispered. "He picked up a pen and looked like he wanted to kill your grandmother with it."

Will exhaled slowly. "Oh, man. Do you think he still might be brainwashed a little?"

"Maybe." Gabi shrugged. "I mean, last week, I saw someone bump into him, and Paul glared back at him like the guy did it on purpose. You know, I'm just worried that if someone physically attacks Paul, he'll end up killing his attacker."

"It'd be self-defense, though." Will pointed out.

"It doesn't matter." Gabi sighed. "Taking a life…it is not something I would wish on anyone, personally."

"Gabi, what did Kate say to make Paul consider _killing_ her?"

"She accused him of wanting this guy he's friends with to model with him because he's sleeping with him." Gabi replied. "He's not, by the way."

Will nodded. "Tell you what: I will talk to Grandma Marlena, I'll tell her what you just told me. She's had experience, and she knows…well, everything."

"Okay." Gabi nodded. "I just don't want my modeling partner to become a soldier puppet."

Will chuckled. "Neither do I."

XXX

About twenty minutes later, Will was at Marlena's door. "Will! Hi, come on in!"

"Hi, Grandma." Will walked into the apartment.

"So, to what do I owe this great pleasure?" Marlena asked.

"It's about Paul." Will said.

Marlena was surprised. Will got past his animosity towards Paul…didn't he? "You and Paul seemed friendly last time I saw you two together."

"We are." Will insisted. "I mean, we're not Claire and Ciara-level friends, but we're not Shawn and Philip, either."

"Oh. Well, that's good." Marlena said.

"The thing is, I ran into Gabi earlier, and she told me that Kate accused him of wanting his friend to work with him because they're sleeping together, and Paul picked up a pen kind of trancelike, and looked like he wanted to kill Kate."

Marlena took a deep breath, and massaged her forehead. She had hoped the brainwashing wouldn't take effect. Were she and John crazy or stupid to think he wasn't affected? "All right. Thank you for telling me. I'll talk to John, and we'll figure out what to do next."

Will nodded. "Okay."

XXX

Will sat at the bar at club TBD. Sonny brought him herbal tea. "So, how was work?"

"Fun. But not as fun as what happened after." Will replied.

"Uh-oh. What happened?" Sonny asked, leaning forward against the bar.

"Basic Black ordered too many clothes, and there's not enough male models to show the men's clothing line off. So…I volunteered…" Will said.

"…both of us?" Sonny asked nervously.

"Oh, come on, Sonny! It'll be fun!" Will beamed. "We get to wear expensive clothes and show them off."

Sonny groaned and threw his head back. "Will, I'm not exactly model material here."

"Neither am I." Will shrugged. "But, come on. Grandma needs help. It's just one night, I promise."

Sonny sighed quietly. It would be kind of fun. "Okay, fine."

"Really?" Will asked.

"Yes. When is the show?"

Will beamed and kissed his husband. "I knew you'd agree."

"The things I do for you, I swear…"

"I'll pay you back!" Will exclaimed.

"You better." Sonny smirked, caressing Will's face, and walked away.

Will smiled in satisfaction and pulled out his laptop. He Ewe searched "Men's Fashion Don'ts". He felt Kate was responsible for everything that's happened in the last year and a half- EJ's attempted murder, Sonny's stabbing, the Necktie Killings, Abigail going crazy…

He didn't care that Kate is his grandmother- she is going down!


	43. Muffins And Meltdowns

Gabi headed upstairs to the main floor when she heard the doorbell ring. A man in a delivery uniform stood on the porch. Ten boxes sat around his feet.

"Delivery for Gabi Hernandez." The delivery man said.

"I'm Gabi Hernandez."

"Great. Sign here, please." The man handed her a clipboard and a pen.

"Um, I didn't order anything." Gabi replied.

"It's already paid for. She wouldn't tell me her name, but she told me to also give you a note." The man handed her an envelope.

Gabi huffed quietly. "Okay. Well, what are they?"

"Ten boxes of cinnamon blueberry muffins." Gabi's eyes widened. The man continued. "The lady who ordered this also said you were pregnant, so, I'll just bring these in for you."

"…The kitchen in straight ahead." Gabi replied, lamely, pointing to the kitchen. The man brought in all the boxes and left. Gabi sighed and opened the note. "'Dear Gabi, I remember when you were pregnant with Ari, you craved these, and Rafe got beaten into a coma, which resulted in several murders and attempted murders over the next two and a half years. I figured if I sent you some, it would be safer. –S.D.' 'S.D.'?" She exhaled sharply, and threw her arms down in anger. "Freaking. Sami." She crumpled up the note and stormed into the kitchen muttering angrily in Spanish.

XX

Sonny walked into the house and towards the kitchen when he heard loud rustling and Gabi cursing in Spanish. "Gabi?"

" _Que_? I mean, what?" Gabi snapped.

"Um…" Sonny noticed the boxes of muffins. "What is all this?"

"Your monster-in-law thought it would be funny to send me cinnamon blueberry muffins to avoid what happened the _last_ time I craved these while I was pregnant!" Gabi replied, throwing the empty box off the table. "As if I had _any_ control of my cravings."

Sonny threw his head back and sighed. "Dammit, Sami."

"That's it! I'm never doing another good deed again!" Gabi cried.

"Wait- what?" Sonny asked, confused.

"I killed Nick. Sami and Kate of all people didn't think that was a good deed?" Gabi asked. "I killed the person who made Will's- and your- life a living hell. The guy who was going to take Ari away from you. And how do they repay me? Well, Kate repays me by making me work overtime, uncompensated after giving me a hypocritical lecture about working so much that I would only tuck Ari in at night, and kiss her goodbye in the morning! Or was that Sami? Anyway, Sami repays me by rudely reminding me of one of the biggest indirect mistakes I ever made in my life!" She took a bite of a muffin, then showed it to Sonny. "Stress eating! Because of Sami!" She stormed off. "Oh, this is good!"

Sonny just stared after Gabi as Will walked in. "Okay, what'd Sami do now?"

"She sent Gabi ten boxes of cinnamon blueberry muffins to prevent what happened last time she craved these while she was pregnant." Sonny explained. "Rafe got beaten into a coma, then Jordan was hired as his physical therapist…"

Will smiled, nodded, pulled out his phone, and texted Sami. _"Are you going to upset Gabi every freaking time she's pregnant?!"_

 _"Oh, good. She got the muffins, I assume?"_ Sami replied back.

 _"Yes. I'm guessing it's not a thank you present for killing Nick."_ Will replied.

_"Um…Nick died like, 2 years ago…"_

Will sighed. _"This is your final warning: Do not upset Gabi, or so help me, I will turn state's evidence!"_

_"Oh, right, I forgot: you care about your friends and husband more than your own mother. My bad!"_

_"This isn't about that! She is carrying my child- your grandchild."_

_"Okay. Fine. How about I just never make contact with her?"_

_"Great! Thanks!"_

"Well, at least she didn't go into false labor this time." Will said.

"Yeah, really…"

XXX

"So, just act like he won?"

Sonny and Will drove to the fashion show. Justin called Sonny to give him an update on Deimos.

"Exactly. Once we've bided our time, we'll go all Trojan horse on that bastard." Justin replied.

"Sounds like a plan." Sonny nodded. "What is the Trojan horse?"

"We're still working on that." Justin admitted. "But, if you have any suggestions, please let me know."

"I definitely will. Later, Dad." Sonny hung up.

"So, what's this "Trojan horse" you are talking about?" Will asked.

"We're still working on that." Sonny answered.

"Oh. Okay. Just as long as it's not dangerous." Will replied.

"It won't be. I promise." Sonny assured him.

XXX

The fashion show was underway. Everyone was dressed in fall fashion. Kate pulled Will aside.

"Hi, sweetheart. I just wanted to thank you again for doing this." Kate said, smiling. "You really saved my bacon."

Will smiled back. "Sure. No problem."

"Well, look sharp out there." Kate chuckled. "Excuse me."

Sonny walked up to Will, wearing a black button down shirt and gold and black pattered pants. "Hey. How do I look? It's not too flamboyant, right?"

"No. Not if you're going to a party." Will replied honestly. They laughed.

"Well, you look pretty handsome yourself." Sonny put his arms around Will's shoulders and pulled him close. "I'm glad you talked me into this. This is going to be fun."

"It sure is." Will smiled and kissed Sonny on the lips.

XXX

Upbeat music played as the models began walking down the runway. Will did an exaggerated strut down the runway and then made an exaggerated pose and facial expression. He caught sight of Kate in the back, who raised her hands and lowered them.

"Tone it down." Kate mouthed silently. Will ignored her, and strutted back.

Gabi walked down the runway wearing a spaghetti strap dress. When she got to the end, she turned, put her hand on her hip, and the strap broke. Gabi took it in stride and flipped her hair over her shoulder as she turned back to cover it up. Another model slid to the opening in a tight tube dress, put her hands on her hips, and unknowingly pushed the dress down, flashing the audience! She only noticed when someone called out "Nice rack!" She looked down, gasped in horror, covered herself up, and ran back, crying. Another model laughed at her co-worker's humiliation, calmed down, and started walking down the runway, and her heels broke. She stumbled, quickly took off her shoes, and finished walking up and down the runway.

It was now Paul's turn. He walked down the runway in light yellow slacks and a light blue button-down shirt. Gabi gasped as she noticed a brown stain on the seat of Paul's pants. When Paul walked back, Gabi whispered. "Check your butt. It looks like you pooped yourself."

"What?" Paul turned his torso around and noticed the stain. He groaned and muttered in Japanese as he stormed off.

Sonny walked down the runway wearing a suit. When he got to the end, he buttoned his suit jacket, and the button fell off. He caught it and held it against the jacket to cover that up.

"The hell is going on?" Kate muttered. Will then walked down the runway wearing a purple shirt, neon green pants with bright orange suspenders, and a neon pink bowtie. "What the hell? That wasn't on the set list!"

The models came walking out with clothes that were ripped, and hand holes and/or stains on them. Kate folded her arms and fumed. Someone is sabotaging her fashion show. But who? And why?

The models came out in their last set of clothes. Once it was Will's turn, the music stopped with a record scratch, the lights dimmed, and "I'm Too Sexy" by Right Said Fred started playing. Will walked to the opening, covering his body with a blanket. He threw the blanket aside revealing nothing except for gold shorts. He strutted down the runway and shook his butt, then walked back up. Sonny was at the opening with his hand over his eyes in dismay, Gabi had her hands over her mouth, and Paul's hands flew to his face.

XX

After the show, Will got dressed, and Sonny stormed through his dressing room. "What the hell was that?"

"What was what?" Will asked innocently.

"You know damn well what!" Sonny snapped angrily. "You _really_ didn't think I'd figure it out?! You sabotaged the fashion show! Gabi is carrying our baby; she, Paul, and I saved your life! _This_ is how you repay us?!"

Will took a deep breath. "I'm sorry you guys all got caught in the crossfire."

"Of _what_? What is your angle here?" Sonny asked.

Will just stared at Sonny and sighed.

XX

"Okay, what the hell just happened out there?"

Gabi and Paul hung out in the lounge. It was Gabi who asked that question.

"I don't want to sound paranoid, but, I think Will purposely sabotaged the fashion show." Paul replied.

"Why?" Gabi asked.

Paul shook his head. "No idea."

Kate stormed into the lounge, fuming. She spotted Gabi and Paul and stormed over to them. "Okay! What the hell did you do to my grandson?"

"Excuse me?" Paul asked.

"Kate, we didn't do anything to Will." Gabi said, honestly.

"Really? 'Cause he wouldn't sabotage an important event- humiliating me, himself, his husband- unless someone did something to him." Kate replied, folding her arms. "So, fess up." Kate turned to Gabi. "Did you threaten to take Ari and the baby away from him? Hmm?"

"No! I would never!" Gabi exclaimed.

Kate turned to Paul. "What about you? Did you threaten to steal Sonny away again?"

"I'm over Sonny. That ship has sailed." Paul assured her.

"Well, you must have done _something_." Kate shrugged.

"Really, Grandma? That's your only theory?" Kate turned around to see Will glaring at her.

Kate scoffed. "Well, what other explanation is there?"

"You." Will said simply.

Kate scoffed again. "Well, I can't think of anything I did to you except love you, give you gifts, make sure you were in your daughter's life…"

"Yeah, I'll admit- you do have your moments of kindness and selflessness…rarely." Will replied.

"Okay, what are you talking about?" Kate asked, getting a little irritated.

"Do you even acknowledge your part in everything that's been happening in the last two years?" Will asked.

" _My_ part?" Kate asked, exasperated.

"Yeah. Let's see: you hired a physical therapist for Rafe, then proceeded to do a witch hunt on her out of jealousy. Obviously you didn't research thoroughly since it wasn't _her_ that was evil, it was her stepfather and brother." Will said. "Clyde Weston proceeded to try to take over Salem, killing some of Victor's employers, running a drug ring, tried to kill my husband, _and_ threatened me! Then, his son killed three innocent people and tried to kill seven others including me, my husband, my cousin, my grandmother, and three of my friends! My cousin was institutionalized! And as if that weren't enough, you make Gabi work so hard that she barely sees Ari!"

"I didn't know all that was going to happen, okay? That wasn't my fault!" Kate snapped.

Will nodded. "And having Gabi work overtime uncompensated? That wasn't your fault either?"

Kate scoffed and shook her head. "That is business, Will. All modeling companies do that."

"So…you're not trying to keep the mother of my child away from said child?" Will asked.

"No!"

"Good. Because she has been nothing but a great mother to Ari and a great friend to me and Sonny." Will replied. "She also helped save my life and is carrying a baby for me and Sonny."

Kate nodded. "And you repay her by humiliating her onstage?"

"This isn't about Gabi- this is about you." Will snapped. "You have no remorse for what you caused."

"Why _would_ I? It's not my fault!" Kate snapped back.

"Maybe you didn't _actually_ do the deeds…but you set the stage for that." Will replied.

Kate scoffed quietly and shook her head. She could not believe her grandson did this to her. "You know what? Fine. You win. Oh- um…by the way, speaking of not doing research: Deimos now owns Basic Black. He folded it into Titan. So I _really_ hope you didn't just make the same deadly mistake you think I made." She turned to walk away, then turned back. "Oh- and also, a little protip or whatever you kids call it these days: if you want to destroy someone, make sure no one else gets thrown under the bus or humiliated."

Will raised his eyebrows. "You mean like _you've_ done?"

Kate just shook her head and stormed off. Will turned to see Gabi glaring at him. Gabi slapped Will across the face, then pointed to him. _"No me gusta."_ She stormed off. Paul just shook his head at Will, then walked off. Will turned to Sonny, who glared at him.

"Don't look at me. Don't speak to me, don't even look like you're _about_ to speak." Sonny said angrily, then stormed away. Will sighed and followed Sonny.

XXX

They were silent on the way home. Once they made it to the living room, Sonny was near tears of frustration. He turned around to face Will. " _Why_?"

"I already explained why." Will answered calmly.

"No….I mean why did you have to hurt me and our friends in order to hurt Kate?" Sonny asked. "You could have left us out of it! God! Why does this always happen? Why do people just not care what others do for them out of kindness?" He turned back around and put a hand to his mouth to muffle his sobs.

Will was surprised at his husband's mini meltdown. Where was this coming from? Then it occurred to him. "This isn't just about what happened earlier, is it?" Sonny sniffed and shook his head. "Is this about Ben? You feel like he betrayed you. Also everything that happened with me, Chad, and Gabi." Sonny didn't respond. Will walked around and cupped Sonny's face in his hands, brushing his tears away. "Sonny…I am so sorry. You need to know that Gabi, Ari, and I really _do_ appreciate you. And we are eternally grateful for everything you've done for us. You really _are_ the best thing that's ever been mine."

Sonny chuckled softly and smiled. "Thank you. And…despite everything…you have given me the best years of my life." He pulled Will into a kiss and they hugged. "I love you."

"I love you, too."


	44. My Husband, My Brother

The next morning, Will walked into the kitchen and spotted a note on the table. "'Off to a photoshoot. I will pick up Ari later to take her to Rafe's to have lunch with mi familia.' Okay, then. Guess I'll apologize later."

The doorbell rang. "I'll get it!" Sonny called as he bounded downstairs. He opened the door. "Hi!"

"Sonny Kiriakis?"

"Yes." Sonny nodded.

The delivery man stepped aside to show Sonny and Will a boxed up swing set. "Is this what you ordered?"

Sonny looked it over carefully. "Yep!"

"All righty. Sign here." The man gave him a clipboard.

"Um…Sonny? What is this?" Will asked.

Sonny ignored Will and turned to the deliverymen. "Thank you. I will show you where to put it." They all headed to the backyard.

"You sure you can put this together?" The man asked.

"Oh, yeah. And I'll have help." Sonny nodded.

"Okay, well, enjoy." The deliverymen left.

Will looked at the boxes closely. "You bought Ari a swing set?"

"Yeah! Figured she's now old enough to enjoy it, so…" Sonny beamed.

Will nodded. "Well, I feel cheated. All I got her was a children's book."

"I'm sure she'll love that, too." Sonny assured him.

"So, who's helping us put this together?"

"Your dad and Shawn." Sonny replied. "Speaking of which, I better text them."

XXX

Lucas and Shawn arrived just after lunch. The four of them set the swing set up in just under two hours.

"All right, I think that's good." Sonny said, stepping back to admire their work. The swing set had two swings and a seesaw, and attached to the side, a slide with a mini rock climbing wall.

Will studied it with hesitance. "I don't know about that rock climbing wall, though."

"Babe, come on. It's not even that high." Sonny rolled his eyes.

"Still…"

Lucas and Shawn checked for sturdiness. "Yep, it's definitely ready. Ari's gonna love it!"

"I hope so." Sonny chuckled.

"There might be rain within the next few days, so you guys might want to cover this up." Shawn said.

"Oh yeah. There's a tarp in the garage. I'll go grab it." Sonny ran off.

Shawn's phone rang with a text message. "Crap. I gotta go. Work emergency."

"Okay. Thanks for your help." Will replied.

"Sure, no problem, man." Shawn clapped Will's arm and walked off. "Later, Lucas, Will."

"See ya, Shawn." Lucas waved to him, then turned to the swing set. "You know, I don't think you had one of these."

"I didn't." Will shook his head. "You and Mom were too busy scheming."

"I'm glad Ari's growing up in a stable environment." Lucas said.

"Me, too." Will sighed. "I just wish I could say the same for Allie, Johnny, and Sydney."

"How are they, by the way?" Lucas asked.

"They're good from what I've heard." Will replied, folding his arms.

"So, now that Stefano's dead and Andre's in prison, why don't they come back?" Lucas asked. "Come on, I miss my little girl."

"I know. So do I." Will nodded. "Mom said that she hates Salem."

Lucas scoffed. "Since when?"

Sonny walked up with the tarp. "Hey, where'd Shawn go?"

"Work emergency." Will replied. "Dad and I were just talking about why my mom and the kids won't return to Salem, even though Stefano's dead and Andre's in prison."

"Ah, yes. I believe 'I hate Salem, and I don't want the kids to live there' was her excuse." Sonny nodded.

"Come on, really?" Lucas rolled his eyes. "Well…sure hope Europe is worth it."

"You're not going to do anything?" Will asked, surprised.

"Of course I am. Are you kidding?" Lucas asked. "I hired a lawyer. We're meeting tomorrow."

"Oh, I was gonna say…"

The trio covered the swing set with the tarp and pinned it down, then headed inside. The doorbell rang.

"I got it." Sonny said, heading to the door.

"It's probably your mom. I called her over here. We have something to tell you guys." Lucas replied.

It _was_ Adrienne. They all gathered in the living room.

"So, what did you have to tell us?" Will asked.

Adrienne beamed and showed him an engagement ring on her finger. "Your dad asked me to marry him, and I said yes!"

Will gasped happily while Sonny just stared stunned, but not surprised. "Oh my God!" He laughed and hugged his dad. "Oh, Dad! Congratulations!" He hugged Adrienne. "Oh, welcome to the family."

"Thank you, sweetheart." Adrienne chuckled. They all turned to Sonny, who finally found his voice.

"Congratulations, Mom, Lucas." He hugged them both. "I'm happy for you."

Adrienne could tell something was bothering her son. She turned to Lucas and Will. "Will you guys excuse us for a minute?"

"Yeah, sure." Lucas and Will headed to the kitchen. Lucas sighed and turned to Will. "So you know you're gonna be my best man, right?"

Will had flashbacks of the _last_ time he was asked to be someone's best man and held back a shudder. "Yeah, totally!"

Lucas could tell something was wrong. "What?"

"What?"

"Something's wrong. I can tell." Lucas said.

Will sighed and shook his head. "Okay, I know you would never hurt me or Sonny and Ari, I'm not saying this is you. I just remembered the _last_ time someone asked me to be his best man."

Lucas sighed inwardly. He almost forgot about that. "You know, if this is going to be painful for you, I could always ask your Uncle Steve or Uncle Philip."

"No, look, I'm fine- really!" Will insisted. "Hey…are you gonna ask Ari to be your flower girl?"

"Hell, yes! She'll be okay, right?" Lucas asked.

"Oh, yeah, she will be." Will nodded.

"I also texted your mom to have Allie call me, so…should be any minute now." Lucas pulled out his phone and it rang. "Oh- there she is."

"Put it on speaker." Will said.

"Hey, sweetheart."

"Hey, Daddy!" Allie answered.

"Will's here, too." Lucas said.

"Hey, Will!"

"Hey, Allie-cat!" Will greeted. "How's mom and the kids?"

"They're good! They miss Salem, though- we _all_ do." Allie replied. She paused. "Well, maybe not Mom, but…"

"Well, you should come and visit! We miss you." Lucas replied.

"I know. I miss you guys, too."

"Sweetheart, I have something to tell you." Lucas said.

"Is something wrong?" Allie asked, concerned.

"No, actually, it's just the opposite." Lucas smiled. "I'm getting married!"

"Oh my God, seriously? Wait…to Adrienne?" Allie asked.

"Yeah. Will's gonna be my best man and Ari's going to be the flower girl." Lucas announced.

Allie gasped. "Well, I'll try to make it."

"You better. You're gonna be one of the bridesmaids." Lucas beamed.

"I'll _definitely _make it, then." Allie smiled. "I'll text you my sizes and measurements. When's the big day?"__

__"We haven't decided, yet." Lucas replied._ _

__"Okay, well, just text me. I got a new cell phone. I just called you on it." Allie replied._ _

__"You have a cell phone?" Lucas asked, aghast._ _

__"Yes. E-" Allie was about to say EJ gave it to her, but then stopped herself. She couldn't tell anyone that EJ was alive. " _Ethan_ gave it to me."_ _

__"Ethan, hmm?" Lucas' overprotective nature kicked in. "And who is this _Ethan_?"_ _

__"My new stepdad." Allie lied._ _

__"Wait- your mom's married?" Lucas asked, glancing at Will. "You never mentioned it to me."_ _

__"I'm sorry, I could have sworn I did." Will replied. "Um, she got married last November, right, Allie?"_ _

__"Yeah!"_ _

__"Sonny and I went to visit Mom and the kids when she made that announcement." Will lied._ _

__"Oh." Lucas nodded. "It's just a big thing to not mention…"_ _

__"We're sorry." Will said._ _

__Allie cleared her throat. "Well, I gotta go. I have finals to study for."_ _

__"Okay. It was nice talking to you." Lucas said. "Love you."_ _

__"I love you, too." Allie replied. "Give Ari a kiss for me, Will."_ _

__"I will." Will promised. "Say hi to Mom, Ethan, and the kids for me."_ _

__"I definitely will." Allie promised. " _Auf Wiedersehen_!"_ _

__"Bye." Will and Lucas replied. Lucas hung up and turned to Will. "So…what do you know of this Ethan?"_ _

__"Is someone jealous?" Will teased._ _

__"No, come on, are you kidding?" Lucas asked. "I just wanna make sure he's a good stepfather to Allie, Johnny, and Sydney."_ _

__"He is." Will insisted. "The kids and Mom love him. He adopted Johnny and Sydney. He wanted to adopt Allie, but, you're still alive and no way are you signing away your rights."_ _

__"Damn straight." Lucas nodded. "So, how old is Ethan? What does he look like? What does he do for a living?"_ _

__"He is Mom's age, about six feet, Caucasian, he has chocolate brown hair, sparkling blue eyes, and dimples when he smiles. He has a great sense of humor, and he's the head of security at an art museum." Will lied._ _

__"Oh." Lucas nodded. "Well, I'm happy for them."_ _

__XX_ _

__Meanwhile, Adrienne and Sonny sat on the couch. "Baby, is something wrong? Look, I know you were hoping Dad and I would get back together…"_ _

__Sonny sighed. "Mom, I have long since given up on you and Dad getting back together. I'm well past the point of wanting my parents to be married."_ _

__Adrienne sighed inwardly with relief. "Oh. Then what was the delayed reaction?"_ _

__"It's just…" Sonny sighed. "Look, I care about Lucas. I know he'll be the best husband you could ask for. I'm just worried about _you_. Are you one hundred and ten percent sure you're over Dad?"_ _

__"Yes, I am." Adrienne said firmly. "There will always be a part of me that loves him because of our history. But…I can't do this anymore. Your dad is just so different now. I don't know what the hell happened- maybe it's his job, or maybe it's his Kiriakis genes kicking in full-force- but…I just don't like who he is right now."_ _

__"I know. And to be honest, neither do I." Sonny replied. "Hey…all I want for you is to be happy. I love Lucas. The twins love him…we all agree that Dad has hurt you too many times. Hell, even _Alex_ agrees."_ _

__Adrienne smiled and hugged her son. "Thank you. I love you, baby."_ _

__"I love you, too." Sonny replied. They pulled away. "You know…I've always wondered what it'd be like to have a younger brother."_ _

__Adrienne chuckled. "Well, there's always Johnny- your brother-in-law."_ _

__Sonny nodded. "True."_ _

__Lucas and Will walked back into the living room. "is it safe to come in here?"_ _

__Adrienne laughed softly and stood up. "Yes."_ _

__"So, have you guys told Grandma and Uncle Steve yet?" Sonny asked._ _

__"No. You two are the first to know." Adrienne replied. "And now that you do…we're going to tell our families now."_ _

__"Oh. Well, best of luck with Kate." Will said, smiling._ _

__Lucas laughed. "Yeah, really!"_ _

__"All right. We'll see you guys later."_ _

__"Okay, see you."_ _

__"Bye!"_ _

__Sonny sighed and leaned against the door. "Remember when we joked about being stepbrothers at the Bicentennial?"_ _

__Will chuckled. "Yep. Incestuous Will is confirmed to be true."_ _

__Sonny laughed. "To be fair, we're already married. That kind of cancels the whole stepbrother thing out."_ _

__"My husband, my brother. My husband, my brother." Will quipped, making a reference to the old film Chinatown. They laughed._ _

__XXX_ _

__Adrienne and Lucas met Steve at the Brady Pub. "Hey, little sister, Lucas."_ _

__"Hey. How are things?" Adrienne asked._ _

__"Things are just peachy." Steve replied, taking a swig of beer. "Yourself?"_ _

__"Well…" Adrienne and Lucas smiled at each other, then turned to Steve. "We're getting married!"_ _

__Steve was surprised, but happy. "Seriously? Wow! Hey, congratulations, little sister!" Steve laughed and hugged his sister, then hugged Lucas. "Welcome to the family, little brother-in-law!"_ _

__"Thanks, man." Lucas replied._ _

__"Have you guys told Mom and Vern yet?" Steve asked._ _

__"Nope, we will, though." Adrienne replied._ _

__"We did see my mom and brother on the way here. We'll tell them after we leave here." Lucas replied._ _

__"Awesome." Steve nodded._ _

__"Will is going to be Lucas' best man, and I would love for you to give me away." Adrienne said._ _

__"Hmm. Well, I will need some time to think about that." Steve replied, half-jokingly. Adrienne playfully swatted his arm, causing him to laugh. "I'm totally kidding. Of course I'll give you away."_ _

__"Thanks." Adrienne smiled._ _

__XX_ _

__Later, Adrienne and Lucas headed to the outdoor café where Kate and Philip were having lunch._ _

__"Oh, thank God you're here." Philip said to Lucas. " _Please_ tell Mom to leave Deimos. She listens to you, right?"_ _

__"Who is Deimos?" Adrienne asked._ _

__"Someone whom I hope you never have the misfortune of meeting." Philip replied simply. "My uncle, my dad's younger brother."_ _

__"Justin never mentioned him." Adrienne pointed out._ _

__"That's because he was in jail for 30 years." Philip explained. "He was accused of killing my dad's fiancée. Now he's out and out for blood."_ _

__"And Mom's dating him." Lucas nodded. "Philip, come on. I'd have thought you'd be used to Mom dating criminals."_ _

__Philip exhaled sharply. "Not really."_ _

__"Well, I have something that will take your mind off of things." Lucas cleared his throat. "Adrienne and I are getting married!"_ _

__Kate just stared at her son in shock. "Are you out of your mind?!"_ _

__"Says the woman who's dating yet _another_ criminal." Lucas quipped._ _

__"True." Philip shrugged. "At least Adrienne never killed anyone! Uh…wait…."_ _

__"I _have_ killed someone. But it was self-defense." Adrienne replied._ _

__"Sorry." Philip muttered. He cleared his throat. "Congratulations, you two."_ _

__"Thank you." Lucas replied. "You're gonna be an usher, right?"_ _

__"Oh, totally." Philip nodded. They all turned to Kate._ _

__"I think this is a mistake." Kate said simply. "Lucas, Adrienne cheated on Justin how many times? What makes you think she won't cheat on _you_?"_ _

__"She cheated on Justin to get back at him for cheating on _her_." Lucas said defensively. "You are in _no_ position to talk about infidelity. You cheated on _every single_ husband you've had!"_ _

__"I didn't cheat on Roman or Victor!" Kate argued. "Oh, and there's also the fact that she killed someone."_ _

__"In self-defense!" Lucas whispered loudly. "And do the names Franco Kelly and EJ DiMera ring any bells? I may not have killed EJ, but I _definitely_ killed Franco. And you tried to kill…let's see Dad, Nick Fallon, Chloe…am I missing anyone? Oh- and Billie also killed _her_ dad in- that's right- _self-defense_. She was in the _exact same_ situation as Adrienne was. Oh- and Chelsea also killed her own brother. Granted it was an accident, but still!"_ _

__"Okay, I get it!" Kate snapped. "I'm still worried."_ _

__"Don't be. We're fine. We're happy." Lucas said calmly. "And we would love for you to attend our wedding."_ _

__Kate nodded. "Okay."_ _

__XXX_ _

__Will walked through the square looking for Gabi and Ari. Gabi said they would be there, but now they were nowhere to be found. His phone rang._ _

__"Will, you need to come to the hospital." Gabi said, her voice shaking. "Ari is very sick."_ _


	45. Virus

Will rushed through the ER and found Gabi and JJ. "Gabi, where's Ari?"

"She's with a doctor." Gabi replied, her voice shaking. "She has a really high fever. They're running tests."

"When did she start feeling sick? And _how_ did she get sick? I know _I_ don't have it. _Sonny_ doesn't." Will asked, starting to get a little panicked.

"Well, my mom _did_ say it's common in small children to just get it, but…" Gabi swallowed.

"But what?"

"We just found out that Paul is here with the same symptoms." JJ announced.

"What is going on?" Gabi asked worriedly.

"It's gonna be okay. They're just running tests now." JJ said, rubbing Gabi's arms. He then got a look of concern. "Are you feeling okay?"

"Yeah, I feel fine." Gabi replied.

"Really? 'Cause you're burning up." JJ felt her cheek. "I'm gonna have a doctor check up on you."

Gabi's eyes widened in horror. "No. I'm pregnant. I _can't_ get sick!"

"Gabi, Gabi, it's okay. Plenty of pregnant women have gotten sick over the years, and their babies are just fine." Will said, calming her down.

Gabi took a deep breath and clutched the edge of the counter. JJ came back with a doctor who pushed a wheelchair. "Thanks. Oh, Doctor, this is Will Horton, Ari's father."

"Nice to meet you, Will. Your daughter's in cubicle four if you want to go see her." Doctor Fong said.

"Thanks." Will rushed into the cubicle. Ari lay on a bed dressed in a hospital gown. She looked very pale. He sat in a chair and pulled up to the bed. "Hey, sweetheart. Hey. Mommy told me you weren't feeling very well."

"Mm-mm." Ari replied weakly.

"Oh. It's going to be okay. There are doctors here that will make you feel better soon." Will said, brushing Ari's hair from her eyes.

"Hurts, Daddy." Ari whined.

"What hurts?"

"M'head." Ari replied, and whimpered.

"Okay. Daddy will get a cold washcloth. I'll be right back." Will rushed to the bathroom to get a wet washcloth and pulled out his phone to call Sonny. It went straight to voicemail. Will sighed in frustration. "Sonny, call me back as soon as you get this. It's an emergency. Gabi and Ari are in the hospital with high fevers." He put his phone back in his pocket and sat at Ari's bedside. Ari was fast asleep now. Will gently placed the washcloth on his daughter's forehead. Dr. Avery, the pediatrician came in. Will put a finger to his lips and pointed to Ari to show her she was sleeping. He stood up, and the two walked out into the hallway.

"How is she doing?" Dr. Avery asked.

"Not good. Do they know what's going on yet?" Will asked.

"Only that it's a strange virus. They've never seen this strain before." Dr. Avery replied. "But, don't worry. The CDC has been contacted, and they will find a cure before you know it."

Will swallowed and nodded. "Okay. Good."

"Can you tell me what Ari did today?"

"She spent all morning with her grandparents- mom's parents- and all afternoon with her mom." Will replied.

Dr. Avery nodded and jotted down notes. "All right. Keep that washcloth on her forehead, let me know if anything changes."

"Okay. Thanks."

"You're welcome." Dr. Avery replied. "I'll check on her after my rounds."

"Okay." Will watched her walk off and sighed. His phone rang. "Sonny."

"Hey, I got your message." Sonny replied. "What's going on?"

"Both Ari and Gabi are sick with this strange virus." Will replied.

"Define strange."

"They've never heard of this kind of virus before." Will replied. "And it's not just Ari and Gabi. Paul and some of Paul and Gabi's co-workers have it, too."

Sonny exhaled sharply. " _What_ is going _on_ over there?"

"I don't know." Will leaned against the door. "We're in the trauma building cubicle four."

"Okay. I'm on my way." Sonny replied.

"Okay. Love you." Will hung up and saw Marlena heading in his direction.

"Will." Marlena greeted. They hugged. "Oh. How is she?"

Will sniffed. "Not good. They don't even know what this virus is! What if…?"

"Hey…do not even _entertain_ that thought." Marlena pulled away and gave him a look. "You need to think positive."

Will nodded and swallowed. "How's Paul?"

"He's getting worse. His fever's spiking, he can't lift his head off the pillow, and he's delirious." Marlena replied.

"Wow, don't sugarcoat it, Grandma." Will half-joked. They chuckled softly. "Ari's asleep. Will you stay with her? I want to check on Gabi."

"Of course." Marlena replied.

Will walked to Gabi's cubicle. Adriana held a washcloth to her forehead. "Hey."

"Will, how's our baby? Why aren't you with her?" Gabi asked.

"She's sleeping. My grandma's in with her." Will replied. "Her head hurts, and her fever is still high."

Gabi blinked away tears. "You're gonna stay with her, right? And you're gonna tell me how she's doing?"

"Of course. I'll update you every hour." Will promised. "You need to focus on _you_."

"How can I when my baby is sick, and I can't even…?" Gabi cried.

" _Mija_ , relax. Ari is being well taken care of." Adriana piped up. "She will be just fine."

"Hey…I have soothed every fever my little brother and sisters had and the fever Ari had last year." Will replied. "And our daughter? She's a fighter. She'll be fine."

Gabi swallowed and tried to nod, then groaned at her pounding head. "Thanks, Will."

"You're welcome. Get better, you hear?" Will asked, then walked out of the cubicle and headed to Ari's cubicle and saw Kayla walking towards John and Marlena.

"Oh, Will. Good, you're here." Kayla said.

"Any updates?" Will asked.

"We're trying to figure out what this strain is." Kayla explained.

"So you still don't have any idea what it is?" John asked.

"No, but, we're doing everything we can to find out." Kayla replied. A woman in a red dress stumbled into the ER, clutching her head. "Oh, I'm sorry, there's another one." She walked off.

John exhaled slowly. "I'm gonna call Tori. I feel like I'm calling her every other month just to tell her our son's in the hospital."

"Crazy." Marlena shook her head sadly.

"That's a fact." John smiled slightly. "Excuse me." He walked off, pulling out his phone.

Marlena sighed and turned to Will. "How's Gabi?"

"Not good." Will replied. "She can barely lift her head, she's delirious…on top of that, she's pregnant."

Marlena could see that her grandson was distressed. "Where's Sonny?"

Will sighed. "I don't know. I thought he'd be here by now." His cell phone buzzed. "Oh. 'Stuck in traffic. Be there soon. How are Ari and Gabi?' Hold on a sec." He responded to the text. "'Not…good. They…still…haven't…figured…out…what…this…virus…is.' Grandma, I don't want to have these thoughts, but…usually, when they haven't figured out what a sickness is, they can't find a cure, and…"

"Will…like I said earlier, Ari is strong. She's a fighter." Marlena said firmly. "Did your mother ever tell you that _you_ almost died when you were born?"

Will shook his head. "I know that I was in a car accident then a coma when I was little."

Marlena nodded. "You were also very sick when you were born. The doctors didn't think you'd survive, but you did. You miraculously developed antibodies. You've been beating the odds since you were born. And from what I hear, so has Sonny. I'm sure Ari and your unborn babies inherited the same strong immune system you and Sonny have."

Will smiled and rubbed his belly absentmindedly. "Did you know Sonny was almost a twin?"

"Almost?" Marlena asked, puzzled.

Will nodded. "Yeah. When Adrienne was pregnant, one of the fetuses got stuck in her fallopian tube or something, and if she didn't abort that fetus, she and both her babies would die. The one that survived is Sonny."

"Wow. I'm sorry Adrienne went through that." Marlena replied.

"Me, too." Will said. "Anyway, Sonny's older twin brothers, Vic and Joe, named Sonny their honorary triplet. They were wild together when they were younger, which earned them the nicknames Huey, Dewey, and Louie."

Marlena burst out laughing. "Oh my gosh! So, I'm guessing Victor was Uncle Scrooge?"

"Yep! And guess who Donald was." Will said.

"Justin?" Marlena guessed.

"Nope. Philip." Will smiled.

Marlena scoffed and laughed. "That figures."

"Yeah." Will nodded. "Well, I know you want to be with John and Paul, so, I'll let you go."

"Okay. I'll come check on Ari every so often." Marlena replied.

"Great." Will nodded, and they walked off in opposite directions. Will poked his head into Ari's cubicle and saw Dario sitting at her bedside. "Hey."

"Oh, hey. I hope you don't mind. I just wanted to check on her." Dario said.

"No. Of course not. Actually, I need to call my parents, let them know what's going on, so…if you could just sit with her for a few more minutes, that would be great." Will replied.

"Sure, man." Dario replied.

"Thanks." Will stepped back into the hall and pulled out his phone to call Lucas.

"Hey, man, what's up?" Lucas asked.

"Dad, Ari and Gabi are in the hospital." Will replied.

"What?!'

"They're very sick. They've got this weird, unknown virus." Will explained. "The doctors haven't figured out what it is yet, or how to cure them."

Lucas exhaled sharply. "Which room is Ari in?"

"We're in the trauma center, cubicle four." Will replied.

"Okay. I'll be right there." Lucas replied.

"Okay. See you." Will hung up and texted Sami. He saw a crowd gathering around the nurse's station. Kayla addressed the crowd as Will headed over.

"The CDC has been contacted, and they are working on creating an antiviral. But, for the time being, this area is officially in quarantine." People started talking, and Kayla yelled over them. "I want to make something clear right now! _No one_ is to leave the area until CDC gives the all-clear. There is food, water, and extra cots and blankets in the meantime. I also want everyone to wear masks and Hazmat suits to hopefully prevent anyone else from getting sick."

Will grabbed a mask and a suit, wondering if Sonny and his dad showed up yet. Looks like they'll be here a while.

XXX

Sonny headed to the trauma center and tried to open the door, but it was locked.

"I'm sorry, you can't go in there. The place is in lockdown." The guard standing by the door said.

"My husband and daughter are in there. I _have_ to get in there!" Sonny exclaimed. "Look, two of my aunts work here-"

"And they would tell you the same thing I'm telling _you_." The guard said.

Sonny exhaled sharply and turned around, distressed. He heard someone knocking on the window and turned to see Will dressed in full Hazmat gear. He picked up a red phone and gestured for Sonny to do the same. Sonny picked up the phone on his end. "Hey."

"Hey. Sorry. I meant to text you, but I assumed you were already here." Will replied.

Sonny took a deep breath. "I guess I should have known. It's probably a good thing you're already there. You probably would have found a way to sneak in."

Will laughed. "You got _that_ right. Baby, don't worry about us, okay? Ari, Gabi, and I will be fine."

"Will…if you get infected…"

"If I'm infected, I'm infected. There's nothing anyone can do. Well, not yet." Will replied. "CDC is working on an antiviral. That's all we know."

Sonny nodded. "Okay. I just…"

Will put his hand on the window. He knew what his husband was going to say. "I know. I'll update when I hear news."

"Okay. I love you."

"I love you, too." Will replied. They hung up. Will walked towards Ari's cubicle when he heard someone wail loudly and screaming "No!" He glanced in the direction of the sound and saw two nurses and a doctor running to the cubicle.

Someone just died.


	46. Unsung Heroes

Will headed into Ari's cubicle just as the nurse left. Ari was stirring and whimpering in pain. Will grabbed a fresh, cool washcloth and applied it to Ari's forehead. "Hey, baby girl. Daddy's here."

"Want my mommy." Ari whined.

"I know, sweetheart, I know." Will replied. "You'll see her soon, okay? Just try to sleep."

Ari moaned slightly, then closed her eyes. Marlena quietly walked in. "Hey."

"Hi. I heard someone screaming and crying earlier. Did someone…?" Will asked.

Marlena nodded sadly. "One of the models from the shoot just died, but it's not Gabi or Paul."

"Oh. This is getting serious, then." Will replied.

"Very." Marlena replied. "Dr. Thompson is working with a chemist from the CDC to create an antiviral. How are _you_ feeling?"

"Fine. Just worried about Ari, Gabi, and Paul." Will replied.

"We _all_ are." Marlena replied. "Have you spoken to your mother?"

"I texted her, but she hasn't responded." Will replied. "I called my dad, and I assume he found out this place is quarantined."

Marlena nodded. "Belle and Brady tried to get in, too. Brady even used the Kiriakis name. No dice."

"I figured that." Will chuckled. "I know you want to be with John and Paul. I'm okay right now."

"You sure?" Marlena asked.

"Yeah, I'm sure."

"Okay. I'll still come to check up on you two." Marlena said, smiling. She left.

A few minutes later, JJ- dressed in full hazmat gear, and pushing Gabi in a wheelchair- entered. "Door-to-door service right here."

Gabi smiled. "Yeah, I can't believe the orderly-that they let you pass."

"Guys, what the hell?" Will asked shocked, but not surprised.

"I just needed to see her." Gabi replied, standing up. "Hi, sweetheart. Hey, Arianna." She sat next to Ari and cuddled her. "Hey, I know you're scared, mama. I know you were scared. I'm so sorry. The doctors are coming, okay, and they're gonna get you better very soon, and we have some medicine, okay? I love you very much. You're gonna get better very soon, okay?" She kissed the top of her forehead, then turned to JJ. "Thank you."

"For what?" JJ asked.

"For this. Bringing me to my daughter." Gabi replied. "You have no idea how much I appreciate you being in my life and in Arianna's."

"Well, the feeling is mutual." JJ replied.

Adriana entered the room in full hazmat gear. " _Mija_ , JJ, Will; it's time to leave Arianna to rest."

"Okay, just one more…" Gabi started.

"She needs to be isolated." Adrianna said.

"Okay, just one more kiss, please." Gabi replied.

"No. Come on, let's go." Adrianna shook her head.

Gabi turned to Ari. "Listen, mama, okay? Mommy's gonna be back very soon, okay?" Gabi hugged and kissed her daughter one last time, then slowly got back into her wheelchair. JJ, Gabi, and Will all left the room.

JJ leaned towards Will and whispered. "You're gonna sneak back in in a few minutes, aren't you?"

"You know me so well." Will replied, smiling. They heard another person wailing and crying.

"And another one's gone. Another one bites the dust." JJ sang softly.

"JJ!" Gabi hissed.

"Dude, seriously?" Will lightly smacked JJ's arm.

"Sorry, couldn't resist." JJ replied.

Will just scoffed lightly and shook his head. A few minutes later, he ran into Marlena. "Hey, how's Paul?"

"Worse." Marlena said simply. "John is also infected now."

"Oh my god…" Will sighed.

Marlena took a glove off, pushed up Will's hood, and felt his forehead. "Good. At least _you're_ not infected. Yet."

"Good. Now, let's feel _your_ forehead." Will took his own glove off and felt Marlena's forehead. "Nope. You're good."

"Good. How's Arianna?" Marlena asked.

"She seems to be doing better. I'm more optimistic." Will replied.

"Good, I'm glad."

"So, who died this time?" Will asked.

"The photographer from the shoot." Marlena replied.

"Oh, man." Will sighed. "Do Gabi and Paul know?"

"I would imagine." Marlena nodded.

"Have they figured out what this virus is, yet?" Will asked.

"Actually, we did get a clue." Marlena replied. "We think it's something that Yo Ling purposefully injected in Paul."

Will was confused. "Wait…I thought Yo Ling was going to brainwash Paul to become his soldier puppet or whatever. Why would he go through all that trouble if he was just going to try to kill him?"

Marlena shrugged. "I guess Yo Ling thought Paul would be strong enough to withstand this virus."

Will nodded. "Okay. I'm going to check on Gabi." He headed to Gabi's cubicle.

Gabi was crying and blowing her nose. "He was always so nice to me and patient and helpful."

"I know, _mija_."

"Gabi, I'm sorry." Will said sympathetically.

Gabi sniffed and nodded. "Will…JJ is now infected. It's only a matter of time before _you_ get it, too."

Will huffed. "Does his mom know?"

"Dr. Brady called her." Adriana replied.

Will nodded. "John is infected, too."

"Oh, no." Adriana said.

XX

Meanwhile, Sonny paced around in the waiting area until he couldn't take it anymore. He left and almost ran into Lucas and Adrienne.

"Sonny! Hey, what's going on?" Lucas asked.

"What did Will tell you?" Sonny asked.

"Just that Ari and Gabi are sick and they've been quarantined." Lucas replied. "Any news?"

"They don't know what the hell this virus is. CDC is here, working with Dr. Thompson." Sonny announced.

Lucas exhaled sharply. "Is there a cure?"

"Not yet. They have to figure out what this thing _is_ first." Sonny replied.

"Come on, really?" Lucas asked in dismay.

"Yeah, really." Sonny said. He started getting choked up. "You know…this is the _third time_ in less than a year when I think I'm gonna lose both Will and Ari. I just…I don't know how much more I can take."

"Oh, baby." Adrienne pulled Sonny into a hug. "It's gonna be okay. Will and your babies will be fine. They'll pull through."

Sonny sniffed. "I hope so."

XX

Sonny went back to work at the club. He was focused, but at a much slower pace. Justin sat at the bar. "Hey."

"Hey."

"Thought you'd be at the hospital." Justin said.

"There was nothing I could do." Sonny shrugged. "I just wanted to take my mind off of everything while I wait for news."

Justin nodded. "Understandable. How are Ari and Gabi?"

"They're doing okay. Not great, but, not near death." Sonny replied. "Distract me. How are _you_? How's Uncle Vic?"

"Well, Uncle Vic is fighting his depression with anger and frustration." Justin replied. "I told him not to continue his revenge plan on Deimos."

Sonny nodded. "Good. That's the _last_ thing he needs right now."

"Couldn't agree more." Justin nodded.

Sonny stared at his father, and smiled slightly. "But, you're still going full-steam ahead with your _own_ revenge plan, aren't you?"

"'Course I am." Justin replied. "I won't drag you into it. I will tell you that I'm doing things by the book, but, that may change. I will do anything to get our inheritance and Titan back."

"Okay. Best of luck."

"Thank you."

XXX

"How are you doing, sweetheart?" Will asked Ari.

"Thirsty." Ari said weakly. Will grabbed a juice box and put the straw to Ari's lips, and Ari took a couple sips and coughed quietly. Gabi and Adriana walked into the room.

"Hey, guys." Will greeted.

"Hey, Will." Gabi replied, then turned to Ari. "Hey, sweetie. Guys, she's so hot."

"I know." Adriana replied.

Gabi turned to Adriana. "Do you think somebody saw us?"

"After the nurse left? I don't think so, but I'm sure she's just taking a quick break, so we have to hurry." Adriana held up the poultice.

"Why? What's going on?" Will asked.

"I made a poultice. It's supposed to help bring Ari's fever down." Adriana replied.

"That's against the rules, though." Will exclaimed. Adriana and Gabi both stared at him. "Do it. I'll keep watch, and distract the nurse to buy you guys time."

Gabi smiled gratefully. "Thank you, Will."

Adriana waited until Will left before asking. "What would you have done if he didn't agree to it?"

"I would have said 'screw you. I'm doing it anyway.'" Gabi replied simply.

Adriana smiled. "That's my girl."

XX

Will walked out in the hall, and a minute later, saw Ari's nurse, Nurse Kaye coming out of a room. He waited until she was a foot from him, then accidentally/on purpose kicked the door to give the women a warning. "Hey, Nurse, um, Ari is doing fine. Her fever is actually slowly but surely going down."

"Really? That's excellent." Kaye replied. "I'll just check her vitals and report to Dr. Brady."

Will blocked her path. "Um, she's sleeping right now, and I don't want to disturb her, you know?"

Kaye was getting suspicious. "Is there a particular reason you don't want me to go in there?"

XX

"How much longer is this going to take? I'm not sure if Will can stall any longer." Gabi whispered to Adriana.

"Not long." Adriana replied.

Just then, the nurse and Will burst into the room. "What are you two doing in here?"

Gabi turned around. "Oh, I'm her mother and grandmother."

"You're sick, and she's infected. What do you think you're doing?" Kaye demanded.

"It's a holistic poultice." Adriana answered simply.

"If the doctor didn't order it, you can't do it." Kaye replied.

"It can bring her fever down." Adriana argued.

"Yeah, it's helping her, and your medicine is not helping her at all." Gabi snapped.

Seth Burns, the hospital administrator entered. "I heard raised voices. What's going on here?"

"They're trying to give her some holistic thing." Kaye replied.

"It's a poultice." Will explained.

Gabi glared at Will. "Not helping."

Seth turned to Gabi, Adriana, and Will. "The three of you have to leave immediately."

"We are her family." Gabi protested.

"And I am a trained nurse, and I have permission from the chief of staff to help out during this crisis." Adriana added.

"Dr. Johnson isn't authorized to give those permissions." Seth contradicted.

"Look, I don't care what you say. I can be of help. Look, you can do whatever you want when this is over, but I'm not leaving until it is, so if you want me out of here, you will have to pick me up and carry me out!" Adriana proclaimed.

Will's eyes widened, impressed. 'Damn, _woman.'_

Seth took a deep breath and shook his head. "I suppose you did what anyone would do in this situation. I will allow it just this once. But from now on, unless the doctor ordered it, you are not to administer any sort of holistic medication. Understood?"

"Yes." Adriana nodded.

"Good." Seth left.

Kaye checked Ari's vitals.

"Well?" Gabi asked.

"It's not back to normal, but it is lower." Kaye replied.

"What does that mean?" Gabi asked again.

"The fever has broken." Adriana smiled.

Gabi exclaimed in relief and hugged her mother. "I'm so glad that you're here."

"Oh, Chiquita, so am I." Adriana replied.

Gabi turned to Ari and hugged her. "Hey."

Will smiled and hugged Adriana. "Thanks, Adriana."

"You're welcome."

XXX

Will headed out to search for Marlena to give her an update. He saw Kayla and Fynn talking and casually listened in, hoping for new information.

"They isolated the virus." Fynn was saying. "It ravaged a small province in China back during the Cultural Revolution. They thought it'd burned itself out, but apparently this one's a mutation."

"Well, are they gonna be able to get us an anti-viral to beat it?" Asked Kayla.

Fynn nodded. "It's already on the way. We analyzed Arianna's blood, found the antibodies she used to fight it. We sent that info off to the CDC. And now they're manufacturing a serum. Thing is, it's gonna be very slow. The first three doses should get here in the next hour or two. The next three doses, an hour later. They'll keep it coming till we've put out the fire."

Kayla nodded. "Okay, that's great. All right, so one of the first doses will go to Arianna. We'll get her cleared and out of here. The second will be Paul Narita because he's the sickest. And the third will go to JJ Deveraux."

JJ and Gabi walked by and overheard. JJ shook his head. "No. No, Gabi gets the next dose 'cause Arianna needs her mother, and Gabi is pregnant."

Kayla turned to her nephew. "No, JJ, your fever has been surging, and that is not good."

"I can make it. Gabi gets the next dose."

"JJ, just let the doctors decide-" Gabi said, trying to calm him down.

"No, you need to go home with Ari, and you're pregnant." JJ said to his girlfriend, then turned to Kayla and Fynn. "Okay, I'm not gonna let you inject me. There's no point in fighting me on this."

"JJ, you can't-"

"Tell you what, JJ. We'll do it your way." Fynn interrupted Kayla. "You make a good point. Gabi is pregnant. The next three doses get here a few hours later anyway. But you gotta get back to bed, is that clear?"

Kayla nodded in agreement. "Listen to Dr. Thompson. I'll get you back to your bed."

Will sighed, and his phone buzzed. He saw that it was Sami calling and went to a quiet area. "Hey."

"You have thirty seconds to tell me what the _hell_ is going on over there!" Sami barked on the phone.

Will looked to make sure no one was listening. "Long story short, there's a deadly virus going around. Gabi, Ari, Paul, JJ, John, Aunt Kayla, and several others- mostly people Gabi and Paul work with got it. The hospital was in quarantine, but they have a cure now."

"Is everyone okay?" Sami asked.

"Yes. Well, a model and the photographer from a photoshoot they did this morning died, but everyone else is okay." Will replied.

Sami exhaled sharply. "Well, I'm glad you all are okay. What _was_ this virus, anyway?"

"I heard Aunt Kayla and another doctor talking. It's a virus that was developed and spread through a small province in China during the Cultural Revolution." Will replied.

"So, how did it end up in Salem?" Asked Sami.

"Did Grandma tell you that she, Ari, John, Paul, and Gabi and Rafe's mother were kidnapped a couple months back?" Will asked.

"Yes. By John's evil father. What does _that_ have to do with anything?" Sami asked again.

"John's father most likely injected Paul with the virus." Will explained.

Sami was quiet for a few seconds. "So it's _John's_ fault."

Will exhaled sharply. "When are you gonna stop blaming John for every bad thing that happens?"

"It was _his_ son who tried to ruin your marriage which lead to your attempted murder, and it was _his_ father who kidnapped your grandmother and daughter!" Sami exclaimed, angrily.

"It was also his son who not only saved _Sonny's_ life, but also helped save _my_ life! John also tried to save _your_ life, but you were already saved." Will reminded her. "And another thing, _Paul_ was the one who figured out the virus came from the drugs he was pumped up with."

"Mm. Well, at least _Paul_ fixed his own mistake." Sami said.

"Oh, and _we're_ such angels?" Will raised an eyebrow.

"We never got anyone killed." Sami replied.

"Really? Does the name Joseph Bernardi ring a bell?" Will asked.

" _I_ didn't kill him, his _girlfriend_ did!" Sami exclaimed in her defense. "Why are you defending John and Paul, anyway?"

"Because I know that if they could have predicted everything that's happened, they would have done anything to stop it." Will said.

Sami was quiet for a minute. "Fine. By the way, I sent Ari's birthday present in the mail. It should be there within the next couple weeks."

"Oh. Okay, thanks."

"You're welcome. I really am glad you and everyone else is okay." Sami replied.

"Except John and Paul, right?" Will half-joked.

Sami scoffed. "Bye, Will."

"Bye. Love you." Will hung up and turned around to see Fynn walking towards him.

"Great news. We now have the serum, we're going to inject your daughter. She'll be cleared by morning."

Will sighed and laughed with relief. "Thank you! What about the others?"

"They'll all be injected within the next six hours." Fynn replied.

"That's great. I'm glad they were able to make a serum so quickly." Will replied.

Fynn smiled. "Actually, your daughter developed antibodies which helped create the serum."

"Seriously? Wow, that's awesome!" Will beamed proudly. "Thank you, doctor."

"You're very welcome. We've put Ari and Gabi in room 302. We want to keep everyone overnight for observation." Fynn replied. "There's a bin by the nurse's station. You can discard your hazmat suit, mask, and goggles."

"Okay." Will took off his hazmat suit, goggles, mask, and gloves and threw them away, then headed to Ari and Gabi's room. Ari was in a crib at the foot of Gabi's bed. Gabi put a finger to her lips and pointed to Ari, who was sleeping. Will silently walked over to Ari's crib and kissed her good night. "Good night, my sweet girl.' He walked over to Gabi and they hugged.

"Did you hear about how they created a serum?" Gabi whispered.

"Yeah. Our little girl is a hero." Will smiled proudly. Gabi chuckled softly and nodded in agreement. "But, hey, so are you, your mom, Paul, and John."

Gabi blushed. "Thanks."

Will took a deep breath. "I'm glad you guys are okay. I'm going to check on Grandma and John, Paul, and JJ; then head home to tell Sonny the good news."

"Okay. Oh- Dr. Thompson also wants me to get an ultrasound just to make sure the baby's okay." Gabi replied.

"Just as well. We want to find out what the sex of the baby is." Will beamed. "I have an ultrasound tomorrow, too."

Gabi nodded. "Awesome. Oh, um, would you mind bringing a change of clothes for me and Ari? The clothes we wore when we were admitted were contaminated, so they had to burn them."

"Sure. I'll be back first thing."

"Thank you."

Will walked back towards the elevator and ran into Marlena. They smiled at each other and hugged. "I'm so glad John and Paul are okay."

"Me, too." Marlena replied. They pulled away. "I was just on my way to check on Ari."

"She's great. She's sleeping. Gabi is with her." Will replied.

"I'm so glad she got better before her birthday." Marlena said. "You know...you, too were in the hospital just before your third birthday."

"Oh, yeah. After I was in a car accident, right?" Will asked.

Marlena nodded. "Your mom didn't tell your dad you were released or that you were celebrating your birthday."

"Well, _I'm_ not making that mistake. Neither is Gabi." Will replied.

"Good. I'm glad."

XXX

After his shift ended, Sonny still hadn't heard anything from Will. He headed home and lay on the couch until he fell asleep.

_Sonny walked to the window at the ER and saw Kayla walking up to the red phone looking extremely upset. "Aunt Kayla?"_

_Kayla swallowed and sniffed. "Sonny…I hate to tell you this, but…Gabi and Ari didn't make it…and Will's infected."_

_Sonny's legs turned to jelly. He felt like someone threw a bowling ball into his stomach. He took deep breaths and started crying. "No…no!"_

_"Sonny? Sonny, wake up."_

"NO!" Sonny sat up, crying.

"Hey, hey…it was just a nightmare." Will rubbed Sonny's arms gently, and cupped his face.

"Will?" Sonny sniffed.

"Yeah. Wanna talk about it?" Will asked.

Sonny shook his head. "No."

"You sure?"

Sonny took a deep breath and nodded. "How's Ari?"

"A lot better, actually." Will smiled. "They came up with a serum…using antibodies that Ari developed."

"Seriously?" Sonny smiled.

"Yeah, seriously!" Will chuckled and kissed Sonny. "Everyone's okay. This whole virus nightmare is over."

Sonny started laughing and crying in relief and he and Will hugged again. "Thank god…"

XXX

The next morning, Will and Sonny headed to Gabi and Ari's room. JJ was in there wearing sweats.

"Hey, guys." JJ greeted. He and Ari sat on Gabi's bed.

"Did you wake up because I was yelling at your abuela? Or do you just not like that bed?" Gabi asked Ari.

"No." Ari replied.

Gabi gasped dramatically. "No!" She and the three men laughed.

"We're in luck. The cafeteria didn't run out of ice cream." JJ announced.

"What? Look at that. He brought you ice cream. You want some ice cream, baby girl?" Gabi asked Ari. "Yeah? Hey, what about _my_ treat?"

"Oh, it's right here." JJ smirked and kissed Gabi on the lips.

"Get a room, you two!" Will exclaimed. JJ and Gabi pulled apart and rolled their eyes at Will. He held up a bag. "Gabi, I got clothes for you and Ari."

"Oh, thanks!" Gabi took the bag.

"We'll leave so you can change." Will, Sonny, and JJ left.

JJ's phone rang. "Oh, hold on, it's Julie." He walked off and answered.

Will pulled out his own phone and texted Lucas. "So, my ultrasound is in an hour, and I think, Gabi's is right after that."

Sonny nodded. "Will, are we still having Ari's birthday party? 'Cause I arranged for TBD to be closed tomorrow so we could have it."

Will sighed quietly. He almost forgot about that. "Let's see how she is today, then go from there."

"Good idea." Sonny nodded. "Hey...I'm going to go visit Paul for a minute. Wanna come with?"

"No, it's fine."

"You sure?"

"Yeah. Go ahead." Will smiled. "I trust you."

Sonny chuckled. "Okay." He headed to Paul's room. "Hey. You up for a visit?"

"Yeah." Paul said. He sighed. "Sonny, I'm sorry. You have every reason to hate me."

"What?" Sonny asked, astonished.

"I shouldn't have come to Salem. All I wanted was to get you back, and I ended up almost destroying your marriage and I almost killed your entire family." Paul vented.

"Hey...you forget, I'm still walking around because of you." Sonny said, gently. "Ari would have lost both her dads if you never came to Salem."

Paul swallowed. "Still..."

"You didn't know. And if you _had_ known, you would have done everything you could to prevent it." Sonny said. "And, hey, they never would have figured out what that virus was if you hadn't mentioned the IV bags. You helped save everyone's lives."

Paul smiled. "Thanks."

"You're welcome."

XX

Sonny and Will's babies are healthy. Dr. Ford looked over Gabi's results and came back to them. "Your baby is mostly okay, but…you can't have this huge virus and not have consequences. There are some irregularities in the amino."

"Meaning what?" Will asked.

"Best case scenario, we're looking at your baby having a physical disability like deafness, blindness, or both. Worst-case, cerebral palsy." Dr. Ford replied.

Will and Sonny took deep breaths. "Oh. Well…that's okay. We'll provide the best care for him."

Dr. Ford smiled. "I know you will. Would you like to know the sex of your babies?"

Will and Sonny looked at each other, smiled, and nodded to Dr. Ford.


	47. Forgiveness and Stuff

Lucas finished off his coffee just as he stepped off the elevator. He had been up half the night with Jennifer, who finally admitted she needed help with her pill addiction. He remembered Will being in the hospital just before his third birthday, and Sami not telling him he was released, and then celebrated his birthday without him.

Bitch.

Well, that wasn't going to happen again. He missed both Will's and Allie's third birthdays, and he was _not_ going to miss Ari's. He headed to her hospital room only to find it empty. He threw his arms out in frustration. "Really? Dammit, not again." He pulled out his phone and realized it was off. He turned it on, and discovered he got a new text message sent an hour ago. "'Hey, Dad, just wanted to give you a heads-up. Ari and Gabi have been released from the hospital, and we're still celebrating Ari's birthday tomorrow at TBD.'" Lucas glared at the wall in slight embarrassment, sighed, and responded. "'Just got your message...glad Ari's okay. See you tomorrow.'" He put his phone in his pocket and headed back to the elevator. "Well, at least I know this time..."

XXX

The next day, the Hernandez family, Will, Sonny, and Ari gathered at Club TBD. The club was decorated with "3"-shaped balloons and streamers. Adrienne, Lucas, Doug, Julie, Caroline, Marlena, John, Paul, Belle, Claire, Shawn, Hope, Ciara, Kate, Philip, Victor, Maggie, Brady, Theresa, Tate, Jennifer, JJ, Chad, Thomas, and Justin all filed in one by one.

"Joey ran away from home." Adrienne was telling Sonny. "Steve and Kayla are going to California to find him."

"Yikes. Why did he run away? Do you know?" Sonny asked.

"He and his girlfriend just didn't want to live here anymore, I guess." Adrienne shrugged. "Uncle Steve really didn't go into specifics."

"Oh, well, I hope he's okay." Sonny replied.

Adrienne nodded. "Me, too. Oh, um, I will be going out of town with Lucas in a few weeks, just so you know."

"Oh. Where are you going?" Sonny asked.

"Camping." Adrienne replied.

Sonny gasped, jokingly. " _Mom_!"

"Hey, come on! I can be a nature girl on occasion." Adrienne said defensively.

"Okaaay, if you say so."

"I _do_ say so. I'm your mom!" They both laughed.

XX

Will sat next to Chad. Thomas was in his stroller. "Hey, Thomas. Hi, buddy." He looked up at Chad. "How's Abigail?"

Chad sighed and shook his head. "I don't know. She doesn't want anyone to see her. Not even me."

Will nodded. "I guess I can understand why. She doesn't want us to see her while she's suffering."

Chad was silent for a moment. "Yeah. You know I love my son. But, I'm starting to regret sleeping with Abby while she was still engaged to Ben. Serena and Paige and Wendy would still be alive...Eric wouldn't have had that huge downfall because of Serena's death...Daniel would still be alive..."

"Hey, you don't know that." Will said gently. "Ben was pretty messed up. Who knows what would have happened?"

"I'm sorry, man. I'm ruining the mood." Chad replied.

"Eh, well, every party has a pooper. That's why we invited you." Will joked.

"Ha-ha." Chad replied sarcastically.

XX

Marlena opened the bathroom door and held it open when she saw a wheelchair wheel in. She stopped when she saw Maggie. She was about to walk out, when Maggie stopped her.

"Marlena," Maggie said. "I want you to know I bear no ill will towards you and Eric. I, of all people understand what alcohol does to a person, and...I understand that it was an accident. Daniel was a very forgiving man, and the best way to honor his memory is to forgive. So, I forgive Eric."

Marlena smiled at her old friend. "Thank you. That means a lot coming from you."

"You're very welcome." Maggie smiled, and they hugged. "I'm glad John, Paul, and Ari are all okay."

"Thanks. We all are." Marlena replied.

XX

Julie walked up to Will. "Will, hey. I think we need to clear the air."

"Okay." They sat down.

Julie sighed. "I haven't been the best cousin to you in the last four years. I played favorites when it came to Nick, and I was rude, selfish, and inconsiderate; and I'm sorry."

"I forgive you. And I understand." Will replied.

"Thank you for that." Julie replied. "I see your unwavering loyalty to Abigail, and...your great-grandparents would be so proud of you. Hortons stick together."

Will smiled. "That we do. And the truth is, I think you're pretty awesome."

"Awesome, huh?"

"Yeah." Will nodded. "Your dedication and unwavering loyalty to our family- that's the kind of person I want to be."

Julie smiled back. "You're already there."

"Thank you."

"You're welcome." Julie replied. They parted ways.

XX

Will walked over to Ari, who was being held by Lucas. Jennifer was talking to her. "How old are you, Ari?"

Ari held up three fingers. "This many."

They all chuckled affectionately.

XX

Paul did some mingling, then saw Chad sitting by himself. He went over and sat across from him.

"I'm not in the mood to argue with you, man." Chad said.

"I'm not here to argue." Paul said. "I came to tell you that I forgive you, and I understand why you did the things you did."

"Thank you." Chad replied. "I also heard what happened to you. I'm really sorry."

Paul nodded. "Which part? The virus, or that my crazy, evil grandfather kidnapped and tried to brainwash me?"

"Both." Chad said simply. "My possibly equally crazy and evil brother kidnapped and brainwashed me last December."

"That sucks, I'm sorry." Paul replied, sincerely.

"Thanks." Chad sipped his drink. "At least _you_ got a fair warning, and at least your crazy, evil grandfather is dead."

Paul chuckled softly. "Isn't your brother in jail?"

"Yes, but knowing him, he'll find a way to get out." Chad replied.

Paul nodded. "Let's move on to happier things. How's your wife and son? Thomas, right?"

Chad beamed. "Thomas is great. Here he is." Paul looked into Thomas' carseat.

"Hi, Thomas. Nice to meet you." Paul said. "Aw. He looks just like you."

"Thanks." Chad replied. "Ciara helps out a lot."

"That's good." Paul nodded.

"How's, um...Henry, was it?" Chad asked.

"He's good. He finally came out to his parents." Paul replied. "And he asked me out."

"And?" Chad asked.

"I told him I'm too old for him and it would be weird." Paul replied.

Chad chuckled. "Okay. Well, there you go. Can I tell you a secret?"

"Sure."

Chad leaned forward. "I think Ciara has developed a little crush on me."

"Really?"

"Yeah. Don't worry, though. I'm not gonna act on it." Chad said.

"Wow, looks like we have more in common than I thought." Paul commented.

"Right?" Chad smiled. "You know, you're not so bad to have around."

"Thank you. Neither are you." Paul replied.

"Paulie, this could be the start of a beautiful friendship." Chad said.

"It could." Paul replied. "However, you call me Paulie ever again, I will kick your ass into next week."

Chad laughed. "Deal."

"All right, everyone, if I could have your attention!" Will called out over the noise. Everyone quieted down and turned to Will. "As you all know, Sonny and I are having twins. Gabi and I had ultrasounds yesterday and we found out the babies' gender." Some people exclaimed in anticipation. "We had a baker dye the inside of the two ice cream cakes to match what the gender of the babies are. So, first we are going to sing 'Happy Birthday', then we'll cut the cake, then open presents." Gabi sat Ari down on a booster seat on a chair, and Will set one of the cakes- which had a '3' shaped candle on top- in front of Ari. Sonny lit the candle, and they all sang 'Happy Birthday'. Lucas, Gabi, and Will had their cameras out to take pictures or film. "Blow out the candle, Ari!" Ari took a deep breath and blew out the candle with all her strength, and everyone cheered. Then, Sonny and Will cut a slice from each cake. They all cheered at the blue slices.

"They're _both_ boys?!" Lucas exclaimed.

"Oh, geez. Good luck with _that_!' Theresa exclaimed.

"Well, we'll have plenty of help. Right, Mom?" Sonny turned to Adrienne, and smiled at her, knowingly.

"That's what I'm here for." Adrienne patted Sonny's cheek.

Ari opened her presents which consisted of toys, clothes, and books. Everyone mingled some more.

"So, how were the ultrasounds?" Asked Kate. Victor and Maggie listened in.

"Mine was perfect, but, um...Gabi's showed some irregularities." Will replied.

"What do you mean?" Maggie asked.

"Well, you can't have a monster virus like that while pregnant and it not have any effect on the baby." Will shrugged. "Long story short: the baby most likely will be disabled."

"Oh. Well, once I get my money and power back, I'll pay for whatever care he needs." Victor offered.

"Yeah. I'm glad you're gonna keep him. Just 'cause he might be disabled doesn't mean you should turn him away." Kate smiled.

Philip overheard that last part of the conversation and glared at his parents in dismay. Then, he turned to Belle. "Why didn't they freaking tell me this _before_ I gave Tyler up?!"

"Did they even _know_ about Tyler's condition?" Belle raised an eyebrow.

Philip just folded his arms and sulked. "Whatever."

Belle scoffed. "God, you're such a child sometimes."

XXX

After hauling all the presents home, Sonny carried Ari through the kitchen. "Are you all tired, sweet pea?"

"No!" Ari exclaimed.

"'No'? Well, good thing, because Daddy has one last present for you." Sonny said. They went outside. Ari gasped at the huge, wrapped object, and Sonny put her down. "Go ahead and rip it open."

Ari ran to the huge object and viciously ripped the wrapping paper off. She stood back and nearly fainted. It was a swing set. She turned and ran to Sonny and nearly tackled him to the ground. "Thank you, Daddy! Thankyouthankyouthankyou!"

Sonny laughed. "You're welcome, sweetheart."

Ari tugged on Sonny's arm. "Swing, Daddy! Swing!" Sonny set Ari on the swing and pushed her. Ari squealed and giggled. "Higher, Daddy, higher!"

They played with Ari on the swing set the rest of the day.


	48. Father's Day

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, this chapter will kind of be all over the place. This chapter, we will deal with Deimos' "death" and Father's Day and Shady Hills will be the following chapter.

The next three weeks were pretty boring. Will and Sonny tried to visit Abigail at the mental hospital again, but she still refused to see anybody.

One morning, Will woke up looking at a card instead of his alarm clock. He yawned and sat up. "Hmm. What's this?" He opened the card. "'The only thing better than having you as a husband is our kids having you for a dad. Happy Father's Day'. Awww, Sonny!" He kissed Sonny awake.

"Mm. Morning." Sonny replied. He, too sat up. "I see you got a card."

"I did! Thank you." Will said. "There's a little something for you in your nightstand."

"Really?" Sonny opened his nightstand drawer and took out an envelope. He opened it and read the card. "'Happy Father's Day to my favorite DILF'? _Will_!" Will burst out laughing, and Sonny playfully smacked him. "You perv!" He laughed, too and kissed his husband. They pulled on t-shirts and shorts and headed downstairs where Ari was helping Gabi make breakfast.

"Hey, you two!" Gabi greeted. "Happy Fathers' Day."

"Thanks, Gabi." Will replied. He turned to Ari. "Are you helping your mommy make breakfast?"

"Yeah!" Ari replied. "Happy Fathers' Day, Daddies."

"Aw, thanks, sweetheart." Both Will and Sonny hugged her.

Gabi set the plates down, and handed Will and Sonny a handmade card. "Ari worked really hard on this, so you better like it."

The card had a drawing of a male stick figure. Above it, Gabi had written "The only thing better than having one dad...", and on the inside were two male stick figures. Above, Gabi wrote. "...is having TWO dads. Here's a little something for both of you. Happy Fathers' Day!" Ari had scribbled below the drawing in an attempt to write. Will got a little emotional.

"It's beautiful." Will sniffed. "Thank you, baby." He and Ari hugged.

"Y'welcome." Ari replied.

XX

Later, Will and Sonny took Ari to visit Lucas.

"Happy Father's Day, Dad." Will said.

"Aw, thanks, man!" Lucas replied. "Happy Fathers' Day to you, too."

Will chuckled and pulled out two cards. "One's from Ari, the other is from me."

"Oh. Hmm." Lucas opened Will's card. "'Happy Father's Day. Well done. I'm awesome.'" He laughed. "Oh, I love this. Thank you."

"You're welcome."

"I like Ari's too: 'The best dads are promoted to grandpas'. I am going to frame this." Lucas chuckled.

Will laughed. "Did Allie send you a card?"

"She did! And actually, she, Johnny, and Sydney sent _you_ one as well." Lucas went over to the counter and grabbed an envelope. "I guess they thought it'd be easier to send both to one place."

"Oh, wow." Will opened the envelope. "'We know you're an awesome dad, because you are an awesome brother. Love, Allie, Johnny, and Sydney'. Awww!"

"Aww, that's sweet." Sonny cooed.

"It is." Lucas nodded in agreement. "You guys get one more from me."

"Ooh. Show us." Will opened the envelope and card. "'Like father, like son. I could have been a lot worse. Happy Father's Day!'." They laughed. "Thank you, Dad."

"You are welcome. Sonny, open yours."

"All righty." Sonny cleared his throat. "'To my dear son-in-law. You are a great dad. Happy Father's Day!' Thanks, Lucas."

"You're welcome." Lucas replied.

They spent the rest of the day together talking, laughing, and watching a baseball game.

XXX

"What do you mean Deimos is dead?"

Two days later, Justin called Sonny with the news. Sonny tried not to sound too happy and relieved.

"Well, they say Nicole got into a fight with him and pushed him in the river to drown." Justin replied.

"Proof?" Sonny asked.

"Someone followed them and filmed the fight, but then dropped their phone." Justin replied.

"Hmm. Sounds convenient." Sonny replied. "Who filmed them?"

"Kate." Justin said simply.

Sonny got a flashback of Kate and Sami telling him about tossing Nick into the icy river after Gabi bashed him in the head. "And you believe her?"

"I am skeptical, to be honest." Justin replied. "Kate also said she married Deimos yesterday, so she now has everything."

Sonny scoffed lightly. "Figures."

"Yeah. It's going to be a little more difficult to get everything back now, but, I'm sure Uncle Vic has a trick up his sleeve." Justin replied.

"I'm sure he does." Sonny grinned. "Talk to you later."

"Bye."

Sonny walked into the living room where Will was reading to Ari. He smiled, folded his arms, and leaned against the doorway. They finished the book and looked up.

"Hey, just reading the first book for Ari before she goes to bed." Will explained.

"First book?" Sonny asked.

"Yep. I promised our little girl that I'd read her two books before bed." Will replied.

"Daddy, can Daddy Sonny read me one?" Ari asked.

Will chuckled. "Of course, sweetheart. Why don't you get your jammies on, and he'll be right up?"

"Okay." Ari ran to her room.

"So, I have news." Sonny replied.

"What?"

"Deimos is dead." Sonny replied.

"Really? How?"

"Your grandma Kate saw Nicole push Deimos against a tree, and he fell into the river." Sonny replied. "Or so she says."

Will scoffed. "I don't believe it. This is just like what happened with Nick!"

"I know." Sonny raised an eyebrow. "Oh- and get this: Kate and Deimos got married, apparently."

Will folded his arms. "Hmm."

"What?" Sonny asked, warily. He could see the wheels turning.

"Poor Grandma. Losing her husband so tragically." Will said.

"Wait, you don't seriously believe Nicole is the one who killed him, do you?" Sonny asked.

"I should go. My grandma needs her family right now." Will grabbed his wallet and keys.

"The guy who humiliated her in public?" Sonny asked.

Will glared at Sonny. "I'll pretend you didn't say that. Tragedy is the time to forgive...or something."

Sonny wasn't buying it. "Will...what are you planning?"

Will just smiled and kissed Sonny. "Later, babe."

"Dammit, Will!" Sonny growled.

Will put his hand on the door handle. "Don't keep Ari waiting." He left.

Sonny exhaled sharply.

"Daddy!" Ari called.

"Coming, sweetheart!" Sonny took a deep breath to calm himself, and headed upstairs.

XX

An hour later, Will came back. Sonny was sitting in the living room. "So, how's the grieving widow?"

"She wasn't home." Will replied. "So, I'm going there in the morning."

"Are you planning on screwing your grandma over?" Sonny asked bluntly.

Will huffed. "'Cause she totally never screwed _me_ over."

"That doesn't make it right!" Sonny snapped. "You _do_ realize that if your little plan doesn't work, it will blow up in your face, right?"

"Oh, I _totally_ know that. But, hey, at least I won't get myself killed." Will shrugged. "Kate Roberts is many things, but filicidal is not one of them."

"'Filicidal'?" Sonny asked in confusion.

"When you...kill your child or grandchild." Will explained.

Sonny nodded. "Okay. Fine. You do what you want. Obviously, I can't talk you out of it."

"Thank you." Will smiled.

XXX

The next morning, Will headed to the Kiriakis mansion with a bouquet of flowers. He knocked on the door and put on his sincerely sympathetic face.

"Will. I wasn't expecting you here." Kate said, coolly. She let him in.

"I wanted to tell you how sorry I am for your loss." Will said. He held out the flowers. "These are for you."

"What do you want?" Kate asked.

"I just thought you could use a sympathetic ear and shoulder." Will lied.

"Do you?" Kate asked, warily.

"Yeah. I can- well, almost- relate to losing the man you love forever." Will nodded sadly. "Is there anything I can do for you?"

Kate swallowed. She still wasn't sure of her grandson's sincerity, but, she really needed someone right now. She pulled Will into a hug. "Thank you. But I don't think there's really anything you can do." She sighed and pulled away. "Victor blackmailed me into signing Titan over to him. I can have the money and the house, but, he gets Titan."

Will nodded. "What does he have on you?"

"That's my business." Kate said firmly, and headed to the living room.

Will followed. "Sorry. Maybe I can sneak into his townhouse, destroy the evidence..."

Kate chuckled wryly. "There is no evidence."

"Then what's the problem?" Will asked.

"Will, I appreciate you wanting to help, but I've got it under control." Kate replied. "Besides, if it ever came right down to it, you wouldn't want to get into legal trouble, especially since you're still on probation from everything that happened with Andre."

Will slumped his shoulders. "Good point. Answer me this, though: you saw Nicole and Deimos fighting, and you saw her push Deimos into a tree, then he fell into the river, right?"

"Right."

"That just seems eerily similar to what happened with Nick and Gabi a couple years back." Will commented.

"I have no memory of that." Kate said, avoiding eye contact.

"Mm-hm." Will nodded, not believing her. "So, did you _really_ marry Deimos?"

"Yes, really, and I have witnesses." Kate said defensively.

"Oh. Well, looks like Uncle Phil gets his inheritance back, anyway, then." Will smiled.

"No, he's not." Kate replied. "He is selfish and ungrateful."

"And unwilling to help you climb out of the hole you dug yourself into." Will commented.

"And _you_ are?" Kate snapped.

"Yes. I know what it's like to be completely alone with no help." Will said sincerely. "So, let me help you."

"Will...how stupid and desperate do you think I am?" Kate asked, with her hands on her hips.

"I don't think you're stupid _or_ desperate." Will said.

"Oh, really? You don't think I know a trick when I see one?" Kate asked. "I don't know what your endgame is here, but it won't happen. And here I was going to make you my beneficiary, inherit everything I own."

"Grandma-" Will started.

Kate held up a hand to silence him. "Save it. You can take that fake sympathy and get the hell out of my house."

Will sighed and left. "Great job, Will." His phone buzzed with a voice message from Marlena. His eyes widened in horror, and he rushed to his car.

XX

"Is he okay?" Sonny said over the phone. Stephanie called him to tell him Joey got shot in LA saving his girlfriend, according to Steve. "...I'm glad. You guys must have been so worried. Man, what's with all the hostage situations lately? ... Okay, well, you take care. ... I definitely will. Bye, cuz." He hung up and sighed. "Well, hopefully nothing _else_ will happen." His phone rang again. "Hey, baby, what's up?"

"Sonny, it's Abigail. There was a fire at Shady Hills. She's been hurt." Will said frantically.

"...'Course she has." Sonny said in dismay.

"What?"

"I just heard from Stephanie. Joey got shot when he was in LA. He's in the hospital." Sonny explained.

"God...is he okay?"

"Yeah, he's fine. The bullet didn't hit any bone or organs, so he's good." Sonny replied. "Now, I can't leave work. Can you let me know how Abigail's doing?"

"Sure. Talk to you later." Will hung up.


	49. Fire At Shady Hills

Will arrived at Shady Hills. The doctors were in crisis mode. He saw Marlena standing near a room and headed over. "Grandma?"

"Will! How'd you get here so fast? I called Jennifer five minutes before I called you." Marlena replied.

"I avoided the interstate. Apparently there's a accident." Will replied. "Anyway, how's Abigail? What happened, exactly?"

"All we know is that there was a flash fire." Marlena replied. "Abigail was injured."

"Is she okay?" Will asked.

"We don't know. The doctors are in crisis mode at the moment." Marlena glanced towards Chad, who was leaning against the counter, his back to them. They walked towards Chad, and he turned around.

"Will." Chad pulled his friend into a hug. "I'm so glad you came."

Will chuckled. "You're surprised?"

"Not in the least." Chad said turned to Marlena. "Ma-Marlena, please, there's gotta be someone that you can call, I mean, this-this is the... You're her doctor. There's nobody that you can talk to, or s...?"

Dr. Robinson walked towards them, and they turned to her. "I apologize for keeping you waiting."

"That's fine." Chad replied. "How's, um, h-how's my wife? how's...?"

"She's alive." Dr. Robinson said. They all sighed in relief. "She has first and second degree burns over about 10% of her body."

"Okay, but she's okay, so I'm just gonna... I'll go-I'll go see her now."

Dr. Robinson huffed quietly. "She-she's going to recover physically, but..."

"But what? I mean, what-what the hell happened?!" Chad was getting hysterical. "You guys are supposed to be keeping her safe here!"

"Chad..." Will put a hand on Chad's shoulder to calm him.

"It was a flash fire. No one could get to her on time." Dr. Robinson explained calmly.

"Well, why the hell not? This is ridic-I mean, I am gonna sue every single person in this-"

Marlena turned to Chad. "Stop this right now."

"Please, Mr. DiMera, come with me. I'll take you to see your wife." Dr. Robinson said. They all headed to Abigail's room. Abigail was laying in bed, unconscious. Her face was almost completely covered in white plaster, and her hands and wrists were wrapped in bandages. Chad started crying, and Marlena and Will both put comforting hands on his shoulders. Chad sat on a chair and pulled up to Abigail's bedside. Marlena left to talk to the doctor.

Will sent a text message to Sonny to let him know what's going on. Marlena came back.

"Why isn't she waking up?" Chad asked.

"She's on some very heavy pain medication." Marlena replied.

Chad stood up and turned to Marlena. "So, uh... What did-What did the doctor say, what-what... What happened to her face?"

"Oh, she was exposed to some sort of accelerant. You know. The burns actually are only on her arms and hands." Marlena said.

"Why-why would she get accelerant on her face?" Chad asked.

Marlena shrugged. "I don't know."

Abigail's eyes fluttered open, and she turned to Chad. "Ch-Chad."

Chad rushed to her side. "Hey, baby. I don't-I don't wanna hurt you, so..."

"Chad, you have to get me out of here." Abigail whimpered.

"I wish-"

"You have to get me out of this place." Abigail interrupted.

"I wish I could." Chad said, honestly.

"Please, just get me out. Please just tell him to go away." Abigail begged.

"Who? It's just- It's just-It's just Marlena, Will, and me, baby." Chad said.

"Don't you see him? He's right there." Abigail gestured to the window.

Chad, Marlena, and Will turned to where she was pointing. There was nobody there. "See who?"

" did he go? No, he was... Wait, these..." Abigail tried to take her mask off, but Marlena grabbed her hands and pinned her down.

"No, no, no, no. Abigail, no, no, no."

"I know he was. I saw him." Abigail insisted.

"The mask is helping you heal." Marlena explained.

"He got away. I saw him, he was standing right there, I know it." Abigail said.

"Baby, no one's gonna get anywhere near you, okay? I promise I will keep you safe." Chad said.

"Take a deep breath.' Marlena said.

Abigail ignored her. "He was, I know."

"You inhaled a lot of smoke, sweetie. You need to rest."

"I'm not seeing things." Abigail insisted.

"I didn't say that you were, sweetie." Marlena said calmly.

"But you're not listening to me! Please, just listen to me. I need to go home. I needed to be with my son, and that's all I need. I need to be with Thomas, please, Marlena. That's all I need, please." Abigail was bordering on hysterical. Dr. Robinson entered the room.

Marlena turned to Dr. Robinson. "She's a six on the SAS."

"All right. Let's get some Haloperidol on board." Dr. Robinson said. She turned to Chad and Will. "I'm afraid you're gonna have to leave."

Chad shook his head. "No."

"No, we have to monitor your wife very closely." Dr. Robinson said.

Marlena walked over and started to steer the men from the room. "She needs quiet and calm right now. It's still raw."

"Why isn't anybody listening to me?" Abigail asked.

"Baby, baby, I'm listening to you." Chad insisted.

"Me, too." Will spoke up.

"You all think I'm crazy, but he was here. I know he was." Abigail said.

"No, we don't think you're crazy." Will insisted.

Chad held up a hand to calm her. "Okay, okay-"

Abigail shook her head. "No, it's not okay."

"Baby, I'm gonna right outside. Baby, I'm gonna be right outside, okay?" Chad said as Marlena pushed him out of the room. A few minutes later, Chad walked over to Dr. Robinson. "D-doctor, I-I'm sorry, but...I mean, she's worse. Okay? She was supposed to be getting better, and now she's in that room, wrapped in bandages."

Dr. Robinson turned to Chad. "Mr. DiMera-"

"And I wanna know what the hell you guys are doing!" Chad demanded.

"I wish I had more time to talk to you. But I have a number of other patients who were very upset by the fire." Dr. Robinson replied.

"Could I help out somehow?" Marlena asked.

Dr. Robinson smiled. "That'd be appreciated."

Marlena turned to the men. "I'll see if I can while this is going on. I'll get back to you."

Shawn walked up to them. "Chad, Will. Hey, guys. How's Abigail?"

"Um... She's, uh... she's-she's burned on... What are _you_ doing? Are you here to investigate the fire?" Chad asked.

Shawn nodded. "Yes, the fire marshal thinks it's arson."

"Yeah, that's what everybody keeps saying, but nobody would tell me anything." Chad folded his arms.

Shawn hesitated. "You _really_ wanna know?"

Chad nodded. "Yeah."

"Okay, um..."

A police officer interrupted them. "Brady, I need you to come and look at something here."

Shawn touched Chad's arm. "Sorry, man, I'll be right back."

Chad turned and started to cry. Will pulled him into another hug and rubbed his back. "It's gonna be okay. I know my cousin. She'll bounce back."

Chad nodded against Will's shoulder. "Mm-hmm." They sat down on chairs. "Did I mention yet, how sorry I am for screwing both you and Sonny over?"

"Yes. But, why bring that up?" Will asked.

"I feel like I'm being punished." Chad admitted. "Like...if I hadn't let my father control and manipulate me, none of this would have happened."

"You didn't know." Will replied.

"Still..."

A few minutes later, Shawn came back. Chad and Will stood up. "Hey, Chad, listen. Listen, sorry about that."

"No, uh, it's... You were-you were gonna say something. You, uh, you know how the fire started?" Chad asked.

Shawn looked a little upset. "Yeah. Yeah, we do."

"Okay, so what happened?" Chad asked.

Marlena walked up to Chad. "I've got to talk to you."

"Just a minute." Chad held up a hand. "He already says he knows how the fire started, so..."

Shawn gave him a look. "We do."

Chad's eyes widened. He was afraid of what the answer might be, the look on Shawn's face confirmed his fear. "No. No, no, no, no. Not my-Not my Abby. My Abby- No, she didn't start the fire."

Shawn swallowed and nodded. "As much as I hate to say it...she did."

"Are you sure she wasn't framed?" Will asked.

"According to the director, no one had any reason to frame Abigail or anyone for that matter." Shawn shrugged. "She started the fire."

Chad took a couple deep breaths. "Are they gonna press charges?"

Shawn shook his head. "No. Not that I'm aware of, anyway."

"How and when did this happen?" Will asked.

"This morning at around 10:00." Shawn replied. "One of the nurses dropped a lighter, Abigail saw it, stole it, and set her bed on fire. Apparently, she thought she saw Ben."

"So, it was that nurse's fault. If she hadn't dropped that lighter, none of this would have happened." Will snapped.

"Yeah, well, Abigail didn't have to steal it, but, that's another story for another day." Shawn said. "Anyway, they're not going to press charges."

"Oh. Well, that's good." Chad replied, relieved.

"I'm glad she's okay. Excuse me, I need to get back to work." Shawn said.

"Thanks, man." Chad said.

"You're welcome." Shawn said over his shoulder.

Chad sighed and turned to Marlena. "Was that what you wanted to talk to me about?"

"Yes, it was." Marlena nodded. "Things are gonna work out for both you and Abigail."

"I hope so." Chad replied, smiling. "I'm going to go be with her. Thanks, both of you."

"No problem." Will replied at the same time as Marlena.

"Anytime." Marlena replied at the same time as Will. Chad walked off, and Marlena turned to Will. "I'm going to stay and help out."

"Oh. Okay. I'll head home, update Sonny and Gabi." Will said. They hugged. "Bye, Grandma."

"I'll see you later. Actually, I _do_ have something I wanna share with you. Would you mind meeting me at the Pub tomorrow for breakfast?" She asked.

"Sure. Yeah." Will nodded.

XXX

Sonny headed to the door when he heard knocking. He looked out the window, held back a groan of dread, and opened the door all smiles. "Hey, Kate! Come on in."

"Why, thank you." Kate walked into the living room. "Where is Arianna?"

"With Gabi in her basement apartment." Sonny replied. "Why?"

"No reason." Kate shrugged. "Anyway, I have a proposition for you."

Sonny tried to hide his nervousness. "Okay..."

"As you know I am now CEO of Titan Industries. Since Deimos died, I need a new co-CEO." Kate explained. "I would like that to be you."

"Really? Why me?" Sonny asked, perplexed.

"You have a knack for business." Kate said. "Plus, things might run more smoothly and seriously if there is always a Kiriakis in charge there."

"Philip? Brady? My dad?" Sonny raised an eyebrow.

Kate scoffed quietly. "Philip has no desire to return to Titan and neither does Brady, and your dad loves his DA job too much."

"Hmm." Sonny turned around. She had a point. Maybe...(he got chills thinking about this)...maybe he can find some way to give everything back to Victor...everyone would have their inheritance back. He smiled and turned back to Kate. "Okay. I'm in! A change in careers might do me good."

"Great!" Kate smiled broadly. "And think of all the trips you can take on that private jet!"

"Yeah!" Sonny replied.

"Although, you do realize that it's 10-hour workdays and you can't wear flannel and jeans, right?" Kate said.

"I understand." Sonny nodded. "It's a sacrifice I'm willing to make."

"Good. You'll start Monday." Kate said. "Meet me at Titan in the cooperate office at 8:00 sharp. I will train you as you go along."

"Great. See you Monday." Kate said. She left.

Sonny exhaled sharply and texted Victor, Brady, and his dad the news. A few minutes later, Justin responded.

_"Wow! Great job! Best of luck, and please keep an eye on Kate, to make sure she doesn't turn Titan into what it once was!"_

Sonny laughed and responded. "I definitely will."

 _"Hey, congrats, man! Let me know if you need advice about business stuff!"_ Brady responded with a wink emoticon.

 _"Thanks!"_ Sonny replied.

 _"You know...I almost forgot what a smile felt like. It's been so long since I smiled, and your text just brought a smile to my face."_ was Victor's response.

Sonny chuckled. _"Glad I made you smile. Don't worry. You'll have everything back in no time."_

 _"I'll hold you to that."_ Victor replied.

Sonny heard Will pull into the driveway and sent another text to Victor. Will walked into the house.

"Sonny?" Will called.

"Living room." Sonny called back. He stood up. "Hey, how's Abigail doing?"

Will sighed. "Not good. They think she started the fire, but she doesn't remember doing it."

Sonny exhaled sharply. "Wow."

"I know." Will sighed. "Please tell me some good news. I could really use some right now."

"Well...Kate stopped by earlier and asked me to be her co-CEO of Titan." Sonny grinned.

Will's fantasy of expensive cars, expensive restaurants, expensive clothes, and expensive trips from so many months ago came rushing back. "Wait...really? Over Philip?"

Sonny nodded. "Yes."

"Oh my...you can take control of everything and give it all back to Victor. Oh my God, Sonny, please tell me you said yes!" Will said excitedly.

Sonny faked hesitation. "Well..." Then he grinned. "I start on Monday."

Will squealed in delight, laughed, and attacked Sonny with a hug. "Oh my God, you're the best!"

"Now, you do realize- you do realize that you won't be seeing me as often as you used to." Sonny said. "Except for, you know, my lunch hour; and I'll be home for dinner, then I'll leave early in the morning. Plus, I have business trips occasionally."

"Of course, of course, I know." Will sighed. "I'm just so happy for you. For us."

"I know." Sonny replied. They kissed.

"So, I guess this means we don't need the DiMera money anymore." Will said. He shrugged. "All that drama for nothing."

"Yeah, really." Sonny said. "I'm gonna get ready for bed."

"Okay. I'll be right up." Will said. He watched Sonny head upstairs and gently rubbed his belly. "You are going to be born into and grow up in a much more stable and lavish lifestyle than I did, buddy. You're lucky. Things are finally turning around."


	50. Reunion

The next morning, Will met Marlena at the Pub. She had a slice of red velvet cake in front of her.

"A little early for cake, isn't it?" Will asked.

"Maybe. But, I'm celebrating." Marlena grinned.

"Really? What are we celebrating?" Will asked, eagerly.

"John and I are going to renew our vows." Marlena announced.

Will gasped happily. "Are you serious? Wow! Grandma, that's exciting!"

"I know."

"Have you set a date?" Will asked again.

"Not yet. We haven't even told everyone yet." Marlena shook her head.

"Oh. Wow, so many weddings this year: Abigail and Chad, you and John, Brady and Theresa, my dad and Adrienne..." Will said.

"A welcome break from all the doom and gloom we've had for almost a year." Marlena commented and took a bite of cake.

"So, what wedding is this? Fifth?"

"It's my sixth wedding to John and my tenth wedding overall." Marlena replied. "It's...complicated."

"Yeah, really." Will said. "I have some news, too. Sonny is the new co-CEO of Titan Industries."

Marlena was surprised. "Really? Since when?"

"Last night." Will replied. "Kate needs a partner and she chose Sonny."

"What about Club TBD?" Marlena asked.

"He sold it to Eduardo Hernandez." Will answered.

"Oh, wow. Is Sonny ready for such a huge career change?"

"He is."

"And you're okay with that?"

"Of course! It's going to be champagne and caviar dreams from now on!" Will said excitedly.

Marlena chuckled. "Will, has anyone ever told you you're a little high-maintenance?"

"Oh, stop, Grandma. You're making me blush." Will joked. They laughed.

XXX

"Okay, what else do we need?"

Sonny and Will were grocery shopping. The basket was getting full.

"I think that's it." Will replied. "Except..."

"What?" Sonny asked.

"I have this strange craving for peanut brittle." Will replied.

"All right." They got the peanut brittle. Sonny had to wrestle the jar from Will, who immediately tried to open it. "Not yet! We have to pay for this, first."

"Fine." Will grumbled. They paid for their food, and Will sulked all the way to the car. Sonny put the grocery bags in the trunk and the backseat, put the grocery cart away, and climbed into the car. He reached back to grab the peanut brittle jar to find it gone.

"Crap." Sonny muttered.

"What?" Will asked, his mouth full. Sonny saw his husband digging into the now half-empty jar.

Sonny chuckled softly. "Nothing. Never mind."

XX

Later that night, Sonny, Will, Gabi, and JJ sat on the couch in the living room to watch a movie. Sonny and JJ were getting bored to tears with the movie, but Gabi and Will loved it.

"I just don't understand." Gabi sniffed, holding back tears. "All she wants is for her family to accept her as who she is. Why don't they?"

"I know, right?" Will sniffed and blew his nose. "So sad."

Gabi nodded. "Mm-hm."

"She doesn't want ribs, you homophobic douchebag. She wants love and acceptance!" Will said angrily.

"We love and accept you, Jenny." Gabi said to the TV.

JJ secretly texted Sonny. _"How did we wind up with the stupidest and most boring movie ever made?"_

_"I don't know, cuz."_

_"This movie doesn't even have hot girl-on-girl action! That's the whole reason I wanted to watch this stupid movie!"_

Sonny snickered before he could stop himself. Will turned to him. "Who are you texting?" He asked.

Sonny froze. "Uh..."

"It's Paul, isn't it?" Will asked, his voice quivering.

"No. I was texting JJ!" Sonny replied.

" _Dude_!" JJ glared at Sonny.

"What? I'm not gonna lie to my husband." Sonny replied.

"Oh. Oh, no. You didn't want to watch the movie, did you?" Gabi asked. "I'm such a horrible person making you watch it."

"Aww, no you're not." JJ hugged her.

"Yeah, you're the best person in the world." Will chimed in. He nudged Sonny, urging him to say something.

"Gabi, listen to us. We love you and you're a great person." Sonny said. Will smiled in satisfaction.

Gabi smiled. "Thanks. I'm sorry I was such a downer."

"You weren't." JJ said honestly. "Now, let's finish watching the movie."

"Are you sure?" Gabi asked.

"Yeah, I'm sure. You love this movie, so...let's continue watching it." JJ said.

Gabi nodded. "Okay."

They got comfortable again and watched. "Seriously, though: where's the girl-on-girl sex?"

"Dude, shut up." Will snapped at JJ.

XXX

The next morning, Sonny pulled into the parking lot of the Salem Convention Center. He, Will, Gabi, and JJ stepped out of the car dressed in suits (Gabi, a dress).

"You all ready for this?" Will asked.

They smiled, nodded, and walked inside. The entryway was decorated with blue and gold balloons and a sign that read "SALEM HIGH CLASS OF 2011 REUNION". The ballroom was similarly decorated and with tables with blue tablecloths.

"Wow, they went all out." Gabi commented.

They heard a loud gasp and turned to Kinsey and T. "Oh my God!"

"Oh my God! Hi!" Gabi greeted the duo.

"Oh, look at your belly!" Kinsey exclaimed. "Okay, so I was going to get the story from Will and Sonny, but I want to hear it from you: why in the heck did you agree to be their surrogate?!"

"Because they spent most of their lives being there for me," Gabi replied, hugging Kinsey, then hugged T. "the least I could do was give them nine months of mine. And besides, they are the most amazing dads. I am honored to carry their children."

"Awww." Kinsey cooed. "And then Will got pregnant?"

"Yep. I've got the bump to prove it." Will smiled and rubbed his bulging belly.

"Dude! You're huge!" T exclaimed.

Everyone just stared at him. Will took it in stride. "Thank you, T."

"So, Gabi, who's this charming date of yours?" Kinsey asked quickly, changing the subject.

"Oh. This is JJ, Abigail's younger brother." Gabi introduced.

"Nice to meet you, JJ." Kinsey said, shaking his hand. "How _is_ Abigail? Is she still dating Chad?"

"Yeah, actually, they got married this past March." JJ replied. "And they have a baby together: Thomas."

Kinsey gasped. "Oh my God! Oh, I bet they're so happy and blissful." JJ, Sonny, Will, and Gabi all avoided eye contact. "What? What'd I say?"

"So, T, what have you been up to lately?" Will asked.

"I'm a PR representative for a major holdings company." T replied.

"I'm a wedding planner." Kinsey said. "And..." She wrapped her arms around T's torso, then showed everyone a ring. "T and I are getting married!"

"What?" Will exclaimed.

"Oh my God, you guys! Congratulations!" Gabi said excitedly.

"Wow, how did that happen?" Sonny couldn't help asking.

"We reconnected about a year ago, gave dating a try, and...well, as they say: the rest is history." T explained.

"Well, congratulations, you guys!" Will exclaimed.

"Thanks. You're all invited, b-t-dubs!" Kinsey said.

"Awesome." Will nodded.

"So, Will, I heard about what happened to you, Sonny, and Abigail last fall." Kinsey said. "Something about Abigail's then fiance trying to kill you guys?"

"Kinsey..." T said warningly.

"It's okay." Will said to T, then turned to Kinsey. "It was a terrible thing to go through, but, we're all stronger because of it. Every day I am grateful to be alive."

"That's good." Kinsey nodded.

"Man, I just _knew_ there was something off about that Ben character!" T exclaimed.

"No you didn't!" JJ exclaimed.

"Did so! He was always so shifty-eyed and shady." T replied.

"Thank you for pointing that out to me while he was still working at TBD." Sonny replied, half-jokingly.

"Yeah, well...you two were friends. I didn't want to rock the boat." T shrugged. "Besides, you would have accused me of being paranoid."

"Yeah, I suppose that's true." Sonny nodded. They laughed.

"All right, everyone, can I have your attention please?" The reunion hostess said into the microphone. "First, I wanna welcome you all to our five-year high school reunion." Everyone applauded. "Now, I'm sure you guys all mingled with each other, now it's time for awards!" Everyone applauded again.

XX

"Now for the 'Had Children the Soonest' award...Gabi Hernandez and Will Horton! Come on up here, guys!" Everyone clapped as Gabi and Will made it to the stage. They each got a $20 gift card to Gymboree. A photographer stood in front of them with a camera. Will and Gabi turned opposite, so their shoulder blades touched, smiled, and put their hands on their bellies.

XXX

"Well, that was a fun reunion."

Will and Sonny walked through the pier.

"Yeah. I actually can't wait for the next one." Will grinned. "Tomorrow, let's plan on going to Gymboree."

Sonny chuckled. "Honey, that gift card doesn't expire til next year."

"I know, but Ari needs a new Fourth of July outfit!" Will exclaimed. He looked around. "Hey...do you see where we are?"

Sonny looked around, confused. "Uh, the pier?"

"This is where we first met, remember?" Will asked. "It was exactly five years ago today."

_Abigail put a hand on Sonny's shoulder. "Sonny, this is my cousin Will, the one I'm always talking about."_

_Sonny smiled at Will. "Oh, hey, dude, how are you? It's nice to meet you after all these years."_

_Will eyed Sonny warily. "Yeah. Uh...so you two are..."_

_"Related." Abigail nodded pointedly._

_Will was slightly embarrassed. "Oh."_

_"Sonny's my cousin too." Abigail explained. "His parents are my uncle Justin and aunt Adrienne."_

_"Wait, I thought your name is Jackson." Will replied._

_"Well, it is, yeah." Sonny nodded. "Well, there's just so many Jacks in my class and in my family, so people started calling me Sonny. My parents hate it, though."_

_"Oh, I'm sor- it's nice to meet you." Will blushed even deeper, and held out his hand to shake. They smiled at each other._

Sonny smiled at the memory. "How could I forget? You thought I was Abigail's ex wanting her back."

Will laughed. "That ironic and awkward moment when _you_ are the one whose ex came back unannounced."

Sonny laughed. "Yeah. That would be the one time running away from my problems actually did help." He wrapped his arms around Will's shoulders. "I met my soulmate...the father of my children."

"We have come so far in the last five years, haven't we?" Will asked. "We made each other better and stronger men."

"We did." They kissed.

"You know...this pier has a long history full of romance, drama, crime..." Will commented. "Did you know that Grandma Marlena and John reunited right at this very pier after so many years apart?"

"Really?" Sonny asked, interested.

"Oh, yeah." Will nodded. "From what Grandma told me, John showed up at the pier, and Grandma slowly appeared out of a mist. It was epic."

"Definitely puts our reunion to shame." They laughed.

"What do you say we head home, cuddle for a bit?" Will suggested.

Sonny nodded. "I'd like that." His phone rang. "Oh. It's my dad. Why don't you go ahead? I'll catch up."

"You sure?"

"Yeah, I'm sure." Sonny replied.

"Okay. See you at home." Will kissed Sonny, and walked off.

Sonny turned around and answered his phone. "Dad, what's up?"

"I have news and you're not gonna like it." Justin announced.

"What's wrong?" Sonny asked, dreading his response.

"We had to let Andre loose from prison." Justin replied.

"What?!"

"Someone confessed to Stefano's murder." Justin replied.

"Dad, he kidnapped me, Will, and Ari; tortured me, and tried to kill Will and Sami!" Sonny exclaimed. "You can't put him away for _that_?!"

"Unfortunately, there was no evidence of that. It was destroyed somehow." Justin sighed.

"Unbelievable." Sonny sighed loudly.

"Yeah, well, get used to it. DiMeras get away with everything." Justin grumbled.

Sonny scoffed. "Yeah, really."

"I'm sorry. I just wanted you to know." Justin said.

"Okay. Thanks." Sonny replied and hung up. "Great. What else can go wrong?" His phone rang again. "Chad?"

"Sonny, hey. Have you seen or heard from Abigail in the last few hours?" Chad asked, slightly panicked.

"No, why?" Sonny asked.

"She escaped and ran away from the asylum." Chad replied. "She's gone."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You know, that last part would have been a perfect full-circle ending. Buuuut, the show and WilSon's story is not over until at least next year or the following year (and five years sounds more special than say 6 or 7 years. lol).


	51. Fourth of July

Abigail had gone missing.

Over the next couple weeks, the Salem PD and the Hortons searched high and low for Abigail, but she completely fell off the grid. Chad even hired people connected to the DiMeras to try to find her.

Sonny kept a strong front, since Will was beside himself with worry for his favorite cousin. He wanted to fast, but then realized that he couldn't, because of his pregnancy.

The traditional 4th of July picnic drew closer and was almost cancelled, but Jennifer assured her relatives that Abigail wouldn't want them to cancel any fun traditions on her account.

So, thus, the picnic was scheduled for the evening of the 4th. It was barely warm enough to swim in the lake, so everyone was in their swimsuits.

"All right, Ari, here we are!" Gabi exclaimed, holding Ari's hand. They arrived at the lake and set down blankets and tote bags.

"Oh, this is perfect weather for swimming." Sonny said as he knelt down and started pulling out sunblock and an inner tube that still needed to be blown up.

"Hi!" Everyone turned to see Adrienne and (to everyone's surprise) Lucas arriving with tote bags in tow.

"Hey!" Sonny greeted.

"Grandpa! Grandma!" Ari ran to Adrienne and Lucas.

"Hey, there's my favorite girl!" Lucas grunted playfully as he lifted Ari up and hugged her. "Are you excited to swim in the lake and watch fireworks later?"

"Yeah!" Ari exclaimed.

"She has been taking swimming lessons." Will said proudly. He pulled out two inflatable wings and a life jacket.

Lucas stared at his son, half amused, half concerned. "Dude..."

"Didn't I almost drown in the river when I was Ari's age?" Will asked. "Considering she has gone through pretty much everything that _I've_ gone through the first three years of my life, I'm not taking chances."

Lucas was about to say something, but was silenced by Sonny shaking his head warningly. "Okay. Cool."

Jennifer and JJ walked towards the group. "Hey, everyone."

"Hey, Jenn." Lucas replied. He hugged his sister. "Any word?"

Jennifer sighed. "No, not yet."

"Oh. Well, I'm sure she'll turn up." Lucas said.

JJ turned to Sonny. "Hey, Sonny, I have some food in the trunk. Wanna come help me get it?"

"Sure." Sonny stood up and followed JJ to a quiet place away from the group. JJ turned around. "I knew there was something else."

"You're co-CEO of Titan, right?" JJ asked.

"Yes." Sonny replied.

"So, you have probably as many resources as your uncle Victor had when _he_ ran Titan?" JJ asked.

"Not as much as before, but I have quite a few." Sonny replied. "I already called them and told them to search everywhere and report to you, Roman, and Hope."

"Great. Thanks. We need all the help we can get." JJ replied. "I also talked to Uncle Steve. He and John and Paul are going to look, too."

"Paul?" Sonny asked, surprised.

"Yeah, he's a PI now. You didn't know?" JJ asked.

"No. That's good. Good for him." Sonny smiled and nodded. "What do you think could have happened to Abigail?"

JJ sighed. "I don't know, man. She just ran off, no explanation. She didn't come home, she didn't go to any of the places where she would go..."

Sonny nodded, then remembered being stabbed by someone hired by Clyde because Victor tried to have him killed. "I...may be a little paranoid, but do you think it's possible that she may have been kidnapped?"

"Well, anything's possible, but, who would kidnap her? Ben's still in jail." JJ shrugged.

"Clyde, maybe? To get back at her for ruining his son's life?" Sonny suggested.

"Clyde's still in jail, too. And there's really no evidence of foul play." JJ said. "I'll keep this in mind, though."

"Okay, sounds good." Sonny nodded, and started heading back.

JJ cleared his throat. "I still need help with the food."

Sonny smiled, spun his heal and followed JJ to the car.

XX

"You ready, sweetheart?"

Will and Gabi were knee-deep into the lake with Ari, who was in an inner tube. Sonny stood a few feet away, filming everything.

Will spun the inner tube around a few times. Ari squealed in delight. "All right, swim to Mommy, now!"

Gabi waded a few feet and turned around. Will gently pushed Ari towards Gabi. Ari giggled and kicked her little legs. "I can swim! I can swim! Look, Mommy, I can swim!"

"Good job, sweetheart!" Gabi said encouragingly, clapping. She caught the inner tube. "All right, ready to go back to Daddy, now?"

"Yeah!"

"Okay. Wheeee!" Gabi spun the inner tube and pushed her towards Will. A wave runner sped past nearby causing a few waves. The inner tube tipped over, sending Ari into the water. "Ari!" Will, Gabi, and Sonny all rushed towards Ari, and turned her right side up. Ari was crying and coughing. Gabi pulled her out of the tube, hugged her, and rubbed her back. "Oh, it's okay, mama. You're okay."

Will sighed and turned to Sonny. "Tell me you got that jerk on tape."

"Will, it was an accident. I'm sure he just didn't see us." Sonny assured him. He fished the inner tube out of the water, and they all headed out. Adrienne and Lucas rushed over with towels.

"Wow, that was crazy." Adrienne commented. She gave a couple towels to Will, and one to Gabi. Will took the life jacket and wings off of Ari, and Gabi wrapped her daughter in the towel and started drying her off. "Is she okay?"

Gabi nodded. "She's fine. Just a little shaken up."

"Well, she's never going swimming again." Will decided.

"Will, come on, it was a one-time thing." Sonny assured him.

"You ready to go back in, mama?" Gabi asked Ari.

Ari shook her head. "No."

"You'd rather play with Grandpa, right?" Lucas asked, smiling. Ari smiled and nodded. "All right! I have a few puzzles for us to put together."

"Okay, let me get her dressed first." Gabi replied. She took Ari to the car to change her into a red, white, and blue patterned dress and a streamer ponytail holder.

Ari played with Lucas and Adrienne, then they all had a barbecue, and talked and laughed. They gathered at Town Square to watch the fireworks as Katy Perry's Firework started playing. Ari danced along to the music and Lucas and Will filmed her. Will sent the videos to Sami and Marlena for them to see.

XXX

Later that night, Sonny crawled into bed. Will was sitting up, writing on a notepad. "Whatcha doin'?"

"I am writing down baby name ideas." Will replied.

"Ooh. Show me." Sonny scooted closer.

"Well, I want our boys to be named after someone." Will said. Sonny was confused about that. "My mom and I were named after someone, Ari's named after someone, Allie and Johnny are named after someone, you're named after someone...I wanna continue the tradition."

Sonny chuckled softly. "Okay."

"But, I also want them to have a name of both Irish and Greek origins."

"So, we'll give them middle names." Sonny suggested. "What do you have so far?"

"Well, for Greek names I have Adonis, Balthazar, Costa, Drew, Hector, Icarius, Ilya, Jerome, Jason, Leon, Myron, and Maximos." Will said.

"Whoa, that's a lot of names." Sonny commented. They chuckled.

Will nodded. "Mm-hmm. For Irish names, I have Aaron, Adam, Darrin, Dean, Dylan, Evan, James, Kevin, Liam, Rory, Ross, and Ryan."

"I like Dean, Darrin, Adam, and James for our Irish baby." Sonny said.

"Okay." Will crossed off all the names except the ones Sonny listed.

"For Greek names...hmm. I like Leon and Maximos." Sonny replied.

"All righty. What about middle names?" Will asked. "I would like to have one of the boys have my dad's name- Lucas."

Sonny nodded. "Okay. Ooh! Leon Lucas Horton-Kiriakis."

Will laughed. "Yeah!"

"For our Irish baby, how about Darrin Jackson? We'll call him DJ for short." Sonny suggested. Will's face fell. "What? Oh...you're thinking of Daniel and DJ Wear?"

"No, actually. I haven't even thought of Daniel since his memorial." Will replied. "I was actually thinking of my uncle DJ. He died when he was a few months old."

"Oh. Poor Marlena." Sonny said. "This is perfect: we'll name him after his great-uncle who only had a few months to live and after his _papou_. Is Marlena gonna be okay with that?"

Will chuckled softly. "Well, she named my mom after her late sister, so, I'm sure she'll be fine."

Sonny smiled and nodded. "Okay. Sounds good."

They kissed and fell asleep in each other's arms.


	52. A Day Of Joy

A man in his mid-twenties strolled through the Town Square, smiling. He had a striking resemblance to Sonny and Justin. His cell phone rang.

"Yeah? ... Yeah, I'm in Salem for a long-overdue visit. ... Yep. I figured it's high time I met my brother-in-law. After all, he almost died twice in the last year. I may not get another chance." The man joked over the phone. He saw a pregnant man sitting at a table, texting on his phone. He recognized the man as Will. "Okay. We'll talk soon. Bye." He remembered that Will cheated on his baby brother twice, but apparently, he's changed. He decided to test that theory.

XX

Will finished his text and walked inside the cafe to get a pastry.

"Hey, baby. Come here often?" Will turned to see a man in his twenties, leaning casually against the doorframe, smiling flirtatiously.

"Uh, yeah. Excuse me." Will said.

"Well...I may just have to stop by more often just to catch a glimpse of that gorgeous face of yours." Alex replied. "You know, I have been all over the world and I never saw anyone as beautiful as you. What do you say...we head to my hotel room?"

Will chuckled, uncomfortably. "Dude, I'm married."

"Doesn't bother me if it doesn't bother you." Alex smirked.

It took a minute, but then, Will suddenly recognized him. He folded his arms. "Well, it _should_ bother you, considering I'm married to your brother."

Alex laughed softly. "Damn, I thought I was doing good!"

"I've seen pictures of you, Alex. I know it's you." Will smiled.

Alex sighed and shook his head. "Nice to finally meet you, Will."

"You too." They shook hands. "What was with the creepy flirting before?"

"I was testing your loyalty to my baby brother." Alex explained. "Don't worry, man, I'm straight as a pole."

Will scoffed and shook his head. "Sonny did tell me you're a little overprotective."

"Well, you can't really blame me, can you?" Alex raised an eyebrow.

Will laughed softly. "No, I guess I can't. Sonny also tells me you take your role as eldest brother very seriously."

"Indeed I do." Alex nodded. "Sonny tells me that you're the oldest in _your_ family, too?"

"Yeah. I have a younger sister and we have a younger half-brother and half-sister." Will replied. "Two of them are twins."

"Wow, we kind of have the same family set-up." Alex replied.

Will chuckled. "Yeah."

"Alex?" They turned to see Sonny walking in, all smiles. "Oh my God! What are you doing here?" They laughed and hugged.

"I decided to visit the family and finally meet my baby brother-in-law and little niece." Alex explained.

"Took you long enough." Sonny said half-jokingly. "So, what was your first impression?"

"Uh, well, he's definitely loyal to you." Alex nodded.

Sonny was confused, then he rolled his eyes and sighed. "Will?"

"Yeah?"

"Did my brother fake flirt with you?" Sonny asked.

Now it was _Will's_ turn to be confused. "Uh, yeah. Why?"

"Oh my God, Alex!" Sonny groaned in annoyance.

"Has...he done this before?" Will asked.

"Oh, yeah." Sonny nodded. "He's done this to every single one of my boyfriends- girlfriends before I came out. The ones that he's met, anyway."

"Hey, just making sure." Alex raised his hands in surrender, then hugged Sonny's shoulders. "I just don't want my baby brother to get hurt, that's all."

Sonny scoffed lightly. "Speaking of, are you still with that Brandi girl or whatever her name is?"

"Brenda, and yes, as a matter of fact." Alex nodded. "We've been going out for a year. I'm thinking of proposing."

"Really? Wow, that serious?" Sonny asked.

"Yeah!"

"Alex?" They turned to see Adrienne smiling and walking towards the men. "Oh my God!" She laughed and they hugged.

"Hey, Adrienne." Alex greeted.

"When did you get in?" Adrienne asked.

"About an hour ago." Alex replied. "I finally met Will."

"And let me guess: you fake flirted with him to test his loyalty." Adrienne guessed.

"I'm that obvious, huh?" Alex asked.

"Oh, yeah." Adrienne nodded and turned to Will. "He's done this to _all_ of his brothers' girlfriends- boyfriends in Sonny's case."

"Well, it sounds effective." Will commented. "So, did anyone fail your loyalty test?"

"Once. One of Joe's girlfriend failed horribly, and Joe then accused me of stealing his girl and beat me up." Alex nodded.

"It took me, Vic, and both our parents to break up the fight." Sonny added.

"Yikes." Will said. "Did you test _Paul's_ loyalty?"

Alex shook his head. "I never met Paul. He's still here in Salem, right?"

"Yep. He's now a private investigator with his dad and my uncle Steve." Sonny replied.

Alex laughed. "I cannot imagine Paul Narita as a PI. He looks more like a hitman."

Will laughed and nodded in agreement. "Yeah, really! 'Oh, don't worry- I'm not here to _kill_ you. I'm here to _investigate_ you.'" They all laughed.

"So, Alex, how long will you be in town?" Adrienne asked.

"Only a few days." Alex replied. "I'm here to revisit old haunts and visit family, and that's it."

"Oh. Well, I wish you could stay longer." Sonny said.

"Ah, me too, but. duty calls, you know?" Alex shrugged.

"Okay, well, my dad is actually bringing Ari in just a minute here. You can meet both of them." Will said, smiling.

"Awesome."

Just then, Lucas and Ari walked into the cafe.

"Daddies!" Ari exclaimed. She ran over to them.

Sonny swooped down and picked her up. "Hey, sweetheart. Did you have a good time with Grandpa Lucas?"

"Yeah!" Ari replied.

"Ari, I'd like you to meet someone." Sonny said. He pointed to Alex. "This is your uncle Alex. He's my big brother."

"Hi." Ari waved to Alex.

"Hey, there, sweetheart." Alex greeted. "It's nice to meet you. How are you?"

"How am I what?" Ari asked obliviously. Everyone chuckled lightly.

"Tomorrow, Adrienne and I are taking her to the zoo." Lucas announced.

"Oh, you never forget your first zoo visit." Adrienne replied. "Justin took me there on our fifth date."

"Wait, that was your very first zoo visit?" Will asked. Sonny shot him a look. Will quickly changed direction. "I remember mine well. I believe I was just a bit older than Ari, right, Dad?"

"You were." Lucas nodded. "You were excited throughout the whole thing...but then we visited the monkey cages."

_"Whoa, slow down, buddy. The animals aren't going anywhere." Lucas laughed as he followed his toddler son towards the monkey cages._

_"Look, Daddy! Monkeys!" Little Will exclaimed. He ran up to the glass cage, reached for the railing and pulled himself up. Lucas held him up. Will pressed his face against the glass to get a better look. All of a sudden, a monkey popped up right in front of him, screeching! Will screamed in fright and turned around, clutching Lucas. "Daddy!"_

"I've been afraid of monkeys ever since." Will nodded solemnly.

"Sami accused me of planning that. She was convinced of that for a year." Lucas shook his head. "Then she took him to see _Tarzan_. When he saw one of the gorilla scenes, Will screamed loudly and started crying."

"Okay, that's enough embarrassing stories for today." Will rolled his eyes.

"Will, that is _nothing_." Alex replied. "When we were little, we went to Bear Country, USA kind of by Mount Rushmore. One of the bears suddenly jumped up, put his paws on Sonny's window, and roared. Sonny jumped a mile out of his skin, screamed like a girl, and pooped himself."

Will and Lucas cracked up, and Sonny glared at them, blushing a deep red. "You know, Sonny still actually screams like a girl."

" _Will!_ " Sonny exclaimed.

"I'm sorry, honey, but it's true. Remember Halloween after we first started dating?" Will asked. "Someone quickly pushed a mummy statue in your path. You jumped back, screamed, and hid behind me."

Alex burst out laughing. "Oh...my...God!"

Sonny glared at the two and smiled mischievously. "Hey, Alex."

"What?"

"Spider behind you." Sonny joked.

Alex jumped and clutched onto Adrienne. "Where?!"

Sonny, Will, and Lucas laughed. Alex glared at Sonny. "You'll pay for this."

"Uh-oh. Victor and Deimos 2.0 in the making!" Lucas joked.

Sonny laughed and shook his head. "Never. Alex, let's promise to never become those two."

"Oh, you can count on that." They shook hands and hugged.

"I wish _I_ had an older brother who looked out for me." Lucas mused, gazing off.

"Wait, I thought you have two older brothers...?" Sonny asked.

"I do, but, I can't stand 'em." Lucas shrugged.

"Oh." Sonny nodded.

"So, have you two thought of names for your babies?" Adrienne asked Will and Sonny.

"We have." Sonny replied. "We haven't settled on first names, but our boys' middle names will be Lucas and Justin."

Lucas was touched. "Really?"

"Yes, really." Will smiled. "Despite what you put me through during my early childhood, I still look up to you."

"Aww. Come here, you!" Lucas pulled Will into a hug.

"Well, I hate to cut this short, but I wanna see Uncle Vic and Maggie and Brady and the baby." Alex said.

"Okay. We'll all go." Sonny replied. He turned to Will. "You coming?"

Will sighed. "I would, but, Victor can't stand me, and I don't want to deal with that."

"Smart move." Adrienne nodded.

"It was nice meeting you, Alex." Will said.

"You, too." Alex replied.

Sonny kissed Will on the cheek. "See you at home." He turned to Ari. "Bye, sweet pea. Daddy will see you later."

"Bye." Ari replied.

Will turned to Ari. "Ready to go, princess?"

"Yeah." Ari replied.

Will settled Ari into her stroller and walked out of the cafe. He decided to take a stroll through the square. He spotted Marlena sitting on a bench outside a store, sighing at something on her phone. He leaned down. "Wanna say hi to Grandma Marlena?" He strolled to Marlena. "Hey, Grandma."

Marlena looked up and smiled. "Oh, hi, Will." She leaned down towards Ari. "Hi, sweetheart."

"Mind if we join?" Will asked, sitting down.

"Well, since you already sat down, you might as well." Marlena said teasingly. They laughed. "How are the babies?"

Will rubbed his belly. "They're good. Healthy."

"That's good. How are you?" Marlena asked.

Will sighed. "Exhausted. Ready to meet my boys. I now sympathize with all women. I don't know how you manage! My ankles are swollen, I cry at the drop of a hat, I have these weird, vivid dreams..."

"It's a tough journey, but the end result is worth it." Marlena said.

"I'm sure it will be." Will replied. "So, how are you doing? You seemed a little sad when I walked up."

Marlena chuckled softly. "I just told your mother that John and I are renewing our vows."

"She's not happy?" Will guessed.

"She is, but, she's not coming home for the wedding." Marlena replied. "I guess it's just as well. Andre's out of prison. He'll come after her."

"Or me." Will stared ahead. He sighed. "But I have a feeling he has bigger fish to fry."

"Really? What?"

"Chad. Andre can't be too happy about Chad not having his back." Will shrugged.

"Oh, dear." Marlena said. "Speaking of, is there any word on Abigail?"

"No." Will sighed. "I keep hoping she'll call or turn up, but she completely fell off the face of the earth."

"Do you think Chad may have something to do with it?"

Will sighed again and closed his eyes. "No. I know Chad better then most of the people in town...and I _still_ thought he was the necktie killer last year. I'm not making the same mistake twice, by thinking he's hiding my cousin."

Marlena nodded. "Good point. Let's talk about happier things. Have you thought of names for the boys?"

"Actually, yes." Will sat up and smiled. "One of them is going to have the middle name Lucas after my dad. And the other one is going to be named either Darrin or Devon with the middle name Justin. We'll call him DJ for short." Marlena smiled sadly. "But, if it upsets you too much..."

"No, no. Don't be silly." Marlena waved him off.

"So, you're okay with that?" Will asked to be sure.

Marlena smiled. "Only if you let me be one of the first people to hold him."

Will laughed. "Deal!"

Jennifer hurried up to them. "Will! Glad I found you."

"Hey, Aunt Jen." Will greeted. "Have they found Abigail yet?"

"No." Jennifer sighed. "I was actually hoping you heard from her."

"Oh. No, I haven't." Will replied. "I'll let you know if I do, though."

"Thanks. Um...are you and Chad still friends?" Jennifer asked.

"Yeah. Why?"

"Well, I was hoping you could talk to him." Jennifer replied. "Maybe find out whether or not he's hiding her?"

"I don't think he'd ever hide her, but I will talk to him." Will promised.

"Well, I hope you're right." Jennifer admitted. "Thank you, Will. I'm so glad you and Abigail are close." She hugged Will and smiled. "I was wrong about you. You really are a Horton." She pulled away and walked off.

Will laughed softly. "Well, I get where she's coming from."

"Yeah. I was wondering when your father's side of the family would see past Sami being your mother." Marlena commented.

Will laughed louder and shook his head. "Hey, in Sami's defense, _she_ always saw past who people's parents are."

"True." Marlena nodded. Her phone buzzed. "Oh, excuse me." She read her phone and sighed.

"What's wrong?"

"Just another news alert. There's been another fire- Baron's." Marlena replied.

"Oh my God! Did anyone...?"

"There were at least ten injured, but no deaths." Marlena replied.

Will sighed. "Not another serial killer!"

"I know. Really."

"Well, hopefully we won't be targets this time." Will said, trying to lighten the mood. Marlena laughed and nodded in agreement.

XXX

"So we're back to where we were before Deimos drowned, huh?"

Brady and Justin were at Victor's townhouse, explaining the situation. Kate still has all the money and resources and will not give it back to Victor.

Justin sighed. "I have half a mind to seduce Kate to get it back, but she'll see right through me."

"Good point." Victor grumbled.

"Guys, it's not that bad. We still have money squirrelled away." Brady shrugged. "Maybe-maybe we can sue Kate or something."

"I don't think that's gonna work." Justin replied. "Honestly, I don't think _anything_ is gonna cheer me up right now."

Someone knocked on the door. Brady got up and opened the door and smiled. "You sure about that, Justin?" He stepped aside revealing a smiling Alex in the doorway.

"Alex!" Justin exclaimed in surprise. He got up and they hugged. "Oh, this is a surprise!"

"Hey, Dad." Alex replied.

"About damn time you showed your face here." Victor said, standing up.

"Hello to you too, Uncle Vic." Alex said. He hugged him. "So...how's everything going?"

"Dismal. The only bright light is that your brother is co-CEO of Titan." Victor replied.

"Oh. Well, then why the long face? You'll have everything back soon enough." Alex said.

"It's not that easy." Sonny replied. "Kate is controlling, ruthless, and power hungry."

"Well, I'd be glad to help." Victor said.

"Just don't corrupt my son too much, Uncle Vic." Justin said.

"Oh, don't worry, Justin. I'll have Sonny committing espionage within a week." Victor joked. They all laughed.

"Good to see you haven't lost your sense of humor." Justin remarked.

"Yeah. No way Uncle Deimos can take that away, right?" Alex smirked.

Brady chuckled. "So, how long are you in town?"

"Only for a day." Alex admitted. "I wasn't able to get off work longer."

"Oh, well, that's a shame." Victor said.

"Yeah. So, I was hoping I could use the Titan jet." Alex glanced over at Sonny.

"Nope. Sorry." Sonny said, folding his arms. Then he smiled. "Nah, I'm kidding. You can totally use it."

Alex laughed and clapped Sonny's shoulder. "I love having a rich and powerful brother."

"Yeah. Don't get _too_ used to running to me whenever you need money or the jet." Sonny said.

"That's my boy." Victor said, raising a glass.

"Oh, fine." Alex said half-jokingly. They laughed. "Hey, Brady, when can I meet that little boy of yours? I wanna meet him."

"Actually, he's probably awake from his nap if you wanna come over." Brady said.

"Sure!" Alex turned to everyone else. "I'll see you guys. Maybe I'll come at Thanksgiving or Christmas."

"Looking forward to it." Justin said. Sonny nodded in agreement.

"Bye." Victor said as they left.

Sonny took a deep breath and turned to Justin. "So, there's something else I want to tell you."

"Should I be sitting down?" Justin asked, warily.

Sonny laughed softly. "No. It's good. Will and I have been planning baby names. One of our kids is going to have your name as his middle name."

Justin was touched. "Really?"

"Yes, really." Sonny said, nodding. "You taught me that no parent is perfect...among other things."

"Oh..." Justin grew teary-eyed. He pulled Sonny into a hug. "come here, you!"

Sonny laughed and hugged back.

XXX

The next morning, Will got to work on his next article. This one is about the serial arsonist. "So, I almost got killed by a serial killer, now I'm writing about one. This is going to be one hot article." He looked down at his belly and rubbed it. "What do you think, little buddy?" He felt some movement and gasped. "Oh my god. Sonny! Sonny!" He stood up just as Sonny bounded downstairs wearing nothing but a towel.

"What? What's wrong?" Sonny asked frantically.

"He's kicking." Will said, smiling. He grabbed Sonny's hand and pressed it where the baby was kicking.

Sonny exhaled sharply and smiled. "Oh...hi, there."

"Hey, is everything okay? I heard yelling." Gabi asked as she waddled into the living room.

"Yeah. I just felt the baby kick." Will replied.

"Oh." Gabi replied. She felt her own baby kicking. "Oh! This baby's kicking too!" She grabbed both Sonny's and Will's hand and pressed them against her belly.

"You know...these two remind me that this world isn't so cruel." Sonny said. "Good can actually happen."

"Hold me, Sonny. That was beautiful." Will joked. Gabi laughed.

Sonny playfully shoved Will. "Hey, I'm serious!" Then he laughed with them.


	53. Multitasking

Sonny just finished up some paperwork when his cell phone rang. "Hey, Uncle Vic. What's up?"

"Tate has been kidnapped about an hour ago." Victor replied simply.

"What?!" Sonny exclaimed.

"I know your men are searching for your cousin Abigail, but I would really appreciate it if you would have them search for Tate as well." Victor said.

"Okay. They can multitask. I'll get them right on it." Sonny replied. "Any suspects?"

"No, not yet." Victor sighed. "I'll let you know."

"All right. Thanks, Uncle Vic." Sonny hung up, sighed, sent a text to Will letting him know what happened, then called his men to look for both Tate and Abigail.

XXX

Will held Ari's hand as they walked into the ice cream shop. Any Given Sundae was brightly lit with black and white checkered tiles, light blue tables and chairs, and pictures of the shop in the past and ice cream cones of different colors lined the cream colored walls.

Father and daughter walked up to the counter and were greeted by a smiling blonde haired, blue eyed woman. "Hello, Will, Ari. How are you guys doing today?"

"Doing good." Will smiled back.

"The usual for you guys?" The woman asked.

Will turned to Ari. "What kind of ice cream do you want, sweetheart?"

Ari looked around and spotted an ice cream cone on display with different flavors of ice cream on top. "That one! I want that one!"

"Rainbow ice cream cone. Good choice." The woman nodded.

"Um, what's on it?" Will asked.

"Orange sherbet, pistachio, cherry walnut, and chocolate." The woman replied.

"Okay. I'll have a chocolate ice cream cone." Will replied. He paid for their ice creams and they sat at a table facing the door. "Remember, eat slow so your head doesn't hurt like last time."

Ari nodded and took a few bites of her ice cream and pulled a face.

"What's the matter? Don't you like it?" Will asked. Ari shook her head. "Oh, well, how about we trade, then? You can have _my_ ice cream."

"Okay!" Ari said eagerly. They swapped ice creams and started eating.

Will saw Chad walk into the ice cream shop with Thomas. "Hey, Chad!"

Chad saw Will and Ari and walked over, smiling. "Hey, guys. Hi, Ari."

"Hi, Uncle Chad." Ari replied.

"Fancy running into you here." Will replied.

"Yeah, I just had a monster craving for ice cream, so..." Chad shrugged. "Would you mind watching Thomas while I order?"

"Sure, man."

"Thanks, buddy." Chad replied. He leaned down to Thomas. "Hey, little man. Daddy will be right back. Stay with Uncle Will, okay?"

Will chuckled and leaned down after Chad left. "Hey, buddy. Hi." Chad returned a few minutes later with a huge hot-fudge sundae with sprinkles, whipped cream, and a cherry on top. "Whoa."

"Yeah, well...kind of stressed." Chad replied, digging in.

"Any word?" Will asked.

Chad shook his head. He glanced towards Ari, who was looking around.

"Daddy, there's Josie. Can I go play with her?" Ari asked.

Will saw a little girl with her parents and older sister and nodded. "Sure. Come on." He stood up and turned to Chad. "Be right back." They walked over to the little family.

"Hey, Will! Hey, Ari." Josie's mom, Janice greeted.

"Hey." Will greeted.

"Ari, come sit with me." Josie said, happily.

Ari looked to her dad as if asking permission. Will nodded and nudged her forward. He turned to Janice. "I'm just over at that table."

"Okay."

Will returned to his seat. Chad was already halfway done with his sundae. "So...you were about to tell me if you've heard about Abigail."

Chad sighed. "No. I told my men to widen the search. Have Sonny's men come up with anything?"

"No, but..."

"What?"

"Our cousin Tate has been kidnapped a few hours ago." Will sighed. "So, Sonny's men are looking for both Tate and Abigail. This may take a while."

Chad exhaled sharply. "I'm sorry about your cousin."

"Thanks." Will replied. "So, they have no news at _all_?"

"Well, Andre is helping me- but I don't trust him." Chad said quickly. "He told me about this plane that went down in the Gulf of Mexico. There were no survivors. He told me that Abby was on that plane."

"And you _believe_ him?" Will raised an eyebrow.

"I don't _want_ to, but..." Chad's voice trailed off.

"Chad. Come on. This is the _same_ Andre who made us all believe that several of my family members, Andre himself, and Ari were dead at one point in time!" Will exclaimed. "You can _not_ believe him."

"You have a point there." Chad nodded. "JJ also said that Abby hasn't used her credit cards and she's not answering her phone."

"How exactly did she disappear?" Will asked.

"Well, apparently, she ran into Andre outside Shady Hills and gave him a letter she wrote to me."

"Okay, _that_ should be your first red flag." Will said. "There is _no_ way on this green earth that Abigail would entrust Andre with a letter. He probably kidnapped her and is holding her hostage!"

"That's what I thought too at first." Chad shrugged. "He convinced me that he didn't."

Will scoffed and shook his head. "He's a brilliant liar, Chad. I don't believe for a second that Andre doesn't have her or that she's dead."

Chad sighed. "I hope you're right."

Ari ran over to Will. "Daddy, can I go to Josie's house and play?"

Will glanced at Janice, who nodded and smiled, then turned to Ari. "Of course. Be good."

"I will! Bye, Daddy!" She ran back to her friend.

Will turned back to Chad. "Hey...don't give up hope just yet. We will find Abigail."

Chad smiled and sighed. "You know, sometimes I miss high school. Things were much simpler then."

Will chuckled. "Yeah, really. Six years ago, did you ever imagine we'd be where we are right now?"

"No way." Chad shook his head.

XXX

A while later, Theresa burst into Sonny's office. She walked to his desk and leaned down. "I'm gonna need to borrow Titan TV. I wanna make a public announcement for a reward for Tate's safe return."

"Oh. Okay. Give me one second." Sonny called down to Titan TV to have them set up a camera. "They'll be ready in ten minutes."

"Great."

"Theresa, are you sure this is a good idea? There might be misleads and people taking advantage-"

"I don't care." Theresa snapped. "I can't just sit around and do nothing."

XXX

After the announcement, Brady called Sonny. "Did you know about this?"

"Yeah, I was the one who set it up." Sonny replied. "Didn't _you_ know?"

Brady sighed deeply. "No, and if I _had_ , I would have had you cancel it. I don't want to get any misinformation or misleads or people taking advantage of this."

"I'm sorry."

"It's okay. You didn't know." Brady shook his head. "Anyway, we _do_ have a lead and it's in Vegas, so..."

"I'll have the Titan jet ready for you within the hour." Sonny nodded.

"Thanks, man. I owe you." Brady replied.

"No problem."

XXX

Later, Will sat on the couch reading a book. Someone knocked on the door. Will answered it. Chad walked into the house looking pissed.

"She wants to sue for custody." Chad vented.

"Come on in, Chad." Will said sarcastically. He shut the door.

Chad exhaled sharply. "Look, man, I'm sorry. I just needed to talk to someone."

Will gestured to him. "By all means. I'm guessing you mean Jennifer?"

"Yep." Chad sank to the couch. "She wants to take custody because apparently I'm dangerous and cursed just because I'm a DiMera."

"What? That's insane!" Will exclaimed angrily. "Is she thinking about Abigail at _all_? She knows this is the _last_ thing Abigail would want, right?"

"She knows, but I doubt she even cares." Chad shook his head. "You know, for a moment, I really thought I'd be the one DiMera that wouldn't have to worry about custody battles."

"Would this even get to court? Grandparents have no legal right to their grandchildren, and you haven't done anything to warrant a custody battle." Will replied.

"Thanks. I did call your aunt." Chad replied.

"Aunt Belle?"

"I know- this couldn't have come at a worse time." Chad sighed and rubbed his eyes. "You know...times like this I _really_ miss EJ and Lexie. EJ can talk a dog out of a meat truck, and he's had experience with custody battles."

Will nodded. "Well, I have EJ's number. You can text him for advice."

Chad smiled. "Thanks."

"I don't want to get in the middle of this, but, if you need a character witness, I'm here." Will said.

"Thanks, man. I appreciate that." Chad replied. "I just wish Abby would hurry home. Then we wouldn't have to deal with this."

"Me, too."

XXX

After Chad left, Will did some thinking. There were no leads on Abigail, and things are starting to get really tense with Chad and Jennifer. With every passing minute, Will was more convinced that Andre has Abigail.

He had to do something.

XX

Andre laughed in triumph, raised his champagne glass, and took a sip. He had just watched the house where Hope and Rafe were explode on his tablet. "Success." He heard knocking on the door, quickly closed his tablet, and rushed to answer it. "Ah. Will. To what do I owe this dishonor?"

"I've come to make a deal." Will said simply. He walked into the hotel room. "I'll cut to the chase. I know you have my cousin."

"Now, Will, I assume you heard the tragic news of that plane that went down in the Gulf of Mexico." Andre replied. "Dear Abigail was on that plane."

"Come on, Andre! You _really_ expect me to believe that?" Will snapped. "You seem to have this nasty habit of faking peoples' deaths. Abigail is no different."

"Mm. And what, pray tell, are you going to do with this accusation?" Andre asked.

"I want to make a trade." Will put his hands on his bulging belly. "My unborn child for my cousin."


	54. The Deal

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, guys, listen up. Up until now, I've had this story in both Will's and Sonny's POV. But, since Sonny returns next week, and he's back on contract; I am changing gears. This story will now mainly be Will's POV with a few missing moments from Sonny. I also read that Sonny and Paul will get together in canon. Will will be in Paul's place of course, and I'm bringing back Derrick for Paul.

Andre just stared at Will in shock and slight amusement. He laughed and shook his head. "Oh, you've caught me in a good mood, dear William. You almost had me."

"Andre...I'm being totally serious." Will said, calmly. "I am offering something very precious to me in exchange for my cousin's safe return. Think about it: this baby is a Horton, a Kiriakis, and a Brady. Not just _any_ Brady- _Sami Brady's grandson._ You can raise him to continue your and your father's legacy. I won't stand in your way. I won't ask for him back."

Andre turned his back and considered that for a minute. That sounds tempting...and he loves a chance to hold one over Sami...but... "You've screwed me before. Why should I trust you?"

"I just want my cousin back safe and sound." Will shrugged. "I have no reason to betray you."

"Yes...but say I _do_ deliver your cousin so dear you would give up your child for," Andre turned back around. "You could change your mind and try to get your baby back."

"I won't. You have my word." Will promised.

Andre nodded. "And how does your dear husband feel about this? He can't be too happy about it."

"He was upset at first, but, he came to understand, and he too will do anything to get our cousin back." Will lied.

"Hmm." Andre folded his arms. "You know very well my father had eyes and ears everywhere. He made reports and notes. Most notably on Abigail, since she is the woman whom his youngest son loves. From those reports, to summarize, you were there for her a lot more than she was there for _you_. Honestly, it seemed like she doesn't even _like_ you that much."

Will glared at Andre. "What is your point?"

"My point is...why make such a huge sacrifice for someone who wouldn't think twice about betraying you?" Andre asked. "Someone who cares more for herself than anyone else, including you? Hmm?"

"Because she's family. You don't give up on family." Will growled.

Andre chuckled. "I see. Well, William, you are a lot of things. I just didn't think you'd be the kind to sell someone who will most likely worship, respect, love, and look up to you for someone who does the complete opposite."

"Like I said, I just want my cousin safe and sound." Will said.

"I see." Andre asked. "Tell you what: I will think about your offer and get back to you. Sound fair?" Will nodded. "Good. Now, if you'll excuse me, I've got some other business to attend to." He opened his door and gestured for Will to leave.

Will left silently and waited until Andre closed the door. He sighed and rubbed his belly. "Now we just have to figure out a way to weasel out of this deal if Andre agrees to it."

XXX

Sonny stretched and sighed. He finished everything early, but it wasn't time to punch out yet. He decided to stay a bit longer just in case something came up. His gaze fell on a framed photo of the sonograms of both his boys. He smiled lovingly at them.

_"Daddy!"_

_Sonny looked up from his desk and smiled widely when he saw his twin toddlers running into the room, towards him. "Hey! There's my boys!" Sonny held his arms up and exclaimed playfully as the boys jumped into his arms. Sonny laughed._

_"Ready to go, Daddy?" One of the twins asked._

_"Hmm. Where are we going again?" Sonny half-joked._

_"Daaad! Don't tell me you forgot!" Exclaimed the other twin._

_"Our first baseball game!" Exclaimed the first twin._

_"They've been talking of nothing else all day." Will said, smiling. He leaned down and kissed his husband. "Hi, honey."_

_"Get a room!" The twins exclaimed. The dads laughed._

_"All right. I'm ready to go." Sonny said, standing up, carrying the boys. "Are you ready to go?"_

_"Yeah!" Both twins chorused. The little family left the office._

Sonny sighed contently. Someone knocked on the door. He snapped from his thoughts and stood. "Come in." His face darkened as Andre walked in, all smiles. "What the hell are _you_ doing here?"

"I thought we could do this in person." Andre replied.

"We have nothing to say to each other." Sonny turned and reached for his briefcase.

"It's about the deal your husband is trying to make with me." Andre continued. "Something about selling your baby boy to me in exchange for dear cousin Abigail's safe return."

Sonny gasped quietly, and his mouth dropped open, and his eyes widened in shock and horror. He wouldn't! "No..."

"I see by your reaction that you have no knowledge of this." Andre commented. "My, how incredibly awkward. This will be an interesting discussion between the two of you." He cleared his throat. "Anyhow- I have decided to-"

Sonny didn't give Andre a chance to finish. Fuming, he whirled around and pinned Andre against the wall. "Listen carefully, 'cause I'm only gonna say this once: you are _delusional_ if you think I'm going to let you _look_ at my baby let alone take him away from me. So you can shove that deal up your saggy old ass!" He shoved him and pointed to the door. "Now get the hell out of my office!"

Andre held his hands up in surrender. "Very well. I can see you are less than enthusiastic about all this." He headed to the door and opened it. "I suppose it's just as well I don't take the deal. After all, why make such a huge sacrifice for someone so selfish as sweet little Abigail?" With that, he left.

Sonny took a few deep breaths to calm himself down. As if cheating, lying, and manipulating weren't enough...! He grabbed his briefcase and rushed out of the office.

"You _better_ be home!" Sonny declared, angrily.

XXX

Will sat on the living room couch. Sonny was due home soon. He worked on how to tell Sonny about the deal and his plan to weasel out of it if Andre takes it. He heard a car pull into the driveway and rubbed his belly. "All right, kid. Showtime." He grunted as he stood up.

Sonny slammed the door open. "Will?!"

"Living room." Will called out. Sonny stormed into the living room looking angrier than Will had ever seen him.

"Will...tell me you didn't do it. Tell me you didn't sell our baby to Andre in exchange for Abigail's return!" Sonny demanded.

Will's stomach dropped. He swallowed. "I was going to tell you."

"Oh my God..." Sonny whispered and shook his head. "Let me get this straight: you _sold our baby- my baby_ \- to _Andre_?!"

"Sonny, I have no intention of giving this baby up." Will assured him. "I've been thinking of ways to keep _both_ Abigail and the baby if Andre agrees to this deal."

"We don't even know if Andre _has_ Abigail!" Sonny exclaimed. "God, Will! Of all the...! This has got to be the _worst_ mistake you've _ever_ made! I mean- lying to me, cheating on me, scheming, manipulating? When does it end?!"

Will huffed and hugged his belly. "I thought you'd gotten over naming every single one of my flaws every time we have a fight."

"Can you _blame_ me?!" Sonny exclaimed before he could stop himself. He stared at Will in horror and guilt. "Will, I'm sorry. I- that came out wrong."

Will shook his head and smiled in spite of himself. "You know..." He scoffed. " _I_ can take you pointing out all my flaws and treating me like a child, but our boys? They will look up to you. They will want to please you. If you point out all their flaws every time you're mad at them, do you know what that will do to their self-esteem? They are going to think they're worthless because apparently their dad thinks they're worthless."

"I would never!" Sonny declared.

"Maybe not on purpose." Will shrugged. "I'm just saying, you may want to really work on your, ah...emotional problems." He picked up his book. "You can sleep on the couch tonight."

Sonny stared at the wall ahead as Will walked away. How did this conversation start with Will in hot water, and end with Sonny the one in trouble? He sat on the couch, sighed, and rubbed his eyes. He recounted the conversation in his head. Will had a point- Sonny does point out all his flaws nearly every time they fight. The worst part was, he knew he was capable of doing that to his children, too. Sonny choked back a few sobs and calmed down. Sighing, he hugged a pillow and laid down, closing his eyes.

_Sonny rushed all the way up to the rooftop. He had a suicide note in his hand, but it wasn't written by him. He made it to the roof and saw a teenage boy with a striking resemblance to both him and Will standing on the edge of the roof._

_"Son! What are you doing?!" Sonny exclaimed._

_"I can't take it anymore." The boy replied. "All those years pointing out my flaws every single time I've done something wrong. There is no pleasing you. You made me feel worthless!"_

_"I'm sorry." Sonny said sincerely. "Really. I shouldn't have done that. No kid should have to go through that. Look, you have your whole life ahead of you. Don't throw that away. Please, I love you."_

_The boy laughed humorlessly. "Really? Is-is that why you emotionally abuse your children? Because you love us so much? No...that's not love. I don't want to live in a world where you are my father." He spread out his arms. "Good-bye."_

_"NO!" Sonny screamed as his son fell backwards off the roof. He tried to run, but a force pulled him back. He stood up and saw Will looking beyond grief and beyond anger at Sonny._

_"You did this, you bastard." Will seethed. "YOU KILLED OUR SON!"_

"No!" Sonny woke with a start. He sat up and panted for breath. He shuddered and hugged his knees under his chin. It was just a dream, but it felt so real.

XX

Will sat in his bed and tried to read his book, but he couldn't concentrate. His mind kept swimming in thoughts of his deal with Andre and his fight with Sonny. How could he have been so stupid? Why didn't he discuss it with Sonny first?! He took a deep breath and gave up on trying to read. He took a deep breath, rubbed his belly, leaned back, and let himself drift off to sleep.

_Will walked into his house. He caught his reflection in a wall mirror, and he looked twenty years older. He walked into the living room and gasped when he saw Sonny, laying dead on the couch._

_"No!" Will ran over to his dead husband and started crying. "Sonny, who did this to you?" He looked around and saw a blood trail and followed it. near the doorway to the kitchen lay a young, blonde woman; who also lay dead with her eyes wide open. Will's eyes widened in horror as he recognized her to be Ari. "Oh my god..." Will took shuddering breaths and walked into the kitchen. A young man with a striking resemblance to Sonny was backed against the wall. Will saw another young man pointing a gun at the other man. He pulled the trigger. "NO!" Will screamed in horror. The shooter turned around._

_"Hello, Father." The man greeted. His eyes were dark, not a trace of humanity within him. He pointed the gun at Will, and shot him in the stomach._

_Will gasped in pain, and fell on his behind. He gasped and felt blood in his hand. "Why? Why would you kill your family?"_

_"Because you sold me to the DiMeras." The man answered simply. "I could have worshipped you. I could have looked up to you, respected you, loved you...but no. You chose Abigail over me. Tell me something, Father: why do you always put your children second? You were ready to abort Ari because you didn't want to lose your boyfriend...you gave me up for that selfish, ungrateful bitch you call your favorite cousin."_

_Will gasped in pain, but couldn't speak. He heard footsteps and saw Sami walking towards him. "Mom, get back!"_

_Sami chuckled humorlessly. "Oh...now you care? Sucks when your child hates you, doesn't it? I did everything for you to make sure you were happy. I defended you! And how do you repay me? By being cruel to me, by choosing Abby over your own mother. Well, you know what?" She knelt down and pressed Will's wound, causing him to yell in pain. "Now you finally know how it feels!" She stood up._

_Will blinked away tears. "I saved your life- twice! After the explosion and when Andre tried to stab you to death! Please...help me."_

_"Why should I...you selfish, ungrateful whelp?" Sami asked, coldly. She walked off._

_Will gasped for breath and turned to the man, who had his gun pointed at Will's head. "Please...I'm your father."_

_"I don't care." The man said coldly. He pulled the trigger._

Will woke with a start. He gasped, and tried to roll over, but he was at the edge of the bed. Panicking, he grabbed for the nightstand and accidentally swiped some stuff off of it, and tumbled to the ground with a soft thump. He groaned loudly as he started getting painful contractions. He heart running footsteps, and the light came on.

"Will!" Sonny exclaimed, worriedly. He rushed to his husband's side and held him. Will was crying, now. Sonny hugged him and started rubbing his back. "It's okay. I'm here. I'm here."

"I'm sorry. I'm so so sorry." Will sobbed. He got another huge contraction and groaned loudly. "It hurts!"

Sonny sighed and called for an ambulance. The baby couldn't be coming now, could it? It's too soon!


	55. Close Call

Lucas and Adrienne rushed through the waiting area and found Sonny sitting with his head in his hands. Adrienne knelt down and touched Sonny's shoulder. "Sonny? Hey..." Sonny looked up. "What happened? Are Will and the baby okay?"

Sonny sighed deeply and leaned back against his chair. "We got into a fight...then about an hour later, I heard a thump. I ran upstairs to find Will on the floor next to our bed."

"So you had a fight, then an hour later, Will fell off the bed." Lucas summed up. Sonny nodded. "What were you two fighting about?"

Sonny flashed back to their fight. "Nothing important."

"Really?" Lucas asked, disbelieving. "It had to have been big in order for him to land in the hospital."

Sonny didn't respond. He didn't want to cause more drama than necessary. Adrienne sat on a chair next to him. "Baby...I promise we won't get mad." She glanced up at Lucas expectantly, and Lucas nodded in agreement.

Sonny nodded. "Will thinks Andre has Abigail. So, in a desperate effort to get her back...he offered Andre a trade: Abigail for our baby."

"What?!" Lucas exclaimed.

"How could he do that?!" Adrienne exclaimed.

"So much for not getting mad." Sonny scoffed. "Don't worry- I don't think Andre will take that deal."

"How do you know?" Lucas asked.

"Andre's the one who told me about the deal." Sonny explained. "He said he wasn't going to take it, 'cause Will would just change his mind, anyway; and our families would stop at nothing to get him back."

"Damn straight." Lucas nodded. "Andre could be lying, though. After all, my grandson is related to all the families the DiMeras tormented over the last thirty years. A Horton/Brady/Kiriakis as a DiMera? It'd be the ultimate win."

Sonny swallowed. "I know. But, we'll never let that happen."

"No, we won't." Lucas replied.

Sonny looked at Adrienne. "I would appreciate it if you wouldn't tell Dad about this." He then looked at Lucas. "Or your mom and Sami."

They nodded. Just then, Dr. Ford walked up to them. "Mr. Kiriakis?"

Sonny, Lucas, and Adrienne all turned to her. "How is he?"

"Your husband and unborn baby are fine." Dr. Ford replied. "Will went into false labor, but we were able to get that under control. Under any normal circumstances, we'd just perform a C-section, but, since this isn't a normal pregnancy, I'd like to wait until the actual due date to deliver the baby, to eliminate further risk."

They all sighed in relief. "Then they're okay?"

"Yes, they are." Dr. Ford. "May I ask how this false labor happened?"

"He's just under a lot of stress lately." Sonny replied. "Two of our cousins are missing, and um...Will is really close to one of them. He fell off our bed."

Dr. Ford nodded. "I see. I'm sorry about your cousins. As for the stress...I would like Will to be on bed rest for the rest of the week. This incident took a huge toll. One more could put both their lives at risk."

Sonny nodded. "I understand."

"We're also gonna keep him here for observation. He's resting now, but you may go in and see him." Dr. Ford said.

"Okay. Thanks." Sonny replied, then headed to Will's room. On the way, he ran into Ciara.

"Oh, hey, Sonny." Ciara greeted. "My mom's asleep now, but she should be awake in about a half hour."

Sonny was confused. "Wait, what? Your mom's here?"

"Um, yeah. Why are _you _here?" Ciara asked.__

__"Will went into false labor earlier- he and the baby are fine. I'm going to his room now." Sonny replied._ _

__"Oh, my god." Ciara breathed. "I'm glad they're okay."_ _

__"Thanks. What happened to your mom?" Sonny asked._ _

__"Rafe was chained up in a basement strapped to a bomb. My mom saved him, they escaped down a trapdoor just as the bomb went off. Rafe's leg was hurt and my mom was hurt worse."_ _

__"Yikes, I'm sorry." Sonny replied._ _

__Ciara nodded. "She's in room 426 if you want to visit her."_ _

__"Thanks, I will." Sonny smiled. "Will's in room 433 if you want to visit him."_ _

__"Okay." Ciara returned the smile and left._ _

__Sonny quietly walked into Will's room and sat next to him. He gently took Will's hand in his._ _

__XX_ _

___Will woke up to find himself chained to the hospital bed. He gasped and struggled to free himself. He saw a doctor walk into the room. He pulled down his mask, revealing Andre, who chuckled. "Well, hello again, William. That was quite a close call, wasn't it?" Will tried to speak, but couldn't. "I decided to take you at your offer. But I don't want to wait until the child is born." He gestured for a couple of surgeons. Will's heart thudded and he gasped and shook his head in horror. One of the surgeons put him under. Will awoke to the sound of a baby crying. Andre cradled and bounced him lightly in his arms, smiling mischievously. He turned to Will. "Oh...I do believe I have yet to fulfill my end of the bargain." He glanced to one of the surgeons and nodded. The surgeon left, then came back wheeling in a gurney. Someone was laying on it, covered by a white sheet. The surgeon pulled off the sheet with a flourish, and Abigail lay dead on the gurney._ _ _

___Will gasped, and tears sprang to his eyes. "No. No." He shook his head. He glared at Andre who smiled and left with the baby._ _ _

__"No...no..."_ _

__Sonny glanced at Will, who was starting to thrash around. He leaned up and started gently slapping Will's face. "Will. Will, wake up! Wake up." Will's eyes flew open and he started gasping. "Hey, hey, hey. It's okay. You were having a nightmare." Will calmed down, and hugged Sonny close. "Oh...it's okay."_ _

__"Andre took our baby...and he killed Abigail." Will's voice shook._ _

__"It was just a nightmare." Sonny reassured him. He pulled away. "And I would love to see Andre _try_ to take our baby. He'll have to go through pretty much everyone in town."_ _

__Will chuckled softly. He gently rubbed his belly. "I can't feel him moving around."_ _

__"Well, you've been under a lot of stress lately." Sonny replied. "I feel responsible. I shouldn't have fought with you. I should have known you were bluffing to Andre."_ _

__Will squeezed Sonny's hand. "It's not your fault. It was just...everything that's been happening in the last five months- Ari and Grandma being kidnapped again, Ari coming down with the deadly virus, Abigail and Tate missing, Aunt Maggie being hospitalized, then Ari starting preschool then coming down with a rash..." He sighed. "I'm not sure how much more I can take."_ _

__Sonny hugged Will again. "It's gonna be okay. The doctor wants you on bed rest for the rest of the week."_ _

__Will nodded. "Yeah, that's probably a good idea. Guess I'll take a temporary leave of absence from work. I can't really do much if I'm stuck at home."_ _

__Sonny nodded. "I'll make up the couch in the living room. That way, you won't be totally isolated."_ _

__"Sounds good." Will smiled._ _

__"Your dad and my mom are also here. I'll let them know you're awake." Sonny replied. "Oh- also...Hope and Rafe almost died in a house explosion."_ _

__"What?!"_ _

__"They escaped through a trapdoor, but Hope's banged up pretty bad. She'll be okay, but she's in the hospital." Sonny explained._ _

__Will exhaled sharply. "What about Rafe?"_ _

__"He's okay." Sonny replied. Will nodded, then remembered something. "What? Will, what?"_ _

__"I may be overreacting, but...when I visited Andre, he said he had some business to attend to." Will replied. "I mean...he wants Hope and Rafe dead. He said he had some business to attend to, then a few minutes later, Aunt Hope and Rafe almost die in an explosion?"_ _

__"Good point. But it could also mean something else." Sonny shrugged. "I will tell Rafe you said that, though."_ _

__"Okay." Will nodded. He sighed. "I can't believe Ari's in preschool already. She's growing up so fast!"_ _

__"I know!" Sonny exclaimed. "I'm glad all three of us- you, me, and Gabi- went to her school together."_ _

__"Me, too." Will replied. "Did you know my mom purposefully didn't ask my dad to come with her to my first day of preschool?"_ _

__"Is that why you wanted all three of us to go?" Sonny asked._ _

__Will nodded. "I meant what I said about not wanting Ari to grow up like I did. 'Course, she's already been almost aborted, kidnapped, almost drowned, got really sick, and almost lost two of her parents in her first three years alone; just like I did. But, you know what? That ends now. From now on, the only things Ari will have in common with me are that we both have blonde hair and blue eyes, and our last name- Horton. Oh- I wouldn't mind if she shared my love of books, either."_ _

__Sonny laughed. "Well, our boys will definitely have it easier than their big sister."_ _

__"Oh, totally."_ _

__XX_ _

__While Will rested; Sonny, Adrienne, and Lucas made up the couch in the living room with blankets and pillows. They moved the ottoman from the downstairs living room to the upstairs living room to make the couch a little bigger- more room for Will to move around while he's sleeping. Sonny also gathered Will's favorite books, his tablet, phone, and chargers and set them on the end table._ _

__Sonny stayed with Will the whole night, and Will was released the following morning. Will got comfortable on the couch._ _

__"Is this comfortable enough?" Sonny asked._ _

__"Very." Will nodded._ _

__"Good." Sonny replied smiling. "And if you need anything, just text me."_ _

__"I definitely will." Will nodded again. "I like being waited on hand and foot."_ _

__Sonny laughed. "Well, don't let it go to your pretty little head."_ _

__"I'll try not to." Will said dramatically. They laughed. Just then, Gabi and Ari came home. "Hey, there's my little princess!"_ _

__"Daddy!" Ari exclaimed. She ran to him and they hugged. "Daddy still sick?"_ _

__"No. I'm much better now that you're here." Will replied, smiling. "But, Daddy has to stay on this couch until your baby brother is born to make sure they both don't get sick."_ _

__"Oh." Ari said, trying to understand._ _

__"So, you can play with Daddy Will, but it has to be on this couch." Sonny added._ _

__"Okay." Ari nodded again._ _

__"Okay, mama, it's time for your nap." Gabi said._ _

__"But I'm not sleepy." Ari whined, yawning._ _

__Will chuckled. "Tell you what- why don't we watch some TV? Would you like that?"_ _

__"Okay, Daddy." Ari said, happily._ _

__Gabi raised an eyebrow at Will, who mouthed "She'll fall asleep watching it, don't worry." Gabi smiled and nodded in satisfaction._ _

__"I have to stop by my Uncle Vic's real quick." Sonny told Will. "Are you okay for now?"_ _

__"Yeah. I'm fine." Will nodded and smiled. "Say hi to Aunt Maggie for me."_ _

__"I will." Sonny pecked Will on the cheek and left._ _

__XXX_ _

__Sonny could hear his dad and uncle in a heated discussion as he approached the townhouse. He had to knock a few times to get their attention._ _

__Justin answered the door. "Oh, hey, Sonny. Come in."_ _

__"Hey, guys." Sonny greeted as he walked in._ _

__"Sonny, how's Will?" Maggie asked._ _

__"He's fine. He's on bed rest." Sonny replied._ _

__"Oh, well, that should keep his scheming and lying to a minimum." Victor snarked._ _

__"Victor, I am in a better mood than I have been in weeks. _Do not_ ruin it for me!" Maggie snapped._ _

__"So, what brings you here?" Justin asked, wanting to avoid further drama._ _

__Sonny smiled and pulled out a check. "Just wanted to pay Uncle Vic and Maggie back after all they've done for me."_ _

__"Oh, Sonny, we can't take your money!" Maggie exclaimed._ _

__"Please, I insist." Sonny replied. "Besides, you need it more than I do."_ _

__"Oh, well, thank you." Victor replied, taking the check. "Where did you get the money from?"_ _

__"You're welcome. I sold the building you bought me in Paris." Sonny replied._ _

__"That's been in the family for years! It's prime real estate." Victor exclaimed._ _

__"I know. That's why I kept it on the market until I got the asking price." Sonny replied._ _

__"That was to be your inheritance." Maggie gasped._ _

__Someone knocked on the door. Justin answered. "Adrienne."_ _

__"Hi. I am looking for Sonny. I'm wondering if he's here." Adrienne replied._ _

__"Yes, Mom, I am." Sonny replied. "What's up?"_ _

__"Let's get to that in a minute." Victor spoke up._ _

__"Victor! Really!" Maggie exclaimed._ _

__Adrienne forced on a smiled. "No, Maggie, it's all right. I interrupted something, apparently." Her gaze fell on the envelope. "And I bet I know what it is."_ _

__"Sonny selling his inheritance for Uncle Vic and Maggie." Justin nodded. "You knew?"_ _

__"Who do you think helped him?" Adrienne shrugged._ _

__"It was really terrible what happened to you, Maggie. I wanted to do anything I could to help." Sonny repeated to Maggie._ _

__"He means it, Victor." Adrienne jumped in. "Take the money."_ _

__Victor smiled. "You know, you didn't do a bad job raising this kid." He opened his arms for Sonny to hug him. "Come here. You're the best, Sonny. The best of all of us." Just then, Deimos appeared. Victor's face fell in a darkened expression. "What the hell are _you_ doing here?"_ _

__"I came to discuss something with you and Maggie." Deimos answered simply. He glanced over at Adrienne. "You must be the beautiful mother I've heard so much about."_ _

__"Cut the crap." Adrienne said curtly._ _

__"If this is another attempt to try and patch things up between us..." Victor said._ _

__"Well, as I told you, I'm not giving up until I prove to you that I'm on the level." Deimos said calmly. "Hopefully, this will do the trick."_ _

__"Well, it better be good." Victor nodded._ _

__Deimos smiled and left the room for a minute and came back with an elderly doctor. "Doctor."_ _

__"What the hell are _you_ doing here?" Victor asked, frowning. "I offered you the moon to operate on Maggie, and you wouldn't even consider it."_ _

__"Dr. Hochman has since decided to rethink that decision." Deimos replied, folding his arms. "He's now ready and willing to perform the operation to get Maggie back on her feet."_ _

__"What?" Maggie asked, surprised._ _

__Sonny was surprised, too. "Y-you can do that? You can help Maggie walk again?"_ _

__"I've read all your medical records." Dr. Hochman said to Maggie. "I understand the full nature of your injury and I know I can help you."_ _

__"I bent over backwards to get you to take her case...and you couldn't be bothered." Victor said, standing up._ _

__"Let's just say that your brother made me see the light." Dr. Hochman replied._ _

__Sonny held back a scoff. 'This _guy?_ Seriously?'_ _

__"I bet he did." Victor said disbelieving. "What's the catch?"_ _

__"There's no catch, brother." Deimos assured him. "I owe you for what I did to your life, and this is my way of making it up to you."_ _

__"Oh, please. You're the master of quid pro quo." Victor replied. "What do you want?"_ _

__"Do I get a vote?" Maggie asked._ _

__Victor looked down at his wife. "You don't know what these two have in mind for you, Maggie."_ _

__"Dr. Hochman has an international reputation." Maggie replied. "You said so yourself. I mean, do you really think he's gonna get me on the table and make me worse?"_ _

__Victor considered that. "No, he wouldn't risk that, but..."_ _

__"But..." Maggie interrupted Victor. "what is the downside? If this is real, and if it can get me to walk again, how can we say no?"_ _

__Victor stared at Maggie, then looked up at his brother, who was smiling. Deimos turned to the doctor. "My family needs to discuss this in private. I'll walk you out." The two headed out of the townhouse._ _

__Victor looked at Justin, and gestured between himself and Maggie. "Can we have a minute?"_ _

__"Sure." Justin replied. Adrienne and Sonny followed him to the hallway. Maggie halfway convinced Victor to let Dr. Hochman operate on her. The trio headed back to the living room. "Uncle Victor...I don't think you should turn this down just because Deimos got the doctor to do the operation."_ _

__Victor was silent for a minute, then spoke. "No, you're right, I can't." He stood up as Deimos walked into the room. "I don't know how you got Hochman to do this, and I don't wanna know. I just want Maggie to be Maggie again. I want everything that was stolen from her to be restored."_ _

__"Well, then you won't regret this." Deimos replied._ _

__Sonny was unconvinced of Deimos' sincerity, but, he decided to take advantage of this situation. "You know, we're all grateful for what you've done, but if you're serious about making it up to my Uncle Vic and Maggie, there's a lot more you can do. You know that, right? Like giving my uncle his company back. How about returning the money you extorted from him? You fixed it so you'd control everything that was his. You have the power to give it back to him."_ _

__Deimos smiled, nodded, and shook his finger at Sonny. "Sounds like everything I heard about you is true. And I'll try not to...be upset with you for stealing my thunder."_ _

__"What thunder?" Victor asked._ _

__"What Sonny just said is the other reason why I came here today." Deimos replied. "You want Maggie to be Maggie again? I want you to be you. So, why don't we talk about how to make you whole again?"_ _

__"You're gonna make me whole again?" Victor scoffed._ _

__"Within reason." Deimos replied._ _

__"Aw. There he goes. Hedging already." Victor replied sarcastically._ _

__"I'm offering to give you back half your holdings." Deimos replied. "you can keep Titan Enterprises as well. My only real interest is Basic Black. I'll hold on to that. I'll keep that, half the money, and the house...and we'll call it square."_ _

__"And I'm supposed to be overwhelmed by your generosity?" Victor asked._ _

__Deimos shook his head. "I don't expect you to give me an answer today. I just hope that you won't reject my offer out of hand. It's a way for both of us to move forward with our lives, brother." Victor just turned around. Deimos walked over to his sister-in-law and knelt down. "It makes me very happy to undo hat was done to you. You didn't deserve it."_ _

__"You would know." Maggie said coolly._ _

__Deimos stood up to leave. "Bye, family."_ _

__"Well, I guess you all expect me to roll over and accept his offer." Victor spoke._ _

__"Would it be so bad to live in peace again?" Maggie asked._ _

__"You really think Deimos is gonna let us live in peace?" Victor asked._ _

__"You probably don't care what I think, but he seemed sincere." Adrienne jumped in._ _

___'Oh, but_ Will _was suspicious?'_ Sonny thought, slightly irritated with his mother._ _

__"I'm not as sure as you are." Justin replied._ _

__"Well, all I care about right now is getting Maggie ready for this surgery." Victor said. "Money talk can wait."_ _

__"Then why don't I take my son and his mother out for a drink?" Justin suggested. "Let you and Maggie talk in private."_ _

__"Sounds good to me." Adrienne replied._ _

__"Sounds good to me, too." Victor said. Justin and Sonny did double-takes, then looked at each other in shock. Did Victor and Adrienne just agree on something? Victor walked over to Sonny. "And Sonny...thank you for this." He waved the envelope and smirked. "Gives me leverage." He chuckled and clapped his shoulder._ _

__"You know what, why don't you go on ahead?" Justin said to Sonny and Adrienne. "I'll catch up with you."_ _

__"Okay, okay." Adrienne replied. She and Sonny headed to the elevator. "So...how did Will take giving up your inheritance?"_ _

__"Since it's being used to help his great-aunt, he's totally fine with it." Sonny replied. He pushed the elevator button. "He's not a gold-digger, Mom."_ _

__"I know he's not, but still..." They stepped into the elevator. "That money could have been used for your kids..."_ _

__"I know, but. this is more important." Sonny replied. "Will came to terms with me being selfless and low-maintenance."_ _

__"Good. I'm glad."_ _

__Just as the elevator doors started to close, Justin ran up to stop the doors and stepped in. "So! TBD?"_ _

__"Oh that sounds good." Adrienne replied. Sonny nodded in agreement. He texted Will. _"Going 2 TBD with my parents. Do you need anything?"__ _

___"No. Gabi's here, so I'm good."_ Will responded._ _

___"Okay. Do you guys want anything from TBD?"_ _ _

__A few minutes later, Will responded. _"I want a bean burrito smothered with cheese and ketchup and Gabi doesn't want anything."__ _

___"You got it."_ _ _

__XX_ _

__The trio entered TBD. Sonny looked around and smiled. "I love what the Hernandezes done to the place. New artwork- looks good." They headed to a table._ _

__"Still, you made the right decision, babe." Adrienne said. She sat down on a chair that Sonny pulled out for her. "Thank you."_ _

__"W-what decision is that?" Justin asked._ _

__"To sell TBD to Eduardo Hernandez." Sonny replied, sitting down. "I swear I told you."_ _

__"Nope. You didn't." Justin shook his head._ _

__"Oh...sorry."_ _

__"It's okay." They heard footsteps and saw Deimos walking towards them._ _

__"Well, I see no point in equivocating." Deimos said._ _

__"Equivocating about...?" Adrienne asked._ _

__"I saw the three of you walk in, and I thought I might ask you to do me a favor." Deimos replied._ _

__Sonny was aghast. "You want a favor from us?"_ _

__"Mm-hm." Deimos replied. "I know how much you all love Victor, so I was hoping that you might try to convince him to accept my offer."_ _

__"Yeah, well, my Uncle Vic makes his own decisions." Sonny pointed out._ _

__"Hmm. Trust me, kid. I know that better than anyone." Deimos replied. "But in this case, I'm afraid his stubbornness, his hatred of me, might keep him from doing what's best for him and Maggie...which would be to accept my terms and get on with their lives. And I think you agree with me on this."_ _

__Justin hesitated. "I agree that I want what's best for Victor and Maggie."_ _

__Deimos nodded. "Mm-hmm. My offer is sincere. Please consider my request." With that, he left._ _

__Adrienne leaned forward, addressing Justin. "Why would he think you agree with him?"_ _

__Justin just shook his head. "I have no idea why Uncle Deimos...thinks or does anything."_ _

__"I didn't trust the guy before I laid eyes on him." Sonny said simply. "And now...I trust him even less."_ _

__Justin's phone beeped. "Text is from Roman. He wants to see me as soon as possible."_ _

__"You have to go?" Adrienne asked._ _

__"Yeah, I have to. Sorry." Justin put his phone away, and turned to Sonny. "I'm gonna see you tomorrow, right?"_ _

__Sonny nodded and smiled. "Right. I'd almost forgotten how intense Deimos is."_ _

__"Right. Sonny, I want you to stay out of this, okay?" Justin said. "That phone call and giving Victor all that money was enough. Let him and Deimos settle this. I no longer want you involved- do you understand?"_ _

__"I know you're trying to protect me, but Dad, I'm a Kiriakis." Sonny said. "I'm already involved."_ _

__"Got it." Justin replied. "I gotta go. This discussion isn't over."_ _

__Adrienne took Sonny's hand. "Hey, hey. You're dad's right: stay out of it."_ _

__Sonny sighed inwardly. He knew where she was coming from. On top of that, Will's on bed rest. He didn't want to add more stress. "I'll try to."_ _

__Adrienne nodded. "Well, try hard."_ _

__"So, how goes the wedding planning?" Sonny asked._ _

__"Great. I have a wedding planner, and everything." Adrienne replied. "I found something with Lucas I never had with your father."_ _

__"Not ever?" Sonny raised an eyebrow. Adrienne shook her head. "Okay. I want you to be happy."_ _

__"Good. Thanks. I am happy." Adrienne replied._ _

__"Okay. Go-go home. I'll take care of the check." They stood up._ _

__"Oh, thank you. You are such a gentleman. Someone raised you right." Adrienne said, half-jokingly. They laughed and hugged. "Goodnight, sweetheart." She left._ _

__Sonny picked up the check, tucked it under his arm, and pulled out his credit card. He almost ran into Paul. "Oh. Hey, Paul."_ _

__"Hey."_ _

__"How's the search for Tate going?" Sonny asked._ _

__"Well, my dad and Brady are tracking down a lead, so...fingers crossed." Paul said hopefully._ _

__"Fingers crossed." Sonny nodded. "Good luck."_ _

__"Thanks." Paul left and almost ran into a familiar face and grinned widely. "Derrick?"_ _

__Derrick grinned back. "Hey, Paul."_ _

__"Oh my God, what are you doing here?" Paul pulled him into a hug._ _

__"Chicago just didn't feel right for me, so I moved back here." Derrick said, smiling. "I actually got a job at the new bed and breakfast."_ _

__"Really? Wow. I'm excited for you." Paul replied. "Um, listen, I need to get to work, but let's meet for coffee tomorrow and catch up."_ _

__Derrick tried not to look too excited. "Sure. I'd love that."_ _

__"Great! See you tomorrow morning. Ten o'clock okay?" Paul asked._ _

__"Sounds good." Derrick nodded. "See ya."_ _

__XXX_ _

__Sonny arrived home and carried the smothered burrito to Will. "Your dinner, good sir."_ _

__"Why, thank you, good sir." Will replied and started munching on the burrito. "Mm! This is the best burrito ever! Seriously- I wanna make love to it."_ _

__Sonny laughed. "Well, maybe next time I could smother the burrito over myself, and you can use me as a dish."_ _

__"Ooh, you sly, sexy beast." Will teased. They kissed. "So how'd it go at the Kiriakis townhouse?"_ _

__"Good. Uncle Vic accepted my check." Sonny replied. He half expected Will to have a negative reaction, but instead, he nodded. "Thank you, by the way, for being a man about it."_ _

__Will chuckled. "Well, I know you. I have accepted your low-maintenance. And I would rather be married to a selfless, low maintenance man than a selfish dick."_ _

__"Good!" Sonny replied. "Deimos also stopped by with a peace offering."_ _

__"Really?" Will said with skepticism._ _

__"Yep. A doctor who will be able to restore Maggie's legs to full use." Sonny replied._ _

__"And you believe him?" Will raised an eyebrow._ _

__"Dr. Hochman is not going to risk his life or reputation to make Maggie worse." Sonny assured him. "However, I do not trust Deimos at all."_ _

__Will nodded and folded his arms. "Sonny Kiriakis having trust issues. Well, better late than never, I suppose."_ _

__"Hey, you trusted Chad and Ben, too! I also trusted you..." Sonny stopped himself and swallowed. "But, you earned back my trust in you. So did Chad."_ _

__"Nice save." Will said._ _

__"Sorry..." Sonny said._ _

__"Aw, it's okay. I still love you." Will replied, squeezing his hand._ _

__Sonny smiled. "I love you, too."_ _


	56. Pancakes and Birthdays

Derrick and Paul sat at a table in Club TBD with coffee mugs in their hands. "So, you've been working with your dad?"

"Yeah. I'm just sorry my first case is my nephew's kidnapping." Paul slumped in his seat.

"I'm sorry that happened. I hope you find him." Derrick replied.

Paul smiled. "Thanks. So, tell me about you. What have you been up to this past year?"

Derrick's eyes saddened for a second, then he cleared his throat. "Nothing exciting. Um...I did make a lot of friends, but...Salem is my home."

"Oh." Paul nodded.

"So, you keeping busy with your job?" Derrick asked.

"Yeah, pretty busy."

"So, you probably don't really have time for a social life..."

Paul chuckled. "Are you asking me if I'm seeing anyone, Derrick?"

"Well, I mean...I saw Sonny coming out of here last night, so..."

"Oh. No." Paul shook his head. "He and Will settled their differences and worked everything out. They're happily married with twins on the way."

Derrick raised an eyebrow. "Wow. Good for them."

"Mm-hm." Paul nodded. "Oh- get this: they have a surrogate, and Will is also pregnant. He's a carrier."

Derrick got that sad look again, and swallowed. "Really? Lucky him."

Paul noticed that sad look. "Derrick, are you all right?"

"Yeah! Well...not really. My sister died last year." Derrick replied.

"Oh, no. I'm so sorry." Paul said sympathetic.

"Thanks."

"Do you wanna talk about it?" Paul asked.

"No. I mean, it was one tragic moment." Derrick shrugged.

"Okay. Well, I'm here if you wanna talk." Paul replied.

Derrick smiled. "Thanks again. So, Will and Sonny worked everything out, huh?"

"Yeah. Will really turned his life around over the last ten months." Paul said. "He's a different guy now. He and I actually became friends."

"Good for him. And you." Derrick replied. "I'm glad Will turned his life around."

"Me, too. A betrayal-slash-death experience can do that to you, I guess." Paul shrugged.

"What happened?" Derrick asked, interested.

"Remember Ben Weston?" Paul asked. Derrick nodded and Paul continued. "His fiancee, Abigail cheated on him with Chad DiMera, and he snapped. He started murdering innocent people in order to frame Chad. Two women died, and he tried to kill my stepmother because she was helping Chad clear his name. He...apparently forgot to dispose of one of his neckties- which was his weapon of choice- and Will found one in his garbage can just as Ben walked in."

"How did he escape?" Derrick asked.

"Sonny came to Ben's apartment just as Ben was strangling him." Paul explained. "I had run into Sonny earlier, and he told me he was back in Salem- he had left for a job in Paris, because he couldn't take Will's lying anymore- to patch things up with Will, and that he was heading to Ben's apartment. I'm still not sure how Sonny knew he was there, but, anyway, I also ran into Chad and was about to call the police, but Chad convinced me that Ben is probably the killer. We rushed to the apartment. Chad went ahead of me, and when I burst in, he- Chad- was hanging out a window, unconscious; Will was laying on the ground with the necktie around his neck, also unconscious; and Ben was about to kill Sonny. He also tried to kill me by pointing a gun at me and pulling the trigger- it wasn't loaded- and he threw me into his TV set. The police came and arrested Ben."

"Whoa." Derrick said, his eyes open wide. "That was a crazy night."

"Yeah, and a last-minute unplanned rescue mission." Paul shook his head slowly. "Chad and I were in short comas, Sonny had a mild concussion, and Will got slight brain damage."

"And a change of heart, apparently." Derrick nodded.

"Right!" Paul exclaimed. "It took me a while to forgive Will for making my life a living hell, but we eventually settled our differences."

"I'm glad." Derrick smiled.

"So...are you seeing anyone?" Paul asked.

Derrick closed his eyes for a few seconds. "No. Honestly, I don't think I'll ever be ready for a relationship again."

Paul was about to ask why, when his phone beeped with a text message. "Sorry. I have to take this. Um, my dad wants me back to work. I'm sorry I have to cut this short, but, let's do this again sometime."

"Sure, that'd be great." Derrick replied happily.

Paul started to leave, then stopped. "I really am happy you're back, Derrick."

Derrick stared at Paul as he left. Old feelings for Paul came rushing back. Maybe...? No. He couldn't let that happen again.

XXX

"'...And the giraffe said "Pancake, pancake! Where are you going?!'"

Sonny, Will, and Ari sat on the couch. Sonny was reading Ari and his and Will's unborn child a bedtime story.

Will chuckled softly. "Remember when I first made pancakes for Ari?"

Sonny smiled fondly at the memory. "How could I forget?" He looked down to Ari. "Did Daddy ever tell you that story?"

"No." Ari replied.

"No?! Well, let's see, your daddy was so proud of these little bear pancakes he made out of the batter. But then he had to make a whole 'nother batch, because he refused to eat the cute little bears. He said the bears were his best friends."

Will chuckled. "Yep. I even named them! Batter, Sugar, Butter, Maple, and Olaf."

"Olaf wasn't a bear, Daddy. He was a snowman!" Ari exclaimed. Sonny and Will laughed.

"That's right! He was." Will hugged and kissed Ari. JJ and Gabi walked into the living room. Gabi looked upset.

"Hey, sweetheart, let's get you ready for bed." Sonny said to Ari. They stood up.

"Can we make bear pancakes tomorrow?" Ari asked.

"You bet! But only if you go to bed." Sonny replied.

Will waited until Sonny and Ari were gone before asking. "Okay, what's wrong?"

Gabi sighed deeply. "I had a little scare earlier."

"What?" Will hissed.

"I got jumped by this guy who threatened me because of my dad." Gabi explained. "I was ready for him, though. I had pepper spray and I kneed him in the-"

"Are you okay? Is the baby okay?" Will asked, a little panicky.

"I'm fine." Gabi assured him. "The baby's fine, too. My mom checked me over."

"Oh. Thank God." Will breathed.

Gabi nodded. "I'm just glad Ari was with you guys."

"Me, too." Will nodded.

"I just want to forget about this whole thing." Gabi said.

"Well, allow me to help you with that." JJ replied. They hugged.

XX

One week later, Will was back on his feet and sleeping in his own bed again. He stretched, rolled over, and grabbed his phone from the nightstand and turned it on. The date was August 7th. He smiled. Showtime! He quietly got out of bed and went into the kitchen where Gabi and Ari were waiting.

"Oh, hey, you're just in time." Gabi grinned.

"Is everything ready?" Will asked. Gabi nodded. "Good! Let's get started."

XX

Sonny awoke to the sounds and smells of breakfast being made. He smiled as he remembered that today was his birthday. He put a shirt on and headed down to the kitchen.

"Oh. Careful, Sugar, the stove is hot." Gabi was telling Ari, who stood on a small step ladder.

Will set down two glasses of orange juice and smiled when he noticed his husband walk in. "Hey!" He walked over to Sonny and kissed him. "Happy Birthday."

"Thanks, baby." Sonny replied, kissing back.

"Happy Birthday!" Gabi and Ari said at the same time. Gabi laughed softly.

"Mommy, we said that at the same time!" Ari exclaimed.

"We sure did!" Gabi said. She turned off the stove and helped Ari off the step ladder and carried two plates to the table. There were four plates filled with pancakes with "HAPPY 25th B-DAY, SONNY" spelled out with chocolate chips.

Sonny chuckled fondly. "Guys! I love these. Thank you."

"Only the best for the best 25-year-old ever." Will replied. He kissed the top of Sonny's head. "All right, let's eat!"

Throughout the day, Sonny's family and friends either visited with presents and/or cards, or texted him, wishing him a happy birthday.

Sonny sighed as he fell back on his bed. "Another banner year."

Will chuckled. "Pretty epic, I would say. I mean, everything we've both gone through..."

Sonny nodded. "Well, here's hoping this year will be more happy and more epic."

"Hear, hear."

Little did they know, that the next four months will be even more challenging.


	57. Opinions And Facts

"Do you really think this surgery will work?"

Will and Sonny were on the way to the hospital. Today was Maggie's surgery. They wanted to be there for her and Victor.

"Well, I hope so." Sonny shrugged. "Only time will tell, I guess." They parked at the hospital and made their way up to the fifth floor. Sonny walked around the nurse's station to his uncle. "Uncle Vic."

Victor turned around and hugged his nephew. "Sonny. Thanks for coming."

"How's Maggie?" Sonny asked.

Victor sighed. "She's still in the OR. I haven't heard anything."

Just then, Dr. Hochman walked up to them. "Mr. Kiriakis. We just wheeled your wife into recovery."

"How is she?" Victor asked.

"She did very well." Dr. Hochman replied. "I was able to relieve the impingement on her cervical nerves and re stabilize the vertebrate."

"Was the surgery a success, yes or no?" Victor asked impatiently.

"From my perspective, it went as well as possible." Dr. Hochman replied. "But we'll have to wait and see how much function she regains as the swelling subsides."

"That's not an answer." Victor snapped.

"Mr. Kiriakis, we've discussed this before." Dr. Hochman replied. "I am optimistic, but only time will tell."

Victor calmed down. "When can I see her?"

"Very soon." Dr. Hochman said. He nodded and walked away.

Sonny put an arm around Victor's shoulder. "Keep faith, Uncle Vic."

XX

They went into Maggie's recovery room. Victor sat at her bedside, Sonny paced around, and Will sent texts updating Lucas and Allie.

Maggie's eyes fluttered open. She smiled at Victor, who smiled back. "Oh, Victor."

"Dr. Hochman said your surgery went beautifully." Victor replied. "He's very hopeful you'll regain full function."

"Thank God. And Deimos." Maggie replied.

Will smiled at his aunt and gently squeezed her shoulder. "See? What'd I tell you? If they have technologies in the '70s that can make you walk again, they have technologies now."

Maggie chuckled. "I never doubted you for a second."

"We'll let you rest." Sonny said. "I'm glad you're doing okay, Maggie."

Will and Sonny left the room and headed to the nurse's station. Just then, Caroline stepped off the elevator. "Will, Sonny. Any word?"

"The surgery went very well." Sonny replied. "The doctor's optimistic, so we should know something soon."

"Oh, that's good." Caroline replied, smiling. They heard laughter coming from Maggie's room, and went in.

"I like the sound of that." Sonny said, smiling. Maggie laughed happily.

"Well!" Caroline exclaimed, smiling.

"Someone is about to get on her feet." Victor announced.

"And dance!" Maggie put in.

"This is great!" Sonny exclaimed. Will beamed and nodded in agreement.

"Well, you are a tough one." Caroline pointed out. She turned to Victor. "And you are a big softie."

"I beg your pardon. I've been a rock this whole time." Victor quipped.

Caroline, Will, and Sonny laughed. Sonny put his arm around Caroline's shoulders. "Right...right."

Victor turned to Dr. Hochman. "When can we take her home?"

"Well, we need to keep her here to stabilize and evaluate her for physical therapy." Dr. Hochman replied.

"Well, I can do that at home...can't I?" Maggie asked.

"At some point, yes, yes, but let's start in the hospital where we can monitor you." Dr. Hochman replied. "Let's not rush."

"Well, she'll stay put if that's what you say." Victor replied.

"I'm ready to get off my backside now." Maggie said. Deimos and Nicole entered the room.

"We'll have you up and on your feet tomorrow." Dr. Hochman assured her. "How's that?"

"You're gonna walk?" Nicole asked, hopefully.

"I am." Maggie replied.

"I'm so happy for you." Nicole walked over to Maggie, who laughed happily. The two women hugged. "This is the best news of the year."

"It's about time, huh?" Maggie asked. Nicole straightened up.

"And it'll only get better from here." Victor said.

"Well, there's a miracle." Sonny quipped.

"Deimos, join us." Victor offered. They turned to Deimos who was standing in the doorway.

"No, it's all right. I don't wanna intrude." Deimos replied.

"You're the reason we're here." Victor said. "We're all grateful."

Dr. Hochman reentered the room. "I put in the consult with Physical Therapy. They'll be here shortly to evaluate you. I will be back tomorrow. In the meantime, you rest. Tomorrow, you'll get to work."

"I can't thank you enough, Doctor." Maggie said.

"I owe you my life." Victor said. "If you ever need anything..."

"I'm happy I could help." Dr. Hochman replied. He left.

Maggie silently beckoned Deimos forward. "I can't run over there just yet. I just wanna thank you. And tell you that in spite of the fact that...you were the one who caused my paralysis...I'm grateful, very grateful, that you convinced Dr. Hochman to come out of retirement and do my surgery."

Caroline stared at her friend incredulously. "I don't get it. You are grateful to Deimos?"

Victor turned to Caroline. "I offered Dr. Hochman a fortune to do the surgery, and he said no. Deimos persuaded him."

"How?" Caroline asked.

"Yeah, that must be an incredible story." Sonny replied.

"I was on a mission." Deimos spoke up. "I knew I had a lot to make up for. I couldn't think of a better peace offering. I mean, what matters more than the people you love, right?"

"Nothing." Victor said.

"So, I would like to wipe the slate clean with my brother, with my family." Deimos continued. "Start new."

"We can." Victor said. "Now we can." His cell phone rang, he answered it. "Victor Kiriakis." He paused. "Hello?" He sighed and hung up. "Wrong number. All right, everyone out. I would like a few moments alone with my wife."

Sonny and Will chuckled and followed Caroline, Nicole, and Deimos out of the room. Nicole and Deimos headed down the cafeteria. Caroline pulled the boys aside.

"You two don't honestly believe Deimos, do you?" Caroline asked.

"Nope. Not one bit." Sonny shook his head. "That dick is pure evil."

Will raised an eyebrow at his husband's mini-outburst. "I agree. I mean, he seems sincere, but the best con artists do."

"That's true." Caroline said.

"There's not a sincere bone in his body." Sonny went on. "He belongs back in jail."

Caroline was shocked. "Sonny, I admire your passion, but, Deimos is your family."

"Biologically." Sonny replied, folding his arms. "Excuse me, I need to use the restroom."

Caroline turned to Will. "Is everything okay with Sonny?"

"Yeah." Will replied.

"It's just, he seems a little...angrier than he should be." Caroline pointed out.

Will shrugged and sighed. "I could be wrong, but...I think that after what's happened in the last two years, a lot of people in his life he trusted screwing him over and/or betraying his trust...he has trust issues."

Caroline nodded in understanding. "That can happen, I agree."

"Most of those people made up for their betrayals, but...I guess the issues are still there." Will replied.

"I see." Caroline replied. "Well...let's be grateful he's not...worse than he could be."

Will chuckled. "Yeah."

A few minutes later, the group headed back into Maggie's room.

"So, is this what you expected?" Nicole asked.

"Um...I'm prepared to do whatever the physical therapist thinks is best." Maggie replied. "But six days a week?"

"No pain, no gain." Sonny quipped.

"At least the doctors are going to let you go home, soon." Caroline said optimistically.

"Well, maybe too soon." Victor said.

"I'm...first I'm just gonna be lying on my back." Maggie explained. "So I might as well be at home."

Victor turned to his wife. "I'll have a gym set up in the townhouse. Once the physical therapy starts, I don't want you travelling."

"Well, I'll be so happy to travel." Maggie mused. She laughed. "Especially if I can walk from the car to the door."

"Amen." Nicole piped up.

"I still don't like it." Victor murmured.

"Oh, hush." Nicole rolled her eyes. "She's not gonna do anything that isn't safe."

"I'm going to be fine." Maggie assured Victor. "I know it's just baby steps, but I'm thrilled..." She laughed softly. "with baby steps."

"All right, that's it. Everybody out." Victor spoke up. "She has to close her eyes now."

"I'm happy it went well." Deimos replied.

"Thank you." Maggie said. Nicole squeezed her hand, and turned to see Brady, John, and a police officer enter the room.

"Brady...what are you doing here?" Nicole asked.

"We're here to arrest Victor for conspiracy to kidnap my son." Brady said tersely.

Everyone turned to Victor, shocked. Maggie gasped. "No, Brady!"

"This is nonsense!" Victor exclaimed. "You come in here the day of Maggie's surgery with these baseless-"

"We've got some proof, Vic." John replied.

"Maggie, I'm sorry this happening now, I really am. Okay?" Brady replied. "We got a call from Kayla on the way back- I'm so glad everything went well."

"You're so happy for her that you bust in here and accuse her husband of a crime?" Sonny snapped.

"What is your so-called proof?" Victor demanded.

"We found Tate." John replied.

"You did?" Nicole asked.

"Is he all right?" Asked Deimos.

Will tried not to scoff. _'Like you care.'_ He thought.

"He-he's fine." Brady replied. "He's all right. We had a doctor check him out, and he's at home with his mother right now."

"I still don't see what this has to do with me." Victor said.

"That woman who took Tate who we tracked down to a hotel in Indianapolis- she disappeared." Brady explained. "But she left two things behind, Granddad. One was my son."

"And the other was this." John pulled out a cell phone wrapped in a tissue. "And once we lift this for fingerprints, I'm sure it's gonna lead us right to your associate."

"I have no associate." Victor insisted.

"Then why was your number programmed into the phone?" Brady asked, glaring at his grandfather. "The only one, I might add?"

"How the hell should I know?" Victor exclaimed.

"I called you! You answered the phone!" Brady exclaimed angrily.

"That was you?" Maggie asked.

"Don't you see this whole thing is a setup?" Victor asked. "I'm the fall guy here. You found that dummy corporation, that Chopin Group. If she's involved with anyone, it's them!"

"We're still working that lead." John admitted.

Brady folded his arms. "Well, we know it's going to lead to you."

"Or Summer!" Victor snapped, speaking of Maggie's long-lost daughter. "She skipped town. What do you make of that?"

"No, stop it." Brady replied.

"You don't want to listen to reason." Victor said.

Brady shook his head. "You had your chance, Granddad, and you took it, to torture my wife and to get rid of Summer in one move, and you took it."

"I can't believe you think I'd stoop that low." Victor replied.

"You've been stooping low all year!" Brady argued.

 _'And the year before that, and the year before that...'_ Will thought.

"You've been mean, you've been vindictive." Brady continued. "Do I like this? No. Does it break my heart? Yes. But I think you did it. I _know_ you did it."

The police officer finally stepped forward. "Sir, I'm gonna have to take you down to the station now. 'Scuse me." Victor stood up, helplessly. "Victor Kiriakis, you are under arrest for conspiracy and kidnapping. You have the right to remain silent." He lead Victor out of the room.

"I'm gonna prove you all wrong- you'll see." Victor called over his shoulder.

Maggie was beside herself. Caroline took her hand. "He could be right. I mean, they-they could have done it. I mean, it's possible that someone else is framing him-"

"Maggie, Maggie!" Brady exclaimed, trying to calm her. "I'm sorry it happened here. I'm sorry it happened now. I'm so glad you're well. I really am...but I'm sorry."

"I'm happy that Tate is home and safe." Maggie said sincerely.

"Thank you." Brady replied. "I gotta go home."

"Yeah, go on. I'll go over to the station." John replied. Brady left.

Sonny walked towards the door, turned around, folded his arms, and glared at Deimos. "This is your doing, isn't it? You set up my Uncle Vic?"

"What?" Deimos asked, confused. "Why the hell would you think that? All I want now is peace between us. Everything I've done since I came back was to make amends."

"What a perfect cover that would be for screwing over my Uncle Vic." Sonny replied, not believing Deimos. He turned to Will. "I'll see you at home."

"Sonny..." Will sighed. He turned to Maggie. "I'm sorry."

"I should go." Deimos said. He turned to Maggie. "Thank you for letting me share in this day with you. It means so much to me to know that you're able to walk again." He and Nicole left.

Maggie started crying silently. Will hugged her comfortingly and Caroline stroked her hair gently. Will's phone beeped with a text message from Sonny.

_"I'm sorry I was so abrupt before. I just need to talk to my dad about this situation."_

_"It's okay. I understand. Love you."_

_"Thank you for being so understanding. I love you, too."_

Caroline held Maggie's hand. She and Will sat on either side of the bed.

"This is just so unreal." Maggie lamented. "Today of all days. This is supposed to be one of the happiest days of my life!"

"Well, it still is." Caroline insisted. "'Cause you're gonna walk again, and-and that's huge, hmm?"

"Yeah. So I'll walk and see my husband in jail." Maggie sobbed. "Brady can't possibly believe that Victor could do this. He just couldn't! I mean, you know-"

 _'Really? Does the name Claire Brady mean anything to you, Aunt Maggie?'_ Will thought. He and Maggie both noticed Caroline looking conflicted.

"Caroline..." Maggie said, concerned.

"We're going to let you get some rest." Caroline said.

"Not yet!" Maggie exclaimed. "Whatever it is...say it."

Caroline gave in. "I'm sorry. But I'm afraid it was Victor."

Maggie gasped. "No!"

Will looked at his great-grandmother in surprise. "Grandma, how can you be so sure?"

"How can you think Victor is guilty?" Maggie asked.

"I saw it." Caroline replied. "When we were in the room where little Tate was first held, there was a phone. I picked up the phone...and I saw Victor in your house on the other end of the phone. And when I got Victor alone, I told him. He completely avoided it and then he got very upset and he said that I should keep this to myself. I just felt that he wasn't being straight with me then and...now it..." She just shrugged helplessly and Maggie sniffed.

Will let that sink in. He didn't want to doubt his great-grandmother's vision. After all, he's living proof that her visions always came true. "Grandma...has any of your visions ever turned out to not be true?"

Caroline shook her head. "No. How about yours?"

"No. All my visions were exactly that." Will sighed. "They wore off after Christmas, though I wish they hadn't."

Caroline chuckled. "You know, maybe I'm just being paranoid, Maggie. It could have been Victor calling someone else and the phone thing was a giant coincidence."

Maggie swallowed. "I hope so."

XX

Will headed home soon after that. He walked into the house just as Gabi started for the basement. "Hey."

"Hey." Gabi greeted. "Where's Sonny?"

"I don't know. I was hoping he'd be home by now." Will sighed. "It's a long story."

Gabi nodded. "I just put Ari down. How's Maggie?"

"Good. The surgery was a success." Will grinned. "But, um...Victor was arrested for Tate's kidnapping."

"What?" Gabi gasped. "God...poor Maggie."

"Yeah." Will nodded.

"Poor Sonny, too. He must be beside himself."

Will nodded. "He left to talk to his dad."

"So...do you really think Victor kidnapped your cousin?" Gabi asked.

"Well, he has a history of kidnapping his own grandchildren." Will shrugged. "I..." He sighed. "I don't want to believe it- mainly because things are really good between me and Sonny right now- but..."

"But what?"

"My great-grandma has a vision of Victor talking on the phone with someone...while holding the phone in the hotel room where Tate was held for a while." Will admitted. "Should I tell him? I mean, I don't want to make him think that I'm not on his side."

"Well, when has keeping stuff from Sonny ever worked out for you?" Gabi asked, raising an eyebrow.

Will slumped his shoulders. "Never. You're right."

Gabi nodded. "I'm going to bed now. Goodnight."

"'Night." Will watched Gabi leave, then checked his phone. Sonny hadn't texted him. He sat on the couch and opened up a new text message to Sonny, then had a flashback to that night when Ben tried to kill him. Will shuddered and lightly tossed his cell phone on the coffee table. "Get a grip, Horton. Just because the two events are slightly similar..." He sighed. "Sonny is not Ben. That night was a once in a lifetime almost-tragic event. Give Sonny a little credit. He's not gonna kill anyone, especially not his own husband- the father of his children. God, why did that thought even cross your mind? Ben traumatized you that much?" He spotted a yellow notepad and pen on the coffee table, and jumped up and ran towards the staircase. There was a red necktie hanging over the end of the banister, which made Will even more anxious. He picked it up just as Sonny walked through the door. Will froze and had more flashbacks to that night. He shook his head and trudged upstairs. He changed into something a little more comfortable and then headed back downstairs. Sonny still hadn't come home yet. His phone rang. "Sonny. Hey."

"Hey. I just went to the station then went back to the hospital. I was hoping you were still there." Sonny said.

Will shook his head. "No. Aunt Maggie wanted to be alone, so, I took Grandma Caroline home and headed home myself."

"Oh. Okay, well, I'm on my way home now." Sonny replied.

"Okay. See you in a bit." Will replied, then hung up. He took a deep breath and headed to the kitchen. Maybe some hot chocolate and cookies will cheer him up. Will carried the tray of cocoa and cookies into the living room just as he heard Sonny's car pull up the driveway. He set the tray down on the coffee table and stood up slowly. "Whoo! The things I can accomplish when I'm heavily pregnant." He walked out to the entrance hall as Sonny walked in.

"Hey." Sonny greeted as he locked the door.

"Hey." Will greeted. They hugged. "I'm sorry. I'm here for you. You know that, right?"

Sonny nodded against Will's shoulder. "Thanks. My dad is no longer the DA."

"What? Why?" Will pulled away.

"Long story short: Deimos tested his loyalty by having my dad get rid of evidence to let a low-level crook back on the streets. Someone taped him doing it, and he was asked to resign quietly." Sonny replied.

Will exhaled sharply. "Wow. Wonder who will replace him."

"Yeah, me too." Sonny replied. "This is _all_ Deimos' fault. I am going to prove Uncle Vic's innocence, and that piano-playing manwhore is going straight back to prison."

"Okay...ignoring _everything_...he's still your family." Will pointed out.

"Deimos is a guy who went to prison for thirty years, got out, poisoned and then paralyzed Maggie, forced Uncle Vic to sign over his fortune, and indirectly got my dad fired!" He ranted. "He's not family. Uncle Vic, Maggie, you, my dad, and our children are my family; and you're the ones I give a rat's ass about, not Deimos."

Will raised his hands to calm him. "Okay. Good point."

"Thank you." Sonny took a deep breath. "Okay, I got that out of my system."

"Good. I made you some hot chocolate and cookies. I figured that would cheer you up." Will lead him to the living room and they sat down.

"Thanks." Sonny sighed. He grabbed a mug and took a sip. "You would not believe the night I had."

"Wanna talk about it? It might make you feel better." Will said.

Sonny nodded. "So, I tracked my dad down at the Square, and we went to the Pub. I told him about Uncle Vic's arrest, and then he told me that he's no longer the DA. I then told him I will do everything I can to find evidence that Deimos framed Victor." Sonny waited for Will to comment, but he just nodded. Sonny continued. "Then we headed to the station to talk to Victor and Brady. My dad went in to talk to Uncle Vic and I confronted Brady."

"Not physically, I hope." Will said, sipping his cocoa.

Sonny scoffed. "Well, I wouldn't be much help to Uncle Vic in a coma, which is what Brady would put me in if I tried to hit him."

"Yeah, that's true." Will nodded. "Continue."

"Anyway, we argued. He kept reminding me of Uncle Vic's previous criminal history, then I kept telling him Uncle Vic has changed and that Brady only has opinions and not facts." Sonny replied. "He also kept telling me he doesn't want to believe Uncle Vic kidnapped Tate, but, all evidence seems to point to him."

"Mmm. Kind of like how all evidence pointed to Chad being the Necktie Killer last year." Will commented.

Sonny pointed to him. "Exactly! And just like with Chad, someone is setting Uncle Vic up."

"But who?"

"Deimos." Sonny said simply. "Think about it: who else hates Uncle Vic? Uncle Vic set Deimos up for murder. Deimos exacted revenge."

"Good point. But, are you sure it's Deimos?"

" _Who else_ , Will?!" Sonny exclaimed. "I mean, usually we'd also blame the DiMeras, but they're a little preoccupied at the moment."

"Oh, yeah." Will replied.

"Anyway, whoever set Uncle Vic up broke a lot of laws to do so." Sonny replied. "I'm going to return the favor."

Will's eyes widened. "Wait, what? Sonny...think about this. You have a husband and three kids to think about here! I cannot raise three kids on my own with you in jail. Please...promise me you will do this by the book."

Sonny sighed inwardly. Will had a point there. "Okay. I promise."

"Thank you." Will replied. "Did you come straight home after the station?"

"No. I went back to the hospital, remember?"

"Oh, yeah."

"I had to see Maggie one more time." Sonny said. He hesitated. "I...may have...accidentally let slip that I wanted more info about Uncle Vic and this whole mess."

"You what?! Sonny! That could have set back her recovery!" Will exclaimed angrily.

"I know. My foot still hurts from my dad standing on it, shutting me up." Sonny sighed. "I'll admit: not my proudest moment, I'm sorry. She did tell us that Caroline had a vision of Uncle Vic on the phone with someone while she held a phone that was in the hotel room Tate was in."

Will nodded. "Yeah, Grandma Caroline actually told us this after you left..."

Sonny sighed and shook his head in dismay. "Now I _really_ wish I hadn't said anything."

Will squeezed Sonny's hand. "It's okay. I forgive you."

Sonny smiled and curled up against Will. He laid his head on Will's chest and wrapped his arms around him. "I'm so glad I have you. You're one of the few people I trust completely."

"You'll always have me." Will hugged Sonny and kissed the top of his head.

XXX

The next morning, Will woke up to the sound of his phone ringing. "Dad? ..." He sat up. "What? ... Oh, wait, Dad, slow down. Slow down. ... Wait, what are you- ..." Will's heart sank, and tears sprang to his eyes. "No. That's not possible. ... Okay. Okay, yeah. Bye." He let his phone clatter to the floor. "Oh my God."

Sonny rolled over and sat up when he saw his husband in despair. "Will? What is it, baby? What's wrong?"

Will swallowed back a lump. "Abigail."

"Abigail what?" Sonny asked.

"Remember that plane that went down in the Gulf a couple months back?" Will asked. Sonny nodded. "They have confirmation that Abigail was on that plane. She's dead."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whew! That was a whopper! I couldn't decide how and where to end this chapter. The revelation of Abigail's (non-)death seemed like a good place. Also, notice the parallels to that night when Clyde got arrested and Ben killed Will. Victor is Clyde, Brady is JJ, Sonny is (a much nicer and more sane) Ben, Will is Abigail, and Abigail is Will.
> 
> More role-reversals next chapter! XD


	58. Don't Cry At My Grave

_"It's Abigail...she's dead."_ Will said quietly.

That hit Sonny like a ton of bricks. "No. No...I...I can't believe..." They hugged each other, crying.

"She was my..." Will pulled away. "We-we talked everyday. Not a day went by where we didn't text each other." He picked up his phone and went to his text messages. "No new message." He snorted. "Of course why would there be? She-she's been missing for weeks." He started sobbing. Sonny pulled him back into his arms.

"I'm sorry. I know how close you two were." Sonny replied, rubbing Will's back.

"You were, too." Will sniffed and pulled away. "I need to go. I-I need to be with my-my godson and Chad. I need to get dressed."

"Okay. And Will- you need to eat. You have to think of the baby, too."

Will nodded and got dressed.

XX

Gabi pulled on a shirt and her phone rang. She smiled as she saw JJ on the caller ID. "Hey, babe! ..." Her face fell. "What? How's that possible?! ... Oh my God. ... JJ, I'll be over as soon as I can. ... Okay, love you. Bye." She let out a few sobs, then texted her mom to come over to babysit Ari. She checked on Ari, who was sleeping, then went upstairs. Sonny and Will were eating a quick breakfast. She hugged the men. "I can't believe this."

"I know. I know." Sonny replied, his voice shaking.

Gabi pulled away. "I called my mom. She's coming over to stay with Ari. I need to be with JJ and you guys need to be with your family."

Will nodded. "Thanks."

XXX

Will found Chad on the park bench. "Chad." Chad turned around, stood up, and the two men embraced each other. "Where's Thomas?"

"With your aunt Belle. She offered to babysit." Chad choked out.

"Has he been crying?" Will asked, pulling away.

Chad shook his head. "He can sense there's something wrong, but..."

"I know. It can't be helped." Will said sympathetically.

"How could this happen?" Chad lamented. "I mean, we just got married and now his mom is gone. What am I going to tell him, Will? What am I going to tell my little boy when he asks why he doesn't have a mom?"

Will closed his eyes for a second, then put his hands on Chad's shoulders. "You tell him...that his mom was so special and so unique...that the angels wanted her to work for them. A beautiful angel swooped down to earth and carried her away."

Chad smiled through his tears. "You got that from a chick flick, didn't you?"

"I might have, yeah." Will chuckled.

"Thanks, man."

"You're welcome. Call me if you need anything- a sitter...someone to talk to." Will replied.

Chad nodded. "Thanks." He swallowed. "You know, I...I thought that I could just suck it up and take care of my son. But I can't. There are just...so many memories, you know? I can't even go into the living room without having wedding flashbacks and I can't even set foot into TBD without feeling sick to my stomach..." He sniffed. "If I had my way, I would just leave for Hong Kong or something to work for DiMera Enterprises there."

"You'd just leave your son after he just lost his mom?" Will asked surprised.

"Of course not." Chad shook his head. "The only other option would be that he'd live with that pill-popping, DiMera-phobic, monster-in-law of mine. I really, really hate Peter. He traumatized her to the point where she's wary of all DiMera men even if they save her daughter's, grandson's, nephews', and cousin's lives."

Will nodded. "Good point. I can't imagine what you're going through. I know you must be devastated, but, you gotta wonder: would Abigail want you to focus all your energy on grieving her death?"

Chad shook his head. "No. I don't think she would."

Will smiled, stood up, and squeezed his shoulder. "Sonny and I are both here for you."

Chad smiled and cleared his throat. "Speaking of, what's this I hear about Victor getting arrested for conspiracy to kidnap his great-grandson?"

"Long story short: either Brady thinks that Victor had Tate kidnapped to make Theresa and Maggie's daughter Summer, who Victor hates look bad; or someone's setting him up." Will replied.

"Sounds like Sonny's having a rough couple days." Chad noted.

"Yep." Will nodded. "Well..not as bad as you're having, anyway."

Chad nodded again and sighed. "Thanks."

XXX

Will walked up the pathway to the Horton House. His phone buzzed. "Hey, how was the bail hearing?"

"Good. Uncle Vic was on his best behavior, which helped a lot." Sonny replied. "He's out on bail, but only because there's no real proof he's behind Tate's kidnapping."

"Oh, you and Justin must be relieved." Will smiled.

"We are." Sonny sighed. "Where are you right now?"

"Aunt Jennifer's to be with our family." Will replied.

"Okay. I have to go to work for a bit, but, pass along my condolences, would you?"

"Sure. Love you." Will hung up and turned back to the door.

XXX

Sonny walked through the Pub and spotted Paul sitting at a table with John. He walked over, and Paul spotted him.

"Hey, Sonny." Paul greeted. "What's going on?"

"Hey, guys. I was just grabbing some takeout and I saw you." Sonny explained. "Are you on your lunch break?"

"Ooh, actually, I'm meeting Doc on her lunch break." John replied. "If Paul's sticking around, why don't you catch up? Hmm?" He stood up. "Nice to see you, Sonny."

"Nice to see you, too." Sonny replied.

"Thanks, Dad." Paul said.

"You betcha." John walked off.

Sonny sat down. "What are you thanking him for?"

"Oh, I've sort of been quizzing him, asking for some career advice." Paul explained and moved a used napkin out of the way.

"Ah." Sonny nodded.

"I mean, you know me about as well as he does, so maybe you can help." Paul suggested. "Unless you have to leave."

"Not really." Sonny replied. He grabbed two menus and gave one to Paul. "Let's do lunch."

Once their food arrived, Sonny picked up the conversation again. "Sounds like you're into this whole PI thing full time now, huh?"

"Well, sort of. I mean, Dad's a terrific teacher. He's always telling me I'm doing great, but, I'm just not sure I have what it takes." Paul replied.

"Why not?" Sonny asked, spearing some lettuce. "'Cause of the risks?"

"No. I mean, things can get dangerous sometimes, but I'm...I'm okay with that." Paul said. "It's the other times. You have to do things that wind up hurting people."

"And that gets to you?" Sonny asked.

"Yeah. On a 'Who am I?' level." Paul replied. "Dad says you know...I'll work through it, but in the long run, I feel like it's going to hurt my relationships with other people. I mean, not that I'm in any kind of relationship."

"Be careful, then." Sonny suggested. "Don't set yourself up to get hurt."

Paul was taken aback. "Is that what you think I'm doing?"

"Yeah- if you keep looking to someone to tell you who you are. John's a great guy, but what he wants is not necessarily what you want. You need to do what's right for you." Sonny replied. Paul just sighed and stared at Sonny in shock. "What?"

"It's just...kind of a new you, Sonny." Paul laughed softly.

"A new me?" Sonny asked. He sipped his drink. "Well, maybe I have changed a little. I'm my own man now. I'm not out to please people all the time. Right now, I am focused on dropping those bogus kidnapping charges against my Uncle Vic. Then, I'm joining the family business."

"Wow. You really _have_ changed." Paul replied.

"Yep, and people are just gonna have to get used to it." Sonny pulled out his wallet and slapped some money on the table. "Lunch was fun. Take care." He stood up and walked off.

XX

Gabi sat at another booth staring at a glass of water. Sonny spotted her and sat down. "Hey. Where's my girl?"

"Still with my mom." Gabi replied dully. "She asked if she could spend more time with her, and I just didn't have the heart to say no."

"Why? Is everything okay?"

"Um..." She sighed. "No. My dad left town again, and I'm just not sure he's ever coming back."

"Oh my God, I'm so sorry." Sonny said sincerely.

"Yeah. I tried to explain it to Ari, but I just don't think she understands." Gabi replied. "So now she lost her abuelo and her godmother all in one day."

Sonny nodded and squeezed her hand.

XXX

Lucas, Adrienne, Doug, and Julie were all at Jennifer's. Jen and Lucas sat on the couch, Jennifer with a glass of punch.

"So, are you gonna tell us where you were earlier? I mean, should we be worried?" Lucas asked.

Jennifer was about to respond, when they heard the doorbell ring. Jennifer threw her head back and groaned in dread. "God, I just cannot deal with him right now."

"You mean Chad?" Doug asked.

Jennifer nodded. Lucas squeezed her shoulder and stood up. "Now, don't you worry. I'll get rid of him."

"Kick his ass for me, Lucas!" Doug called after his cousin-in-law.

"Darling." Julie chided.

Lucas strolled to the front door, threw it open, and was about to say something snarky when he stopped short. "Will."

"Hey." Will greeted. "Uh, did I come at a bad time?"

"No, no. Of course not. Come here." Lucas pulled Will into a hug. He got choked up. "I'm so glad I didn't lose you."

Will hugged back. "Me too."

They walked into the living room. "Relax, guys, it's just Will."

"Oh, Will. Thanks for coming, darling." Julie said, hugging him.

Jennifer wordlessly stood up, walked over, and hugged her nephew. "You were one of her favorite cousins, you know? She always looked up to you and lit up every time you'd text her."

"Oh." Will replied. He sighed. "I can't imagine what you must be going through."

"Well...I hope you _never_ do." Jennifer replied.

"You know, Will, we were all going around the room, talking of memories of Abigail." Adrienne spoke up. "Would you like to share anything?"

Will swallowed and nodded. "Well...Abigail was one of the most important people in my life. She introduced me to my soulmate...she told me- accidentally- about Gabi's ultrasound appointment, which was the first time I felt Ari kick, she stood up for me at my wedding..." He sighed. "Now, um...Ari has another angel watching over her."

"That was beautiful." Doug commented. Julie nodded in agreement.

After a few minutes, Lucas turned to Jennifer. "So, you were about to tell us where you were earlier."

"I saw Chad earlier." Jennifer replied. "And Ciara is not working there anymore, and I do not believe that Thomas is safe."

Lucas looked away. "Look, I might be the wrong person to talk to about this, because Sami and I played tug-of-war over Will for years-"

"What? No. That's completely different, Lucas." Jennifer replied.

"I don't know, Jen, I don't know." Lucas said. "I mean, I'm not defending the DiMeras in a way right now, but...Chad was always good to Will-"

"And Allie, Johnny, Sydney, and Ari." Will put in.

Lucas nodded at Will, then turned back to his sister. "And I know he loved Abigail very much, so don't you think that he deserves another chance to prove himself?"

"No, I don't." Jennifer said tersely. "And yeah, maybe-maybe it's not fair to put all the blame on him- yes, exactly, but...I trusted him with my daughter's life and I will never make that mistake again."

"Aunt Jennifer, you do remember that Chad saved Abigail's life, right?" Will asked. "And Thomas'?"

"Yes, and I don't care. I still don't trust him." Jennifer said.

"You do know, after what happened last night that-"

"No, I know that I would never get custody of Thomas," Jennifer interrupted. "and maybe that is not even something I can handle right now."

"What do you want to do?" Lucas asked.

"I don't know. I just..." Jennifer closed her eyes for a second and looked at Lucas. "I just want my grandson to be safe." She stood up and walked to the table.

Adrienne stood up and cleared her throat. "Lucas and I were-were talking. We are going to postpone the wedding."

"No, please." Jennifer replied. "Please, Abigail wouldn't want that, and remember, we talked about this, that it would be-"

"I know we did, but-" Lucas started to say.

"-Something so happy to look forward to." Jennifer finished.

"All right." Lucas replied. "You know, if you're sure-"

"I am." Jennifer said firmly.

"All right, but don't pretend that you're tough, okay?" Lucas replied. "And then as soon as we leave, then you fall back into-"

"Lucas, I promise you: I am not going to use again." Jennifer replied.

"Call me if you're even thinking about it-"

"I will." Jennifer promised.

"You promise that?"

"Yes."

"All right, and whatever we can do to help with Thomas, we'll do it." Lucas replied. "You can count on us."

"Absolutely." Adrienne agreed.

"Thank you." Jennifer hugged her brother. "I love you so much, bro. You have no idea how much that means."

"I'm sorry." Lucas replied.

Jennifer sat on the couch. Julie sat next to her and stroked her hair. "Darling, Doug and I sold the Martin House, so we're here as long as you need us."

"Until you learn my entire repertoire of bad jokes." Doug quipped.

"Every single one." Jennifer said, smiling. "I'm so grateful to have you here. I have the most wonderful family."

They were silent for a minute, then Julie spoke. "And when you are ready to plan a memorial for Abby, there's a poem..." She reached for a book of poems and opened it up. "Well...it meant a lot to me when our Gram passed away." She recited the poem "Do Not Stand At My Grave" by Mary Elizabeth Frye.

Everyone was weeping by the end. Jennifer hugged Julie. "Oh, Julie! Would you mind reading that at the memorial service?"

"Oh, darling, of course not." Julie hugged back.

Jennifer sniffed and took a deep breath. "Thanks. Thank you all for coming. I-I just...I'm exhausted, I..."

"Well, there's a nice, warm, bed waiting for you upstairs." Doug replied, smiling.

Jennifer chuckled tearfully and stood up. She turned to Lucas and Adrienne. "I'll let you know when the service is."

Adrienne and Lucas left, and Jennifer and Julie headed upstairs. Will stuck around for a minute. "So, you guys sold the B&B, huh?"

"Yep." Doug nodded. "Actually, it was your grandma Kate who bought it."

Will was surprised. He couldn't imagine Kate running a B&B. "Seriously?"

"Yeah." Doug replied.

"Wow...I'll have to visit." Will replied.

After saying goodbye to Doug, Will headed home. He found Sonny sitting on the living room couch staring sadly into space. Will walked into the living room.

"Hey." Will said.

"Hi." Sonny said quietly. "How was Jennifer's?"

"Sad." Will sat next to Sonny. "We all went around and shared our favorite memories of Abigail and Julie read a poem. 'Do Not Stand At My Grave' by Mary Elizabeth Frye. I'll look it up so you can read it." He looked the poem up on his phone and showed it to Sonny.

"Nice poem." Sonny replied.

"Do you have a favorite memory? Of Abigail?" Will asked.

Sonny smiled sadly. "Well, um...I told you that I almost had a twin, but my mom had to abort them to save her life, right?" Will nodded. "I always imagined what it would be like if my twin had gotten a chance to live. Since Abigail and I are the same age...I've always imagined my twin would be just like her."

Will smiled and blinked away tears. "That's sweet."

Sonny snuggled up to Will and sighed. "I just can't believe she's gone...forever. Like...she doesn't exist anymore."

"Oh, Sonny. No one ever leaves us even when they die." Will replied, holding him close. "Like the poem says, they're with us in the rain, the snow, the fields..."

"I don't know if I believe that's true." Sonny admitted.

"Well, I do." Will replied. "I believe she's up there in the clouds, watching over us."

XXX

In a dark, run-down room somewhere, a young woman lay in bed, covered with a quilt, crying. Her hands and feet poking out. On one hand was a wedding ring bearing a remarkable resemblance to Abigail's wedding ring.


	59. Chapter 59

Will headed to the Pub, hoping to run into Caroline, which he did. They chatted, and Will decided to get some chowder. He noticed Deimos and Justin sitting in the booth behind him and sat low and quiet.

"I want to thank you." Justin was saying.

"Thank me? For what?" Deimos asked.

"Making me destroy evidence so that Jimmy Holman could skate on that armed robbery charge." Justin said simply. "Abe and Roman found out. I lost my job."

 _'So_ that's _what happened.'_ Will thought.

"And you're thanking me, because...?"

"Well,without that job, there is nothing more you can get out of me." Justin replied.

"Justin, I am so sorry. If there's anything I can do to make it up to you..."

"Is this the new and improved Uncle Deimos talking?" Justin asked, not believing Deimos.

"I'm just trying to make amends to my family." Deimos replied. "People in my life who've been hurt by the things I've done. So if there's anything I can do to help you, let me know."

"Thanks, but no thanks." Justin replied.

 _'Oh, come on, Justin, if he could make you DA again and not Aiden, wouldn't it be worth it?'_ Will thought. A waitress started walking towards him. Will pulled out a ten and gave it to her. She smiled and walked off.

"Justin...if my brother can accept the fact that all I really wanna do it make peace, why can't you?" Deimos asked.

"I can't speak for Victor." Justin replied. "But as for me, I don't believe a word that comes out of your mouth. I've dealt with enough criminals to know that they never really change."

 _'Go Justin.'_ Will silently cheered.

Deimos chuckled. Justin asked "What's so funny?"

"Well, now I know where your son gets it from." Deimos replied. Will sat up a little straighter and listened harder. "He seems to share your skepticism about me."

"Sonny has always been intuitive." Justin said.

 _'Except when it came to Ben.'_ Will thought, then immediately felt bad.

"By the way, stay the hell away from him." Justin said warningly.

"No, you might want to tell him to stay the hell away from _me_." Deimos warned. "He seems determined to exact some sort of revenge on me."

 _'What? That's crazy! It's not like you did anything to him like cause Victor's heart attack and Maggie's paralysis, and worked with the guy who killed Bo and kidnapped Ari, Grandma Marlena, John, and Paul.'_ Will thought sarcastically.

"I don't think you need to worry about him." Justin replied.

"Well, I hope not. But let me make myself perfectly clear here: just because I'm trying to turn things around does not mean that I'm just gonna roll over." Deimos said. "If anyone comes after me, I will strike back. So why don't you be the dutiful father, and tell your kid to back off?"

 _'Oh, you son of a bitch!'_ Will thought, fuming. He turned and hid his face from Deimos as he walked past. Will glared after Deimos as he left the Pub. Will stood up and turned around to face Justin.

Justin sighed. "Let me guess: you overheard our entire conversation."

"Sorry." Will replied.

"It's all right. I'm starting to get used to eavesdroppers." Justin folded his arms. "You gonna tell Sonny about that conversation?"

"Yes. You see, I'm trying this new thing where I _don't_ keep anything from my husband." Will replied. "It's actually going quite well."

Justin smiled and nodded. "Well, I'd ask for you to lie, but...our family's already at war with each other enough as it is."

"Good point." Will replied.

"I need to get back to the office. Take care." Justin clapped Will's shoulder and walked off.

Will walked through the square and ran into his dad and Adrienne. "Oh, hey guys."

"Hey! What's up, man?" Lucas asked.

"Uh, not much. How about you guys?"

"Well, we're thinking of taking custody of Thomas for a while...til Chad gets back on his feet." Adrienne replied.

Will smiled and nodded. "I think that's a good idea. You've had hell of a lot of practice taking care of babies."

Lucas and Adrienne chuckled. "Yeah. So, were you just at the Pub?"

"Yeah." Will said, slightly hesitant.

"Will...what's going on?" Lucas asked, warily.

Will sighed. "Okay, it's not that big a deal, but...I overheard Justin and his uncle Deimos talking."

"I see. And what were they talking about?" Adrienne asked.

Will swallowed, still hesitant. He wasn't sure if Sonny would want her to know this. "Just that Deimos is getting sick of being accused of kidnapping Tate. If someone strikes at him, he's not gonna roll over. He'll strike right back."

"Who's accusing him of kidnapping Tate?" Lucas asked.

"Justin." Will replied. "And...Sonny."

"Oh. Well, Sonny has always been intuitive." Adrienne nodded.

"That's what Justin said." Will replied. "Justin also told Deimos to stay away from Sonny."

"Good. And what did Deimos say to that?" Adrienne asked.

Will sighed. "Deimos told Justin to tell Sonny to stay away from him."

"Ooh, that homophobic...!" Adrienne snapped.

"Adrienne, calm down. It has nothing to do with his sexuality." Will assured her. "It has to do with Sonny accusing him of kidnapping Tate and framing Victor.

Adrienne scoffed lightly. "Really? That's it? Has Sonny done anything to him?"

"Besides trashing Deimos behind his back- mainly to me- and accusing Deimos of kidnapping Tate and framing Victor, no."

"Okay, so he's either paranoid and overly dramatic or he's a raging homophobe." Adrienne said simply.

"Yeah. Wonder what hell Sonny would have raised had he done worse." Lucas laughed softly. "I mean, come on, not even _Nick_ told me to tell you to back off!"

"Really? Huh." Will said.

"I'm so glad there are no homophobes in our family." Lucas replied. Will and Adrienne looked around, awkwardly. "What? What?"

"Um, I thought you knew..." Adrienne said.

"Knew what?" Lucas asked.

"I didn't want to make things awkward between you and Julie, Hope, Jennifer, Maggie, and Abigail." Will said. "I guess it doesn't really matter now since Nick's dead, but...Nick didn't like Sonny and me because we're gay."

"What?!" Lucas exclaimed.

"That's why he wanted to take Ari away from me." Will sighed. "He got raped in prison and he took it out on me and..." Will just had a realization. "Sonny."

Lucas exhaled sharply. "Oh, he is _so_ lucky he's dead! Who else knew that he was a homophobic jerk?"

Will shook from his thoughts. "Uh...Gabi, Sonny, EJ, Rafe, and JJ."

"Sonny also told me and Justin a few weeks after Nick died." Adrienne replied.

Lucas nodded. They had a point about keeping that from him. He silently vowed never to tell anyone else in the family about it. "Well, like I said before, it's a good thing he's dead."

XXX

Will walked into the house and into the kitchen. Sonny sat at the dining room table going over papers. Will smiled, walked up to Sonny, and hugged him from behind. "Hey, how's my working man?"

Sonny smiled and squeezed Will's wrist. "Hey. Just finishing up some paperwork."

"Mm." Will kissed the side of Sonny's head. "Good, 'cause I need to talk to you about something."

"Oh. What?" Sonny turned in his seat.

"Finish up your paperwork. I'll be in the living room." Will replied and walked into the living room and sat on the couch. He got a text from Marlena inviting him to lunch the following day. By then, Sonny entered the living room and sat on the couch. Will set his phone on the end table. "Hey."

"So, what'd you wanna talk to me about?"

Will sighed. He told Sonny about eavesdropping on Justin and Deimos' conversation and running into Lucas and Adrienne.

Sonny was fuming by the end. "Un. Be. Lievable! I'm gonna _kill_ that bastard!"

Will grabbed Sonny's hand gently. "Sonny, no. Look, if we leave Deimos alone, he'll leave us alone. You have a family to think of. Do not declare war on him. Please!"

Sonny took a deep breath and stared into his husband's pleading eyes. "You realize I can't just sit by and let that jerk threaten us?" Will sighed and looked down. Sonny calmed down and sat next to Will, taking one of his hands. "But...you're right. Tell you what, when Deimos is indicted for Tate's kidnapping, I'll take it out on his ass."

Will laughed. "Deal!" They kissed. Sonny's phone rang. "Go ahead, take it. It could be important."

Sonny nodded and answered his phone. "Kiriakis. ... What? ... Okay, did you try- ..." Sonny sighed. "Okay. I have to drop off paperwork, anyway. I'll be there within an hour. ... Okay, bye." Sonny sighed again and turned to Will. "Sorry, babe. I'll bring home takeout."

"You better." Will half-joked.

XXX

Paul walked through the door to The Spot, Salem's local and only gay bar. Soft rock music played as couples either made out or danced. He spotted Derrick sitting at the bar, and walked over. Derrick emptied out a bottle of scotch into his shot glass as Paul sat down.

"Hey."

Derrick jumped slightly. "Oh, hey, Paul." He replied, slightly slurring his words. "What's up, buddy?"

"Not much. Derrick, is everything okay?" Paul asked, getting concerned.

Derrick giggled. "Oh, everything's just awesome. Kate took over the B&B and evicted everyone out and fired me. Now I have no job and no home."

"So, instead of looking for a job and an apartment, you go to a bar." Paul guessed.

"Eat me." Derrick snapped.

Paul nodded and smiled in spite of himself. "Did you drive here?"

"No, I took the bus. I had to sell my car to stay at the Salem Inn for a month." Derrick explained. "Hopefully, I'll have another job by then."

"Let me help you with that." Paul offered. "I know the Mandalay Cafe is hiring for a new greeter."

Derrick nodded. "Thanks. I'll apply." He stood up and tried to walk, but stumbled. Paul caught him before he hit the ground, causing Derrick to giggle.

"Okay, you are in no shape to travel by yourself. Let me take you back to the hotel." Paul offered. He slung Derrick's arm over his shoulder and half-carried, half-dragged Derrick to his car.

"Mmkay." Derrick slurred, then passed out.

XXX

After putting Ari to bed, Will put on his nightshirt and lay on his bed. He immediately remembered Abigail's death and thought about all the other deaths in the last year. He blinked away tears.

Sonny walked into the bedroom and saw Will laying on his side on the bed, crying silently. Sonny crawled onto the bed and gently rubbed Will's arm. "Baby...what's wrong?"

Will sniffed. "Why...why me? Out of everyone who died in the last year...why was I saved?"

"What are you talking about?" Sonny asked softly.

"I don't deserve to live." Will cried softly. "Paige, Uncle Bo, Daniel, the midwife, Abigail...they all deserved to live more than I do."

"Will...you do deserve to live." Sonny said. "Yes, you've made mistakes, but you learned from them and became a better person."

"Really? How would anything be different if you hadn't saved me from Ben?" Will turned around.

Sonny scoffed lightly. "You helped find Abigail when Ben kidnapped her. You saved your Aunt Belle from being burdened with half the DiMera fortune, you're helping Chad get through Abigail's death. You saved your uncle Eric from even more embarrassment from accidentally getting Daniel killed by changing the Sonix article written about him. You were there for Ari when she had that virus. You're giving me not one, but _two_ sons and Ari two brothers."

Will wiped away tears. "I guess you have a point there."

"Would you seriously rather have died last year?" Sonny asked. "You would rather not have made things right with me and Paul? You would rather not see our daughter grow up after spending a painstaking year and a half making sure she grew up with you?"

Will smiled. "Okay, you're right. It's just...not fair that everyone else who died didn't get that second chance. Paige never made things right with JJ, Abigail and Bo will never see their children grow up and Daniel..."

"I'm sure they would be happy that at least some people get to live." Sonny said firmly. "The best way to honor their memory is to live for those who can't anymore."

Will swallowed and cried some more. Sonny pulled him into a warm hug and started rubbing his back. "Thank you."


	60. Cheering Up

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You know...I think I like my version of the climax of the DiMera Stolen Money storyline...
> 
> Anyway, something Sonny said in yesterday's episode hit me. Something along the lines of "You couldn't have stopped Abigail from going on that plane any more than I could have stopped Ben from killing Will." I realized that I really changed fate and twisted canon to make this AU possible. The one time Caroline had a vision of someone other than Bo and Victor happened to be Will being attacked by Ben, and Sonny conveniently chose that day to fly back to Salem and visit Caroline. It was all a little too convenient. It was fate and blind dumb luck.
> 
> It also makes me wonder if Sonny imagines saving Will before he goes to sleep or if it just makes his grief and guilt worse.
> 
> Well, enough of my rantings. On with the fanfic!

Will spotted Marlena sitting at a table, smiled, and walked over and sat down. "Hi."

"Hi! How are you? How's Ari and Sonny?" Marlena asked.

"We're all fine." Will replied. "How about you and John?"

"We're great." Marlena smiled. "I feel like we've gone through every possible obstacle we could at our age."

Will nodded. "That's good. Let's see: love triangles, brainwashing, faked deaths, comas, rescue missions, kidnappings, long-lost children...did I miss anything?"

"Nope, I think you got it." Marlena chuckled.

"Seems like Sonny and I already went through all those things minus the brainwashing, coma, and faked death." Will mused.

"Well, then you'll have a much easier life than John and I had." Marlena half-joked. They laughed.

Will sobered. "This is kind of...off topic, but...have you ever had survivor's guilt?"

Marlena was little surprised. "Yes, I have. Your great-aunt Samantha was murdered because her killer thought she was me."

"How did you get over it?"

"Why do you ask?" Marlena asked.

Will lifted and slumped his shoulders. "I feel like...I shouldn't be alive when others like Paige, Uncle Bo, the midwife, Dr. Jonas, and Abigail aren't."

Marlena nodded slowly. "I believe that...it wasn't your time to leave this earth. You were given a chance to redeem yourself and get your family back together. All those other people you mentioned already did that. Just be grateful that at least you're alive and happy and know that Bo and Dr. Jonas, and Abigail would want you to be happy and alive."

Will nodded and smiled. "Thanks."

"How are you doing, otherwise? Still having nightmares?"

"No. They've faded, thank goodness. No PTSD, either." Will replied. "Did you ever get PTSD?"

"Only after the second time I was kidnapped." Marlena nodded. "After that, I just learned to deal with it. I knew how to handle myself and I knew I have people who love me and who will be there for me."

Will smiled. "That's true. So, who kidnapped you? Was it Stefano?"

"No. It was a man named Orpheus."

"Who's that?"

"Someone you'll never meet." Marlena replied. "He was an ex-ISA agent. Your grandfather accidentally killed his wife. He never forgave Roman for that. When he kidnapped me that was when everyone thought John was your grandpa Roman."

"Yikes." Will said.

Marlena nodded and her phone rang. "Ooh. Sorry, this is important. I'm sorry to cut this short."

"Oh, it's okay. I'll see you tomorrow."

They stood and hugged. "Bye, sweetheart."

XXX

Derrick walked out of the Mandalay Cafe and ran into Paul. "Oh, Paul, i'm glad I ran into you."

"Really?" Paul asked.

"Yeah. So, I applied here and they'll let me know in a week." Derrick smiled.

"Awesome. Well, I hope you get it." Paul said, smiling.

"Thanks. I also applied at Barons. Hopefully within a year or two I'll have saved up enough for an apartment." Derrick replied.

Paul hesitated before asking. "You know, I'm looking for a roommate to help with the rent. It has a view of the river, laundromat, and pool in the back."

"How much is the rent?"

"$1,200" Paul replied.

Derrick gave a low whistle. "Wow. Um...okay, sure! Can I see your apartment?"

"Sure! Let's go." Paul replied.

XXX

Sonny and Will drove to the DiMera mansion. Chad has been cooped up in that dark mansion for too long now. They had to do something.

Harold sent the two up to the study. Belle and Chad were talking. Sonny knocked on the door. "Hey. Sorry to interrupt. Harold said we could come up here."

"No, it's okay, guys. I was just leaving." Belle replied. She turned to Chad. "I'll be in touch."

"Business meetings at this time of night?" Sonny asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I'm a mogul. It's what we do." Chad replied, putting his hands on his hips.

"Yeah, well, even moguls have to eat." Will said, folding his arms. "You wanna go to the town square?"

"No, I was just-I was going to have Harold bring something up here." Chad replied.

"Chad, you have plenty of time to save the company and take care of business." Sonny said. "But first, you need to take care of yourself. Abigail would want that."

Chad sighed and nodded. He stood up. "All right. Let's get the hell outta here."

"That's more like it!" Will replied, smiling.

"Yup." Sonny said. "Oh, and can I give you a little bit of advice? I love my mom so much, and I think it's great that she and Lucas are helping out, but don't, you know, don't have her live here forever."

Chad nodded and the trio left.

XX

Will, Sonny, and Chad sat at a table outside the Mandalay Cafe and ordered sandwiches. Sonny and Will dug into theirs, but Chad just sat there staring off into space.

"This sandwich is great." Sonny said. "Why don't you try some of yours."

"I'm not-uh, I'm actually not all that hungry." Chad replied.

Sonny nodded and decided to change the subject. "You know, baseball post-season should be pretty interesting, huh?"

"I don't watch much baseball anymore, either." Chad said.

"No?" Sonny asked, surprised. "You're a Cubs fan! Come on."

"Cubs? What are the Cubs?" Chad asked, half-jokingly. Sonny laughed.

"I guess I'm not that much into baseball anymore, either." Sonny admitted. "I'm more into football now."

"Yes. So many muscley arms to look at." Will teased.

Sonny smiled and turned to Will. "Yeah, but, you have the best muscley arms anywhere."

"Really?" Will asked. He set his fork down and flexed his muscles, and Sonny laughed.

"So why football? Besides the muscles?" Chad asked.

"It was something I could do where I didn't have to think about..." Sonny glanced at Will, who shook his head.

"It's okay, Sonny. You can say it." Will rolled his eyes. "It was so you wouldn't have to think about me, wasn't it?"

Sonny sighed quietly. "Hey, you said it. I didn't."

"You know, finding a gay bar in Paris to watch American football wasn't easy." Will said, changing the subject.

"Yeah, but, it gave us a sense of community." Sonny replied. "Something to look forward to on the weekends."

"Besides me, anyway." Will smirked.

"Right." Sonny smiled and nodded.

"Oh man, those things last forever now." Chad said, digging into his salad. "I just can't help feeling guilty. I wish I could have kept Ben away from Abby..."

"You couldn't any more than JJ could have stopped Ben from killing Paige." Will said firmly.

"Still, I should have helped her through it." Chad lamented.

"You know what I think?" Sonny asked, raising his eyebrows. "I think Ben, what he did to Abigail was too much for her to handle, and no one could have gotten her through it. Abigail's my cousin. I have known her since the day she was born and she never stopped loving you."

"Didn't you live in Texas when she was born?" Will asked.

"I did, but my family visited at least once a year 'til I was 16, then we moved to Salem for a year, then moved to Dubai." Sonny explained.

"Oh." Will nodded.

Sonny turned back to Chad. "So, quit beating yourself up and eat your damn sandwich."

"Or if you'd rather, we can force-feed you that sandwich." Will put in.

Chad rolled his eyes and stuffed the sandwich in his mouth and started eating. "Mm. That is so good."

"He's back." Will said to Sonny, who chuckled.

"So, how's Ari?" Chad asked.

"She's good. I- actually, I took her to the grocery store the other day, and she does not miss a trick." Sonny said.

"Well, Sami Brady is her grandma, so I'm not surprised." Chad smirked.

Will groaned and threw his head back. "Oh, god...acting like my mother is gonna get her killed, I just know it."

"Heeey, don't think like that!" Sonny exclaimed. "Who knows? She might turn out more like you."

"That's even worse!" Will exclaimed. Chad and Sonny just stared at him. "Well, it is..."

Sonny just shook his head. "Anyway, she wanted to buy a lollipop, but I said 'No, it's too close to lunchtime'. She wore me down, didn't back down. She promised to wait until after lunch to eat it, so I bought it for her, and you know what she said to me?"

"What?"

"She leans in and she goes 'Daddy, I am so proud of you'." Sonny replied.

"Get out." Chad said, smiling.

"Yeah, I'm serious. She said that to me." Sonny replied. "She said that the other day too, when I caved in on something. That's what I get for saying it to her all the time when she does things my way."

"That's so adorable." Chad cooed.

"Mm-hmm." Sonny replied, sipping his drink.

"Ari already has Sonny wrapped around her little finger." Will nodded. "He's gonna be the pushover parent, I'm gonna be the strict one. If those kids get a 'C' average in school, I am grounding their asses until they bring that grade up." Chad nearly choked on his drink and chuckled. Sonny looked confused, and Will glared at Chad. "What?!"

"It's just...I remember when we were in school, you got invited to this party, but, your mom didn't allow you to go, because you were getting Cs in math!" Chad exclaimed.

"Well, I finally understand where my mom was coming from." Will said simply. He sipped his drink.

"I was the complete opposite." Sonny replied. "I would not go to a single party until I got straight 'A's."

"Yeah, right! You snuck out of the house to parties, and while your parents were away, you threw wild parties. Admit it." Will chimed in.

Sonny smiled and shook his head. "I am dead serious, Will. I did not go out until my grades were perfect."

"Oh, well, we can't all be perfect." Will shrugged.

Just then, Gabi walked up. "Hey, sorry to butt in, but I-I just wanted to say how awful I feel about Abigail."

Chad glanced at Gabi. "Uh, yeah, thanks. Thanks, Gabi."

"She was uh...she was a really great friend to me." Gabi continued. "Even when she found out about Nick, and that was her cousin. She actually wrote to me every week when I was inside. And she made me feel like I could have a life someday. And now I do." Gabi sobbed quietly. "And now she's not here. I don't know. We should just be raising our kids together, you know? It's not fair. It's just not fair."

"Thank you." Chad said again.

Sonny went to get coffees for him and Chad while Chad explained that he's taking over DiMera Enterprises.

"Wait, so you're rebuilding DiMera Enterprises in Abigail's memory? That's really cool." Gabi said.

"Yeah, well, a lot of the senior executives wouldn't agree with you." Chad replied. "You know most of these guys are just these, you know, these old cronies of my father's who only got hired because they did things as shady as he did."

"No kidding." Will said.

"Yeah, if they had the stones to say what they wanted, they'd probably be saying 'Hey, kid, why don't you sit down behind that desk, shut up, and let the grownups handle things?'."

"Well, screw them." Sonny declared.

"Yeah." Gabi put in.

"Because you've run a company before. You know what you're doing." Sonny replied.

"Right, but back then I was just learning the ropes. You know, Kate was the one who was running things." Chad replied. "She kept them in line and afraid of me."

"She's back over at DiMera, right?" Will asked.

"Yeah, but, I mean, I'm the CEO," Chad said. "so she works for me. I mean, I had a meeting today with all the executives, right? And the idea was to lay out the plans for the future. And these old bastards just sit there, you know just yes-ing and winking at each other like it's funny."

"Wait, sorry, were you...were you wearing that?" Gabi asked with disdain at Chad's loose black collar shirt and black pants.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Chad asked, confused.

"Well, uh...just for your body type and frame, that shirt is not the right fit." Gabi commented. "And you need a power tie."

"That's cold-blooded." Chad deadpanned. Gabi laughed.

"She's right though, man." Sonny chimed in. "Like the guys that you're dealing with- these old geezers, you know, they care about that kind of garbage."

"Yeah." Will nodded. "Listen to the closet fashionista."

Chad and Gabi laughed and Sonny glared at Will. "You're never gonna let me live that down, are you?"

"Nope! Sorry." Will smirked.

Sonny just shook his head and turned to Chad. "You know, you need a power tie, you definitely need a new belt and fresh pants."

"So my wardrobe is the problem?" Chad asked.

"Okay, if you wanna be the boss of a big cooperation, you have to dress corporate." Gabi said. "I'm sorry, it's the truth. And it's one of the things I learned from all these fashion designers that image really matters."

"Well, listen to you laying it on the line." Sonny smiled.

Gabi laughed. "Shut up. Look, I read it in an article-"

"You read?" Chad joked.

"Yes." Gabi nodded. "That if you want a job, you have to dress like you already have it. It gives you a 60% better chance of getting it."

"Well, he already has the job that he wants." Sonny pointed out.

"Yeah, but the problem is holding on to it." Chad said.

"Okay, how about we go shopping?" Gabi suggested.

"I'm busy." Chad said dully.

"What about right now?" Gabi asked, not giving up.

Chad relented. "Okay, fine. Fine. Fine."

"Good."

"Now?!" Chad exclaimed, nervously.

"Yes, now." Gabi stood up. "Come on. Let's go."

"O-okay. Cool." Chad stood up and followed her.

Sonny chuckled. "Gabi is on fire tonight."

"Yeah. You know, you could use a wardrobe update yourself." Will said.

"Me? What do you mean? I wear suits and ties!" Sonny exclaimed.

"I know, but your plaid shirts..."

"You love my plaid shirts." Sonny said, slightly offended.

"I do love your plaid shirts, but they're too casual and you wear them too often." Will pointed out.

"Oh, fine." Sonny lamented.

Will smirked, leaned in and said. "Sonny, I'm so proud of you."

"Oh, stop it!" Sonny snapped, but smiled, laughed, and playfully shoved Will, who also laughed.

XXX

About a half-hour later, Chad and Gabi returned to the cafe.

"Whoa. Looks like you did some damage." Sonny joked.

"Yeah, the only damage done was my liquidity." Chad replied.

"Hmm. Right. Well, listen, I've worn expensive clothes, but never a $300 tie, okay?" Gabi replied.

"What color is it?" Will asked.

Chad scoffed lightly. "Dark blue. No way in hell I'm buying a red necktie."

"Me neither. You know, it's been 11 months, and I _still_ can't even look at a red necktie and think of...that night." Will shuddered. Sonny gave Will a little side hug.

"It's really fun to spend a rich guy's money." Gabi said, trying to lighten up the moment.

"Yeah, my family has money, but not what it used to be, so would you please just slow your roll, girl?" Chad asked.

"Hmm." Gabi sighed. "I'm not slowing anything. I'm on a roll, okay? And your next problem is Kate, because if she's on that crazy high that she was on at Basic Black for dress codes, you're gonna have problems."

"Oh, yeah?" Chad asked.

"Gabi, I don't know if Chad has enough time to like raise a kid, run a company, buy a new wardrobe, and rein in Kate." Sonny pointed out.

"Yeah, you're right." Gabi nodded.

"Too bad you weren't an image consultant for DiMera Enterprises." Sonny grinned.

"Wha..." Chad was confused at first, then understood. "Actually, I-I'm really into that idea."

"Oh, come on." Gabi said.

"No, no. I mean it." Chad said sincerely. "You could keep me looking super fly, corporate. And then you could keep an eye on Kate. And it would be nice if you could bring Ari once in a while so she and Thomas could get to know each other."

"Are you being serious right now?" Gabi asked, disbelievingly.

"Dead serious." Chad said. Gabi laughed in excitement. Chad handed his bag to Sonny and extended his hand to Gabi. "Deal?"

"Deal. Yeah. Absolutely." Gabi replied, smiling.

"Great! I will write up a contract." Chad said.

XXX

The next morning, Will walked into the kitchen to the sounds and smells of Sonny making sausages and eggs. "Smells good."

"Thanks!" They kissed. "Excited for Brady and Theresa's wedding today?"

"Yeah. Are you? I mean, I know things are still weird between you and Brady..."

"Yeah, I mean, things are still weird, but, you and Theresa are cousins, and I am your date." Sonny replied. He filled two plates of sausages and eggs and walked to the table. "So, it's not too weird."

Will nodded and checked his iPad for news updates. He froze and his eyes widened in sheer horror. Sonny looked up, concerned. "Will? What is it?" Will wordlessly turned the tablet to Sonny, who gasped and his eyes widened in horror at the news headline:

"SEARCH FOR ESCAPED CONVICTS CONTINUES"

Underneath the headline were pictures of Xander Cook, Clyde Weston, and another criminal named Milo Harp.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ohhhhh crap! Shit's about to go down!


	61. Memories

Will and Sonny sat in stunned silence for a few minutes.

"We're screwed." Will finally spoke, his voice shaking. "I don't know who this Milo Harp guy is, but Clyde and Xander will come after us- after _all_ of us. They're gonna-" He started hyperventilating.

"Will, Will!" Sonny gently shook his shoulders. "Breathe! Take deep breaths..." They both took deep breaths, and Will calmed down, much to Sonny's relief. "It's gonna be okay. We have an alarm system and I have a gun. We'll be fine. Look, if anything happens, I'll hire a couple of bodyguards and maybe have your grandpa put a squad car on our house. But for now, let's not overreact."

Will sighed heavily. "It's just...you, Chad, Gabi, Paul, and I all helped bring Ben down. Clyde can't be too happy about that, and JJ brought Clyde down. And-and Xander- he hates Theresa, and you're Victor's favorite. He might come after you, and on top of all that, we still have Andre running around town. I just don't feel safe here!"

"Okay." Sonny pulled Will into a hug. "Like I said, we have an alarm and a gun. There's safety and strength in numbers, right? We'll go everywhere together. How about that?" Will nodded against his shoulder. "All right. Now..." Sonny pulled away. "Ari is going to be up any minute now. We have to be strong for her."

Will nodded. "Okay. Yeah. You're right."

"'Course I'm right." Sonny smirked. "Now, eat your breakfast. It's unhealthy not to."

Will chuckled and started eating.

XXX

Will and Sonny walked up to the front door of the Kiriakis mansion and stopped. "You know, the last wedding that was here was our wedding."

Sonny smiled at Will. "That was a beautiful day, wasn't it?"

"The best." Will grinned. "It went off without a hitch and no drama."

Sonny chuckled. "Yeah." He pulled Will in to a hug and a kiss. "I wouldn't trade our marriage for anything. Not even the first bad year."

"Me neither." Will said, honestly. "Here's hoping Brady and Theresa will have an easier first year than we did."

Sonny laughed. "Yeah, really."

"Hey, guys." Paul walked up to them.

"Hey!" Sonny greeted. "So, I hear you're in the wedding."

"Yep. I've even prepared a best man speech." Paul smiled. "I don't have anything embarrassingly funny to display about Brady, though."

"I may have an idea." Sonny said with a mischievous glint in his eye. "Brady must have been about sixteen or seventeen. We visited Uncle Vic for the summer, and one day I caught him making out with a porcelain doll."

Will burst out laughing. Paul just stared in amusement. "What?"

"Mm-hmm." Sonny nodded.

"Please tell me you have pictures." Paul said, laughing a little.

Sonny shook his head. "I'm afraid I don't. I was six years old, man. I didn't know how to work a camera."

"Oh. Well..." Paul shrugged. They headed inside.

Sonny walked up to Victor. "Hey, Uncle Vic."

"Hey, Sonny." They shook hands. "Glad you could make it. Brady will be delighted."

"Yeah. I'm sorry my dad couldn't make it. He is still out of town visiting Alexander." Sonny replied. "Uncle Vic, I know this isn't the time or place to talk shop, but, I was wondering how you might feel about bringing Dad back on as the family attorney."

"Actually, I think it's a wonderful idea." Victor replied.

"Great! I'll let him know." Sonny replied, smiling.

"Wonderful. Excuse me." Victor walked off.

"Hey, guys." Will and Sonny turned to Brady, who was grinning and walking over to them. "Glad you could make it."

"Well, one of Theresa's extended family should be here." Will half-joked. "Grandma Caroline is sick with the stomach bug and Aunt Kayla's in the hospital."

"Is she okay?" Brady asked, concerned.

"Uncle Steve didn't tell me much. Just that she had to have surgery." Will shrugged. "And, of course, my grandpa's working on the three escaped convict case." Brady nodded. Will looked between Sonny and Brady. "You know, I see Grandma Marlena over there. I'm gonna say hi."

"Okay." Sonny watched Will walk off and turned to Brady and sighed. "Brady, I owe you an apology. I'm sorry for the way I acted at the station."

Brady just shook his head and waved him off. "Sonny, don't worry about it. I'm over it, and you were right to defend Granddad. He _was_ innocent."

"So, you finally got the kidnapper?" Sonny guessed.

"Yep. It was a drug dealer called Titus Drew." Brady explained. "He had dealings with Granddad and Deimos. He was pissed at something they did and he sook revenge."

Sonny's heart sank. He was relieved that the kidnapper was caught, but...he couldn't help feeling guilty. "Oh. I am really, really, _really_ sorry. I was so...paranoid and distrustful of Deimos..."

"I don't think I'm the one you should apologize to for that." Brady said, raising an eyebrow.

Sonny nodded. "I will let Deimos know."

XX

Will walked over to Marlena. "Hey, Grandma."

"Oh, hi!" Marlena greeted. "Glad you could make it."

"Glad I _could_ make it." Will grinned. "Where's, um, where's Aunt Belle?"

"Oh. She is in Hong Kong. She started working for Chad in making DiMera Enterprises legit." Marlena replied.

"Ah. Well, she definitely has her work cut out for her." Will nodded. "My dad's still working there, too. I think having the daughter of Marlena Evans and John Black; and the grandson of Tom and Alice Horton working there will be a great help in making it legit."

"I agree." Marlena nodded. She took a deep breath. "You know, I'm having flashbacks of your and Sonny's wedding here."

"That's funny. Sonny and I were just reminiscing about that earlier." Will replied as Sonny walked up behind him.

"I don't mean to be biased, but that was the best wedding I've ever been to." Sonny said. They all laughed.

John joined them and Marlena fussed over his suit one more time. "I love seeing you in this tuxedo. I'm so glad you had this made. All right, we'll get this show on the road." She laughed. "Oh my gosh."

They heard clattering outside the room and Eve crying out. "Oh! Oh, God! Oh, God!" She was yelling. Victor walked over to open the door, and he immediately stepped back.

A man in his sixties was holding a very petrified Eve at gunpoint as they walked into the room.

"Oh my gosh. Oh, no! Oh, no, no, no. Oh, no!" Marlena exclaimed. "Eve! Oh my gosh."

"You all look so surprised." The man said. "Were you expecting someone else?"

Marlena took a deep breath. "Orpheus!"

Will's eyes widened and he glanced at his grandmother. She looked terrified.


	62. Wedding Interruptus

_Everyone stared, terrified at the man holding Eve at gunpoint._

_"Orpheus!" Marlena exclaimed in a hushed whisper._

John stepped in front of Marlena. "You were..."

"Dead? Not quite." Orpheus replied. "You gave up so easily."

Paul turned to his father, surprised. "You know him?"

Orpheus waved his gun around. "Stop! One more step, and I put a bullet in her head."

"Where's Theresa?" Brady demanded. "What have you done with my fiancee?" Eve continued whimpering and crying. Brady glared at Orpheus. "Is Theresa in the car?"

"You have my sister, you creep!" Eve exclaimed.

"Settle down. I didn't do a thing to her." Orpheus said.

"Then where is she?" Brady asked.

"You're very demanding." Orpheus noted.

"My God. If you've done anything-"

"Brady." John interrupted in a warning tone, and turned to Orpheus. "So, if you say Theresa's fine, why don't we just get to the heart of the matter?"

"Uh-uh-uh-uh-uh." Orpheus shook his head. "I didn't say that. She's with a friend of mine. See, it turns out, I met a guy in prison who happens to know Theresa, so we stopped there first, and I left them there to catch up. I borrowed a car, came here to uh, do a little catching up myself."

"Who is this guy?" Brady asked.

"What, you can't guess?" Orpheus raised an eyebrow. He turned to Victor. "Victor, he's family. One of your disgruntled relatives- or does that not narrow the field?"

"You mean Xander?" Victor asked, surprised.

"That's the one." Orpheus grinned, evilly.

"You left Theresa with Xander?" Brady asked again. "He's gonna kill her!"

"Well, I can't have all the fun myself, can I?" Orpheus shrugged, still holding Eve hostage. Brady stepped forward. "Back off or she's the first to die."

"Let them all go, Orpheus." John spoke up. "After all, your issue is with me, aren't they?"

"John, no." Marlena said.

"Listen to your wife, John-boy." Orpheus replied. "She is your wife now, isn't she? Tell me after all these years, after all the hell you put me through, that you managed to stay married."

"What difference does it make?" John asked.

"Oh, little things mean a lot in lock-up." Orpheus answered. "No detail of your life was too small. Or yours, Marlena. I managed to keep up with the old snake." He glanced at Victor.

"Funny." Victor deadpanned. "I haven't thought about you in years."

"That appears to have been a mistake." Orpheus said.

"Victor." John snapped, then turned back to Orpheus. "This is interesting. We all thought that you were dead, so how is it that you wound up in Dixon Correctional without us knowing?"

"You weren't looking for Milo Harp." Orpheus said simply. He noticed Nicole walking forward. "Now where do you think you're going, hmm?"

"Just let her go." John said. "You don't need her or the baby."

"Hmm." Orpheus pointed his gun at Will. "You," Then he pointed his gun at Sonny, "you," at Maggie, "you," then at Nicole. "and you get out."

"No!" Maggie said through her tears.

Victor looked at his wife with concern. "Maggie."

"I'm not gonna leave you alone!" Maggie said to her husband.

Orpheus scoffed quietly. "Fine. You won't get far on foot, anyway."

Eve struggled from Orpheus' grasp. "Let me go!"

"Not you, honey." Orpheus grabbed her again.

Paul stepped forward. "Let her go. You don't want her."

"Why not?" Orpheus asked.

Will stared at Paul, wary. _'Paul...what are you doing?'_

"Because she's a lousy bargaining chip." Paul replied. "Take me instead."

"Paul." John said, trying to keep the fear from his voice.

"Why would I do that?" Orpheus asked.

"Paul." Sonny stood up, fearful for his friend.

"Don't do it." Will said warningly.

"Because I'm John's son." Paul answered.

 _'Oh, goddammit, Paul!'_ Will thought angrily.

Orpheus aimed his gun at Sonny again. "Sit down." Will pulled his husband back down and glared at Orpheus, who turned to Paul. "Now wait a second, you're John's son? Sorry, I don't see the resemblance. Either one of you."

"Marlena's not my mother, but John is my father." Paul explained.

"You've been busier than I thought, John." Orpheus commented.

John took off his jacket. "Well, why don't we grab a beer and I'll tell you all about it?"

"Sure. We'll do that." Orpheus said, sarcastically. "Now, get out. All of you! Except John, Marlena, Victor, and young Paul." He let Eve go and aimed his gun at Paul. "All right, you. Step forward. Easy now." Paul raised his hands and walked to Orpheus. "Come forward. Turn around. Turn around!" Paul complied. Orpheus grabbed him and held his gun to Paul's head. "Semi-auto. I can take you all out in a flash."

"Out now, Sonny, Will." John instructed. He pulled Will up and pushed both him and Sonny towards the door.

Brady grabbed Sonny and whispered "Cops." then turned to Nicole. "Listen to me. Take him to the police station. I'm going after Theresa."

"Okay." Nicole said. She pushed Tate's carriage towards the door. Eve, Sonny, Will, and Brady followed.

Sonny and Will waited until they were outside to hug. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah. You?" Will asked, his voice shaking.

Sonny nodded. "Let's go to the station." They headed to the car and Sonny pulled out his phone to call the cops.

XX

Will and Sonny walked into the detective area where Nicole and Eve waited with Tate, and Philip was pacing frantically.

"I can't believe I left the wedding." Philip lamented. He noticed Sonny and Will. "Sonny. Will."

"Hi." Will greeted. "You missed a great wedding."

"Yeah, if I'd known, I would have never left." Philip replied.

"I was kidding." Will said.

"Sorry." Philip replied. "Sorry about Paul."

"What do you mean?" Sonny asked. "Did something else happen?"

"No, no-"

"Did you-"

"I-I just meant...I know you guys were..."

"Oh, yeah." Sonny nodded. "That was a long time ago before I met Will."

"But you're still friends?" Philip asked.

"Yeah, of course. He's a great guy." Sonny said. "I want him to be okay. I want everyone to be okay."

A few minutes later, Abe walked through the detective area. Philip, Will, and Sonny walked up to him. "What's the word?"

"Are they at the mansion?" Sonny asked. "Did they get inside?"

"We don't have any word from the mansion." Abe replied. "But Theresa's okay."

Eve and Nicole walked into the detective area. "So, what happened?"

"Xander had Theresa and he was strangling her when Brady got there." Abe replied.

"Oh my god." Nicole exclaimed.

"So, when are you guys going into the house?" Philip asked. "I mean, how long are you gonna wait until-"

"We are not gonna scare Orpheus into shooting someone." Abe said firmly. "Now, I'm heading out there right now to help the hostage rescue team negotiate."

"Well, I'm going with you." Philip declared.

Abe turned and pointed at Philip. "No, you will not. You stay out of the way, Philip." With that, Abe left.

Philip just shook his head and followed. Nicole and Eve left in the opposite direction.

The minutes dragged on until they finally got an update from the mansion. Sonny called Brady.

"Sonny." Brady answered. "What's going on?"

"Is Theresa okay?" Asked Sonny.

"Yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah. She will be." Brady replied. "What's happening? What's happening at the house?"

"Will and I are at the police station right now." Sonny replied. "Shots were fired at the mansion and Orpheus got away."

"Was anyone hurt?" Brady asked, alarmed. Sonny hesitated. "Sonny!"

"Your dad was hit." Sonny replied.

"How bad?" Brady asked.

"I'm not sure, but it didn't sound like it was serious." Sonny replied. "He was treated at the scene."

Brady exhaled in relief. "What about everyone else?"

"They're fine." Sonny replied. "Paul managed to wrestle Orpheus to the ground, but a shot went off. That's when your dad was hit. Paul went after Orpheus, but couldn't catch him."

"Okay. Thanks, man."

"Sure."

XXX

Sonny and Will headed back to the mansion. They walked into the living room where Marlena was wrapping John's arm in a bandage. Paul smiled and walked up to them.

"Hey." Sonny greeted. "What you did..."

"Oh, I've gotten hurt worse in the playoff game." Paul replied, good-naturedly. "At least I didn't get shot or thrown against a TV this time."

They laughed. "You were a hero then, too. But that's not the same as offering yourself as a hostage to save someone's life."

"Well, it worked out, right?" Paul asked, raising an eyebrow. "Except for the fact that bastard got away."

"Now he's gonna be gunning for you, too." Sonny said.

"Good. Hopefully my karate skills aren't as rusty as my speed." Paul said simply.

Will nodded, smiled, and walked over to Marlena. "Grandma."

"Hey. Oh." She stood up to hug Will.

"I'm so glad you're safe." Will said.

"Me, too. I'm glad you're safe, too." Marlena replied. She pulled away and sighed loudly. "I hope you know that you have to be extra careful from now on."

"I will be. We all will." Will replied. He sighed. "I'm just so glad my mom and the kids are in Europe somewhere. Knowing Sami, she'll go after the Trio of Terror herself. Especially since-" Will caught himself. He remembered his mom telling him who is really responsible for EJ's attempted murder, but since she found out from EJ himself, no one can know yet. "Especially since Orpheus tried to kill you all those years ago. She and Uncle Eric grew up without you because of him."

"That's true." Marlena nodded. "How _is_ your mother? Is she still with that Ethan guy?"

"Yeah. They're still together and very much in love." Will grinned. He hated lying to his grandmother. But if it keeps Sami and the kids safe...

"Well, good. I'm glad." Marlena replied.

XXX

Sonny and Will arrived back home to a frantic Gabi. She tackled both of them with a hug. "Oh my God! I heard what happened at the mansion. I'm so glad you two are okay."

"So are we." Will said. "Where's Ari?"

"She's in her room, playing." Gabi replied.

"Okay, good. I just want to hold her and never let go." Will replied.

"Oh, I know what you mean." Gabi said, knowingly. Will rushed off. "So, is everyone okay?"

Sonny nodded. "Yeah. For the most part. I'm just glad no one was seriously hurt."

"Me, too."

XX

Later, Will made sure all the doors and windows were locked and the alarm was set. Sonny checked his safe and made sure his gun was still there. Things are getting more serious and dangerous than anything they've faced.


	63. Family Meeting

"Daddy, I'm tired of sitting. I want out!"

Will pushed a shopping cart holding Ari and some grocery items through the baby aisle. He pretended to hesitate. "Hmm. I don't know..."

"I'll be good!" Ari exclaimed.

Will chuckled. "Okay. But only if you hold on to the cart."

"Okay, Daddy." Ari smiled.

"All right." Will unbuckled Ari and lifted her out of the shopping cart. "Elevator going up..." He set her down. "Elevator going down." He groaned slightly. _'Sorry, Uncle Jack...'_ "All right. Hold on to the cart, okay, sweetheart?" Ari obeyed and they continued shopping. Smiling, Will leaned down and said "Ari, I'm so proud of you." hoping it would lighten the moment.

"Yeah, yeah." Ari grumbled.

A few minutes later, Will stopped to pull a few things from a shelf and put them in the basket. He started walking, but then realized he couldn't hear the pitter patter of Ari's little feet. He stopped and looked around. Ari was nowhere to be seen. "Ari?" Panic started rising in Will's chest. "Ari!" He walked through the aisles until he spotted a familiar looking man holding Ari's hand and walking towards the checkout. Will zoomed towards them. "Hey! Ari!" Will stopped and froze when he saw Matt, who leaned down to Ari.

"Sweetheart, is this your daddy?" He asked.

Ari nodded. "Yeah. Hi, Daddy."

"I found her wandering around. I was just about to make an announcement." Matt replied. "You should really keep an eye on your kids, Will."

Will felt something stick to his throat. "Thanks." He cleared his throat.

"You're welcome." Matt smiled. He leaned back down to Ari. "It was nice to meet you, Ari."

"You too, mister." Ari said cheerfully. Matt walked off and Ari waved to him. "Bye!" She turned to her father, who had his hand on his hip looking stern.

"Ari...I thought you were going to hold on to the cart." Will said calm, but stern.

Ari looked down in shame. "Sorry, Daddy."

Will took a deep breath. "All right. I'll forgive you this once. Don't scare me like that again, you understand?"

"Okay, Daddy."

"That's my girl." Will pulled her in to a hug.

XXX

Later, Will and Ari returned home. Will carried in the shopping bags. Sonny was waiting for them.

"Hey. How was shopping?" Sonny asked.

"I got losted and Daddy got mad." Ari said simply.

Sonny raised an eyebrow at Will, who just shook his head. He and Sonny brought the rest of the groceries in, and then put a movie on for Ari. Sonny turned to Will, who started putting groceries away.

"Okay, what happened?" Sonny asked.

Will sighed. "I take Ari out of the cart, tell her to hold on to it. I look away for ten seconds and she's gone."

"Yikes."

"Yeah. It took a few minutes, but I finally found her." Will replied. "Someone was holding her hand and taking her towards the checkout."

Sonny stiffened. "Xander."

"Nope." Will shook his head.

"Orpheus?" Sonny guessed again.

"Nope."

"Clyde."

"Still nope."

"Well, then who?" Sonny asked.

"Matt." Will answered simply.

Sonny was surprised. "Sonix Matt? The guy you stole and rewrote that article about your Uncle Eric from?"

"Yep. The very same." Will said. "He pretended like nothing happened between us, but I could just tell he's not over it."

"Well, it's been over six months." Sonny shrugged. "It's possible he got over it."

"Well, I hope you're right. As if we didn't already have enough problems with the Trio of Terror running loose." Will sat down and rubbed his temples.

Sonny walked up behind Will and started massaging his shoulders. He kissed the top of his head. "Try not to worry too much. It's not good for the baby. Or you."

Will took a deep breath. "I know..."

"And...you might get gray hairs by the time you're thirty." Sonny half-joked. Will's eyes widened in horror and he absentmindedly ran his hand through his hair. Sonny chuckled. "Don't worry- not a gray hair in sight."

"Oh, good. Maybe I should take up yoga or something after the boys are born." Will said.

"Good idea."

XXX

Brady walked into Deimos' living room where Deimos, Victor, Justin, and Sonny were gathered around.

"Any news?" Asked Brady.

"Not about Orpheus and Friends." Deimos replied. "We still have no idea where they are."

"What a surprise." Victor said sarcastically. "Three sociopaths escape from prison, head to Salem, and turn a wedding into a hostage situation, attempt to strangle one woman and shoot another one- yet they are happily still at large. Hell, they could be staying at the Salem Inn ordering room service and Roman Brady still wouldn't be able to find them."

Brady sighed in irritation. "Maybe we should keep the ranting at a minimum."

"I can't help but agree." Deimos replied as Brady handed Victor a drink. "We're all gonna have to show considerable restraint. Four generations of Kiriakises under the same roof- it will prove to be a test."

"I feel like we're the Corleones." Sonny quipped. "You know- going to the mattresses."

"This isn't funny." Victor said. "We, our wives, our children are under attack here."

"Yeah, well, I know it isn't funny, Uncle Vic." Sonny stood up.

"Xander seems to have made a psychotic break." Deimos commented.

"You think?" Justin asked, raising an eyebrow.

"And that deranged Weston- poor Ben didn't fall far from the tree." Victor said.

"Well, I'm glad you decided not to rant today..." Brady said.

"I rant so I won't worry." Victor turned to Brady. "I don't care what happens to me. But they're not coming after me. They're coming after people I care about." Victor sat down and Justin offered him a small mug of coffee. "No thank you. We need to keep our wits about us."

"Maggie said it would be easier for all of us to talk honestly and in private." Brady said.

"I agree with her." Justin spoke.

"Is Maggie here?" Sonny asked.

Brady ignored him. "And Theresa and Tate. So my whole family's moved in, so I think it's a pretty good idea."

Deimos turned to Sonny. "There's plenty of room for you and your father, husband, and kids; too."

Sonny could almost hear the Sami Brady-like meltdown Will would have if he even _suggested_ moving into the mansion. He shook his head. "Eh, no, I'm not gonna do that. I just moved, you know? I'm not gonna move again."

"That's a lame excuse." Victor piped up.

"Okay, how about this: there is _no way_ I will _ever_ be able to convince Will to move us and the kids here." Sonny replied. "And frankly, Deimos, I don't like you or trust you. And I'm kind of disappointed Uncle Vic turned around so quickly."

"If I can put up with him, so can you." Victor argued.

"I just don't want to." Sonny shook his head.

"You have to do this for your family." Victor replied.

"Uncle Vic, he's a grown man." Justin stepped in.

"He's in danger." Victor insisted.

"I will look both ways before I cross the street." Sonny half-joked.

"Clyde Weston tried to kill you once last year." Victor reminded him.

Brady did a double-take. "Wait, what?"

Sonny sighed and turned to his cousin. "Clyde was the one who tried to kill me last year...in retaliation for Uncle Vic trying to have _him_ killed."

"I can't lose you, Sonny. I just can't." Victor said. "I need to know that you're safe, Sonny- all of you."

Sonny shook his head and sighed. "I hate that you always get what you want."

"Thank you." Victor replied, then turned to Deimos. "And thank you."

"Really? You're thanking Deimos for letting us live in the house he extorted from you in exchange for Maggie's life?" Justin asked.

"If I can come to terms with the past, Justin, so can you." Victor replied.

"So...you've come to terms with _everything_ Deimos has done?" Sonny raised an eyebrow. "Including being indirectly responsible for your son's death?"

"Friendly reminder that Bo forgave Chelsea for accidentally killing Zack- her own brother." Victor raised an eyebrow, too. "Tell me- how does not forgiving Deimos for that honor Bo's memory, Sonny?"

Sonny exhaled sharply. _'Wow, you know things are bad when Victor is a better man than you are.'_ "Fine."

"We can forgive him, but we don't have to forget what he's done." Justin added.

"Okay." Sonny shrugged.

"Now, I'd like to focus on the present." Victor said. "We have to stop talking. We have to get the whole family here."

"Does that include me?" Everyone turned to see Philip walking in.

"What are _you_ doing here?" Victor demanded.

"Good to see you too, Pops." Philip quipped.

"Philip, hello." Deimos sighed. "Where's Chloe?"

"Wait- _Chloe_?!" Victor exclaimed.

Philip ignored Victor. "She'll be here a little later."

"Yes, with everything going on, I didn't get a chance to tell you." Deimos explained to Victor. "I invited Philip to move in, too. With Chloe and Parker, of course."

"You didn't tell me because you knew how I'd react." Victor stated simply. "I won't have it."

"Victor, Philip's sin, in your eyes, is that he worked for me." Deimos reasoned. "If you can forgive me, then why can't you forgive him?"

"Because there's a difference." Victor insisted. "He's my son, and he betrayed me. Maybe when you have a son, you'll understand."

"You just said the whole family is in danger." Justin threw his arms out in frustration. "Well, Philip is family. If he can't stay, neither can I."

"Thanks." Philip muttered.

"Oh, this has nothing to do with you, Justin." Victor snapped. "This is between me and my son."

"No, this is a family decision, Victor." Deimos stepped in. "And not only are you greatly outnumbered, but Maggie wants Philip here, too. So you can at least do this for her."

"Does she know his concubine is included in the package?" Victor asked.

"Oh, jeez." Brady muttered, closing his eyes in dismay.

"Chloe is not a concubine, and she's not part of the package, she's part of my life!" Philip snapped, coming to Chloe's defence.

"Then God help you." Victor said.

"I don't care how you treat me, but you will treat Chloe with respect." Philip demanded.

"Respect? For that-"

"Victor, Victor." Justin held up a hand to calm him.

Philip raised a finger at Victor. "Listen, you old, smug, hypocritical-"

"Don't call me old." Victor snapped.

"If you don't treat Chloe with respect- if you don't make Parker feel welcome, I'll call you anything I damn well please." Philip snapped.

"You see? He's not even here two minutes, and we're already at each other's throats." Victor announced.

Justin stepped forward and addressed Victor. "Let's get some air, okay? We need some air."

"I don't need air, I need him gone!" Victor snapped.

"Do you think I wanna be under the same roof as you?" Philip asked.

Justin addressed Victor again. "You need to stay calm. For Maggie's sake."

"No, what he needs is to do is remember that he is a guest in my house!" Deimos exclaimed.

Sonny tried to play peacemaker. "All right, this-"

"Your house?" Victor scoffed.

"Yes, my house."

"This is _my_ house!" Victor exclaimed. "You stole it from me!"

"Victor-" Justin rubbed his eyes in frustration.

"You poisoned Maggie and then you bartered for her life."

"It doesn't matter how I got it, it's _my house_!" Deimos argued, raising his voice.

"Victor, calm down!" Justin snapped.

Brady couldn't take it anymore. He slammed his fist on the desk. "Gentlemen! Shut up!" Everyone turned to Brady, surprised. Brady started walking around the room. "You know, like most problems in life, I think that this one can be settled with a small piece of duct tape..." He turned to Victor. "right over your mouth." Victor was about to respond, but Brady held up his hand. "No, no, no, listen. I think everyone's going to agree that you talked enough."

"Amen to that." Justin said. "Brady, you have the floor."

Brady sighed. "Here's another thing I think we can all agree on: you love us, and that's why you want us to live here, right?"

"Not all of us." Philip quipped.

"And let's take a look at that. Granddad, think about this." Brady continued. "Philip betrayed you, right? So you want him out there. You want him exposed, right? What does that tell Orpheus and Xander and all those freaks out there? It tells them that we are not a united front. It tells them that they don't have to go after each one of us. They can just cherry-pick us. They take him out. They kill Philip and then wait for the next big Kiriakis feud to happen, because there always is a next big Kiriakis feud, until the next one of us storms off, right?"

"Which would probably be me." Sonny commented.

"Which would give Clyde another opportunity at Sonny, right?" Brady pointed out. "Here's one for you. How about they go after Parker? How about they go after your grandson?"

"I never said he couldn't stay here." Victor said calmly.

"You really think Chloe is gonna hand her son over to you and then wave goodbye at the doorstep?" Brady asked. "No. They will be left out there, too. I don't know about you, but I don't think those three freaks out there- Orpheus, Xander, Clyde- I don't think they're gonna draw a moral line in the sand and all of a sudden decide that they're not gonna go after an innocent little kid."

"I think Ari and Tate would be more susceptible than Parker..." Sonny said.

"Whatever! My point still stands." Brady snapped. "Anyway, they're gonna kill him, too. And do you wanna be the one to tell Maggie her grandson is dead- Daniel's son? But then you had a good reason: because Chloe ticked you off, because Philip gets on your nerves."

"All right, you've said enough." Victor said softly, avoiding eye contact.

Brady pointed at Deimos, still looking at Victor. "Listen, I despise that man over there, okay? I don't trust him because of what he did to you and what he did to Maggie. But I made peace with him, because I'm going to stay in this house because it's for the sake of my son. Our families- that's the safety that we should be thinking about right now, and we're not. If I can deal with him, then you can deal with Philip and Chloe. We need to put our pasts behind us, gentlemen, and we need to think about our future- the future of our children. We need to be men."

"He's right." Sonny spoke up. "Dammit, he's right." He stormed out.

"...Apparently, so was he- about him being the next to storm out." Deimos commented.

Justin sighed and followed his son out to the foyer. "Hey, you okay?"

Sonny sighed. "Uncle Vic drives me nuts."

Justin chuckled. "That sets you apart? Look, if you can't do this, then I'll arrange to make sure that you and your family are safe."

"No, I can do it." Sonny shook his head. "I think it's the right thing to do. Last year, when Uncle Vic first told me that Clyde had me stabbed, it didn't really compute. Not even when it was brought up again earlier. But then with everybody screaming at each other, I remembered waking up in the hospital and seeing Will. That man tried to have me killed. His son tried to murder me, my husband, my cousin, and three of my friends. I will not hide. I wanna find him."

"I know you do." Justin replied.

"Brady's right, Dad. We can't fight each other." Sonny replied. "We need to fight them." Justin nodded in agreement. The doorbell rang. Sonny answered it. "Hey, Chloe."

"Sonny! Hey." Chloe greeted. "Are you and Will moving in here, too?"

"Yeah. Wish me luck trying to convince him to." Sonny quipped.

Chloe looked confused. "I don't think it'll be too hard. Lucas once told me that he, Will, and Sami all used to live here for a year or so; and Will loved it. He would spend all day in the indoor pool and the library..."

Sonny chuckled. "Well, I will definitely remind him of that. Thanks. We'll let Philip know you're here. Be right back."

Sonny and Justin walked back into the living room. Things were more civil than before. "Philip, Chloe just arrived." Philip nodded, then headed to the foyer.

"Let the games begin." Victor muttered.

Sonny walked over to Brady. "I'm sorry I was so snippy before."

"It's okay, really." Brady replied.

"So, I am definitely going to move in with Will and the kids." Sonny said. "Do you remember when he and his parents lived here for a while? Can you give me pointers on how to convince him to move in?"

Brady chuckled softly. "Um, well...he did love the indoor pool and the library. Um...there's also a playroom for Ari to play in, plus a home theater and an exercise room. We have butlers and maids and a cook. Someone as high-maintenance as Will would _kill_ to live in a place like this."

"Yeah...just one problem." Sonny said. "Deimos." They both said simultaneously.

"But, didn't he live in the DiMera mansion with Stefano and EJ?" Brady asked.

"Yep, he did. But look where it got him- he ended up doing shady things for EJ, and both he and Stefano blackmailed him..." Sonny's voice trailed off.

"Still, lightning doesn't always strike twice." Brady shrugged.

"Good point there."

"Chloe, welcome." Brady said as Chloe and Philip walked in.

"Thanks, Brady." Chloe said politely.

"Father, you remember Chloe, don't you?" Philip asked.

"Hard to forget." Victor replied. "Chloe, I hope you're very comfortable here."

"Thank you, Victor." Chloe replied. "You know, I'm kind of tired. Is there any way we can go up to our room?" She asked Philip.

"Sure." Philip replied. He and Chloe left.

XX

Once Philip returned, Brady started pouring and handing out drinks. "So, we're all in agreement? We're gonna do this thing?" Everyone smiled and looked at each other. "Then I would like to propose a toast. To la famiglia."

"To la famiglia." Everyone chorused and raised and clinked their glasses.

XX

Sonny walked into the kitchen of his house, where Will was finishing making dinner.

"Hey! Right on time!" Will exclaimed. He carried the plates to the table. "Gabi is out shopping with Ari, then they are heading to Chad's house for a bit. So, I thought we'd have a nice little dinner date."

Sonny smiled and sat down. "This looks wonderful."

Will chuckled and sat down. They started eating. "So, how was your big fat Greek family meeting?"

"Dramatic. Everyone was pretty civil- well, except Uncle Vic and Philip when he arrived with Chloe in tow." Sonny said.

"I can imagine." Will replied.

"Yeah. Uncle Vic said it was his house, then Deimos got all territorial and possessive, then he and Uncle Vic started fighting like three year olds over a toy! 'This is mine!' 'No, _mine_!' 'Mine!' _'Mine!'_ " Sonny raised his voice a few octaves, then spoke normally. "Their mother must be watching over them thinking 'Oh my God, I'm so glad they're twenty years apart rather than twenty months.' They would have been nightmares as children."

Will laughed softly. "So, what was the meeting about?"

Sonny took a deep breath. _'Here goes everything.'_ "The safety of everyone in the family."

"Oh. So, are we gonna get bodyguards, or...?" Will asked.

"We can if you want." Sonny said. "Everyone's moving into the mansion, though."

"Who's everyone?" Will asked.

"Uncle Vic, Maggie, Brady, Theresa, Tate, Chloe, Philip, Parker, my dad...and I- well we all were hoping that...we'd move in as well." Sonny said.

Will quietly chewed and swallowed his food. "Okay."

"Wait, really?" Sonny was surprised and relieved.

"Yeah. It's a pretty safe place and I do love the indoor pool and the library." Will said, shrugging. "I have to say, I'm a little concerned about Deimos, though."

"I know. We all are, actually." Sonny said.

"I mean, he can't be too happy about Victor stealing the mansion back and kicking Deimos out." Will said.

Sonny stopped short. "Um...Uncle Vic didn't steal the mansion back. It's still Deimos' house."

"Wait, but you said..." Will's voice trailed off. He realized what his husband was saying. "No. No way in hell."

"Will..."

"Sonny, there are several scenes from a Stephen King novel I'd reenact before I moved in with that evil douchebag!" Will exclaimed. "Have you forgotten what he did to Victor and Maggie? To Bo? Not to mention working with Yo Ling!"

"Of course not! None of us have." Sonny insisted. "But, Will, think rationally here. The mansion has security and there's safety and strength in numbers! We are doing this to keep everyone safe."

"How do you know Deimos isn't _working_ with the Trio of Terror? How do you know he won't set off a bomb while we're all in the house?" Will argued. "I'm not taking that chance, I'm sorry."

"Will, I almost lost you twice in the last year alone. I am _not_ gonna lose you again." Sonny argued. "This is only temporary until the Trio of Terror are caught."

"I don't care how long it is, I am _not_ moving into that house, _especially_ not with our kids!" Will exclaimed angrily. "I cannot _believe_ you would actually agree to moving in with Deimos- especially since you do nothing but trash him behind his back!"

"Will, I don't like this any more than you do. But this is for our own safety and our own good." Sonny replied. "And besides, you have lived in the DiMera mansion with Stefano and EJ. How is that any better than living with Deimos?"

"I was seventeen! My dad lived out of the country. I had no choice!" Will cried, raising his voice.

"Even so, whatever we think of Deimos, Stefano was way worse." Sonny insisted.

"I don't care." Will said, pointing a finger at Sonny, glaring at him. "I am not moving in with the guy who is responsible for Uncle Bo's death, probably responsible for Ciara getting kidnapped last winter, Aunt Maggie's paralysis, and working with a guy who kidnapped my daughter, grandmother, John, and Paul who all got sick with a deadly virus! Well, not Grandma, but still!"

Sonny closed his eyes and sighed deeply. "You once told me you didn't want to be married to a guy who controls your life. But, you know what? I'm too concerned for our family's safety to care. We're moving into the mansion if I have to drag you every step of the way. End of discussion!"

"Fine. End of _marriage_!" Will exclaimed angrily.

Sonny felt as if Will punched him in the gut. "You don't mean that." He said in a tiny voice as Will stormed out of the dining room. "Will!" He sighed and fought back tears. This was worse than he imagined. He leaned down on the table, then threw his entire dinner off the table and sank to his chair, sobbing quietly.


	64. I Think I'm Gonna Like It Here

Will fell back on his pillow and sobbed quietly. He flashed back to his fight with Sonny.

_"We're moving to the mansion if I have to drag you every step of the way! End of discussion." Sonny declared._

_"Fine! End of marriage!" Will exclaimed, angrily._

_"You don't mean that." Sonny replied in a tiny voice. Will stormed out. "Will!"_

Will sniffed and rubbed his belly softly. "I _didn't_ mean that. I'm just scared and worried about moving in with Deimos of all people." He took a deep breath and his phone rang with a text message from Sami.

_'Hey, I heard about the 3 prison escapees. You are being careful, right?'_

Will replied. _'Yes, we are, don't worry.'_ He paused before typing. _'Sonny wants to move us into the Kiriakis mansion.'_

_'Oh, that's perfect! Security's tighter than Fort Knox over there.'_

_'Yeah, but there's just one problem: Deimos is still living there. It's his house now.'_

_'Oh. That could be a problem. But, you know what? Stefano was ten billion times worse, and I and the kids lived there, and we turned out fine.'_ Sami replied.

Will took a deep breath. _'Mom, why did you agree to live in the DiMera mansion?'_

 _'To save you from going to prison.'_ Sami replied.

_'And after that whole drama was over? Why did you decide to stay?'_

_'Mostly because EJ and the kids wanted to stay there. I was willing to make that sacrifice, because I love them. And...you know, I actually kind of liked living there. Big rooms, a cook, maids, a butler, and that beautiful garden in the backyard. It was all worth it, believe me. Ooh! And stables and a limo!'_

Will chuckled. _'I guess you have a point there.'_

_'Will, did you and Sonny fight about moving in with Deimos and Victor?'_

_'Yep, we did. He's moving us into the mansion whether I like it or not. I practically told him I want a divorce and stormed out.'_

_'OMG, Will!'_

_'I didn't mean it. I'm just worried about moving in with the brothers Grim- I mean, Kiriakis.'_

_"Well, I hope not. You and Sonny have been through too much to let this get in between you.'_

Will heard the front door open and close. A few minutes later, he heard a car pull out. He waited a bit to see if he got a text message from Sonny, but none came. He sighed sadly, then responded to Sami's text. _'You're right. Things were going great and we have two boys on the way. And besides, this is only temporary. Wow, I can't believe I just admitted you were right.'_

 _'I will print out that text message and frame it!'_ Sami added a colon and a capital D.

Will rolled his eyes. _'Haha.'_

_'Seriously though, just look at the bright side. It's only Victor and Deimos. At least you have your Aunt Maggie, Sonny, Ari, and the boys for emotional support.'_

_'Actually...Justin, Brady, Theresa, Tate, Philip, Chloe, and Parker are all moving in, too.'_

It took a minute for Sami to respond. _'Wait, the entire Kiriakis family minus Shawn, Ciara, and Claire are moving in?!'_

_'Yes.'_

_'I don't know if I like that...'_

Will scoffed. _'Wow, that was the fastest 180 I've ever seen!'_

 _'Will...the entire Kiriakis family under one roof while three of their enemies are gunning for them? They could take you all out in one fell swoop!'_ Sami replied. _'And if Deimos isn't as trustworthy as he says...he could take you guys out, too.'_

Will stiffened. She had a point. Shivers ran up and down his spine and his heart pounded. _'Okay, so I'll tell Sonny this and we won't move into the mansion.'_

_'Deimos and Victor might still try to convince you to move in, though. And it might give Deimos ideas.'_

Will exhaled sharply. _'Okay, then what do you suggest I do?'_

_'Have an emergency escape plan. Have like two or three backup plans in case the first plan doesn't work out. I made a few when we lived at the Kiriakis mansion. Actually, I hid a few things I call my survival kit in my old room.'_

_'Do you remember which room it was?'_

_'Yes. It's in the west wing at the end of the hall on the right. It has a red and white king-sized bed and a red chaise lounge under the window. There are loose floorboards around and under the bed, and in the closet, there's a small vent that I hid stuff in. Also, there's a secret compartment in one of the drawers.'_

_'Okay. I'll make sure Sonny and I get that room. Thanks, Mom. You've been a big help.'_

_'I love when you say that.'_ Sami added a smiley face.

Will rolled his eyes again. _'I'll let you know how everything goes.'_

_'You better! Love you!'_

_'Love you, too.'_

Will took a deep breath and rubbed his belly again. "Buddy, we have an interesting couple of weeks ahead of us. Now...let's go find Daddy, huh?" He waddled downstairs into the kitchen. A note sat atop the counter.

_"Went to my Uncle Vic's. I'll understand if you don't want me to come home."_

Will sighed and texted Sonny. _'Got your note. Of course I want you to come home.'_ He clicked send, and all of a sudden, the lights went out. Will gasped and stiffened. What just happened? Paranoia started creeping up on him. He's all alone in this house with no alarm. He turned his flashlight on his phone, quietly walked over to the steak knife holder, pulled a knife out, and held it up to his chin, blade out. His phone rang. He sighed in relief at Sonny's picture. "Sonny. Hey."

"Hey. The power just went out over here. Is it out at home?"

"Yeah."

"Where are Gabi and Ari?"

"They're at Chad's." Will replied. "Sonny, um, about what I said earlier- I didn't mean it."

"I know. It's okay." Sonny replied. "Uncle Vic has a generator and a Wifi hotspot, so..."

Will chuckled. "It doesn't matter. I'm coming over there, anyway."

"Really?"

"Might as well get used to it, if we're gonna live there." Will smiled.

Sonny laughed with relief. "I'm so glad you said that."

"I'll be there in a bit, and I'll text Gabi to update her." Will replied. "Also, um...when my parents and I lived there, I stayed in a room with a red king-sized bed and a red chaise lounge under the window. Do you think we can stay in that room?"

"Sure. If no one else has that room." Sonny replied.

"Great. Well, I'll be there shortly."

"Okay. I love you."

"I love you, too." Will replied. He hung up and started heading to the door. He heard a floorboard creak and whipped around. Nothing was there. Then he realized that _he_ made the creaking sound and laughed softly. He continued towards the front door and froze when he saw a shadow near the door. He shined his phone light and breathed a sigh of relief when he saw the coat rack. "Damn, I'm really scaring myself here." He put his shoes on and grabbed his keys and stopped at the door. He slowly unlocked the door and opened it, aiming his knife outside. No one was there. Will stepped outside, locked the door, and started heading to his car. He heard rustling in the bushes and shined his phone light towards the sound. A squirrel streaked from the bushes towards the street. Will sighed in relief and hurried to his car.

XXX

Sonny made sure he got the room Will requested. The room is in the East Wing of the house. The Horton-Kiriakises, the Blacks, Philip, Chloe, and Parker would all occupy that one wing. Maggie, Victor, Justin, Deimos, and Nicole would all occupy the West Wing. The room across and next door to Will and Sonny's room would be Ari's and the boys' room respectively. Sonny's phone buzzed with a text message from Will.

_'Here.'_

Sonny ran downstairs and opened the front door. "Hey."

Will walked inside. "Hey."

Sonny closed and locked the door and pulled Will into a hug. "I'm sorry."

"I'm the one who should be sorry." Will replied, hugging back. "I overreacted."

Sonny pulled away. "Well, you kind of had a good reason to."

Just then, Victor walked into the entryway, shining his cell phone light to light his way. "Will. I hope you're comfortable here."

"Thank you, Victor." Will said politely. "And thank you for allowing me to stay here."

"You are quite welcome." Victor replied. "Your room is ready. Excuse me." He headed upstairs.

Sonny chuckled. "Nice touch thanking _him_ for allowing you to stay here."

"Thanks! I plan to be polite to both Victor _and_ Deimos." Will said. "Don't worry."

"I'm not worried." Sonny smiled and they kissed. "Now, come on. Our bedroom awaits!"

It took a few minutes, but they found their bedroom. The room was exactly how Sami described, but with slightly different furniture. Will sighed, a little disappointed. "I forgot. Victor remodeled this house, didn't he?"

"Yeah, about fifteen years ago." Sonny nodded.

 _'So, all the stuff Mom hid wouldn't be here anymore.'_ Will thought. Aloud, he said. "So, are we gonna get a U-Haul for our stuff? And what about the kids' rooms? We're gonna have to get cribs and a toddler bed for Ari..."

Sonny put his hands on Will's shoulders. "Honey, honey, don't worry about all that. The babies aren't coming for at least a couple more days. That's plenty of time to move everything in."

Will sighed. "Okay. I'm just so excited."

"I know. Me, too." Sonny grinned. They walked over to the bed, unmade it, stripped down to their underwear, and climbed in, snuggling up against each other.

"So...at the beginning of the year, you said Gabi had her fun having my baby...did _you_ have fun?" Will smirked.

Sonny laughed softly. "Yes, I did. Even the mood swings."

"What mood swings?!" Will demanded, angry and offended. Sonny looked shocked and a little scared. Will immediately grinned. "Nah, just kidding. I know what you're talking about."

Sonny laughed again and playfully shoved Will. "Don't do that!"

Will laughed, too. "You know, I just realized we never had a baby shower. But, that's okay. Theresa and Aunt Jennifer said we could have Tate's and Thomas' old things."

"Oh, I love having a big family." Sonny replied.

"Ha! Me, too!" Will exclaimed. His phone rang. "Oh. It's Grandpa Roman. Hi, Grandpa, what's up? ..." Will's face fell into a worried expression. "What?! When?! ... Oh my God... Yeah, uh, actually, Sonny, Ari, and I are moving into the Kiriakis mansion for the time being. ..." He chuckled. "Yeah, that's what my mom says. ... Yeah, I still text her. She and the kids are fine. ... Okay. Is there anything I can do for Aunt Kayla and Uncle Steve? ... Okay. ... Sure. ... All right. Bye." He hung up and sighed.

"Will, what is it?" Sonny asked.

"Joey was kidnapped by the Trio of Terror." Will announced.

"What?! Oh my God!" Sonny exclaimed. He exhaled sharply. "I wonder...I wonder if the Trio of Terror are responsible for the blackout, too. They could have knocked the power out as a diversionary tactic."

"Good point." Will said.

XXX

The next morning, Sonny ordered a U-Haul truck and packed most of their stuff to bring to the mansion. Gabi dropped Ari off, looking a tad upset.

"I have serious misgivings about our daughter living here." Gabi told Will, folding her arms.

"Sonny and I will keep an eye on her, I promise." Will assured her. "And we also have Aunt Maggie, Justin, Brady, Theresa, Uncle Phil, and Chloe here. It's not just Victor and Deimos."

Gabi exhaled sharply. "Well, that makes me feel a little better. I mean, you said Deimos is trying to redeem himself, but you also said you don't trust him."

"I didn't trust Stefano either when I lived with him and then when my mom and siblings lived with him." Will pointed out. "We all turned out fine."

"Except for the fact that your mom, EJ, and the kids are all on the run from Andre." Gabi pointed out. "Will, I know you don't want to do this, but...if you guys are gonna move in here-"

"You're _not_ taking my daughter away from me." Will declared angrily.

Gabi held her hands up in surrender. "I'm _not_. Since we don't live together anymore...I'm moving in with Rafe. And if things get serious with me and JJ, we'll probably either live at his house, or our old house. I know you are traumatized by what your parents put both you and Allie through, but I give you my word, I _will not_ give you a hard time or behave like Sami. I just think we should get a formal custody agreement. Like...Ari stays with me one week, and with you and Sonny the following week, and so on and so forth."

Will sighed deeply. He knew this day would come. Deep down he knew, but hoped it wouldn't. But considering the host of the house, maybe it'd be best if she spent as little time as possible here. "Okay. Yeah, sure. Let's do it."

Gabi breathed a sigh of relief. "Great. So, I guess you picked this week. I'll have a custody lawyer draw up an agreement, and we'll get that settled."

"Okay." Will nodded. "I trust you. I'll talk to Justin about this, too."

 _"Bueno."_ Gabi smiled. "I'll see you Sunday!"

"Wouldn't it be funny if you went into labor right as I go into surgery?" Will asked.

Gabi laughed. "Well, I gave JJ and Rafe a fair warning, so they're prepared."

"Awesome." Will nodded. "Wait, what about holidays?"

Gabi huffed slightly. "I haven't thought about that, actually. Can we sit down? This is taking longer than I thought."

"Oh, of course. Come in." Will gestured to the living room. "Oh, thank God, they left. Theresa and Brady were here earlier making out." They sat on the couch. "So...holidays. I know the Hortons and the Bradys and the Kiriakises will have Thanksgiving dinners throughout the day. So maybe Ari can have Thanksgiving with everyone except the Kiriakises, that way it won't be too overwhelming."

Gabi nodded. "Okay. Christmas Eve falls on a Saturday this year, and that's the end of the week, so whoever has her that week will have her on Christmas Eve, I guess."

"Sounds good." Will said. "And as for Easter, Halloween, and the Fourth of July; whoever has her those days will spend it with her, the other will have her the following year."

"Okay. Ooh, if you have her on Mother's Day, I want to keep her for one extra day; and the same can be for you on Father's Day." Gabi suggested.

"Sounds perfect." Will smiled. "This is going a lot easier than I thought."

Gabi grinned. "See? I can be flexible and reasonable."

Will chuckled. "Yep. Thank you for helping me overcome my fear."

"Aww. You're welcome." They laughed and hugged.

XXX

"Are we gonna live here, Daddy?"

Will showed Ari her new bedroom. The room had a queen sized bed which will be replaced with a low toddler bed for Ari.

"For a little while, yeah." Will replied. "Your mommy is gonna live with your uncle Rafe."

"Why can't Mommy live with us?" Ari asked.

"Because she doesn't want to." Will answered.

"Why?"

Will took a deep breath. How to put this? "Because this house is too dark and sad looking for her."

"So if we make this house not dark and sad looking, will she stay with us?" Ari asked, hopeful.

"I don't know, sweetheart." Will replied. Ari looked downcast. Will thought up ways to cheer her up. "Hey...I have an idea. Why don't we explore our new home? I'm sure there's lots of places for you to play in."

Ari sighed and slowly slid off the bed. "Can we have ice cream after?"

"You bet!" Will said. "Now, come on." They walked out of the room, and went into Will and Sonny's room. "This is Daddies' room."

"Is Daddy Sonny sleeping here, too?" Ari asked.

"Yep. That's what I meant when I said 'Daddies''." Will replied. They went next door. "This is gonna be where your baby brothers sleep." They walked across the hall to a closed door with a sign that read "Tate is sleeping. DO NOT wake him up, or you will be the one to put him back to sleep!" Will lowered his voice to a whisper. "This is your cousin Tate's room. And next door is where your Uncle Brady and Aunt Theresa sleep." They walked to the next room. "This is where your Uncle Philip and Chloe will sleep."

"Who's Chloe?" Ari asked.

"Chloe is Uncle Philip's very special friend." Will explained. "Chloe is going to have her own little baby who will sleep next door." Across the hall they went. "This is where Parker, Chloe's little boy, is going to sleep."

"How old is Parker?" Ari asked.

"He is just a few years older than you- six years old." Will said. They walked out past the staircase landing and down another hall. "This is where the rest of the grownups will be sleeping." They opened every door. When they opened the door to Victor's room, Victor was snoring loudly. Will shut the door quietly. They continued down the hall.

"What's in here, Daddy?" Ari put her hand on a closed door.

"I'm not sure." Will opened the door and froze when he saw a few shelves of rifles and knives. What was this door doing unlocked? Will stepped inside with the door still open, locked the door from inside, stepped out to the hall, and closed the door.

"That room looks a little scary." Ari commented.

"It sure does." Will replied. "Let's go downstairs."

The second level occupied a bathroom, the home theater, the exercise room, the library, the playroom, and the study.

Will saw Deimos exit the study. "Hey, sweetheart, why don't you go check out the playroom?"

"Okay!" Ari ran into the playroom.

Will walked towards Deimos. "Deimos!"

Deimos turned to Will. "Oh, hi. It's Will, right?"

"Yeah. Um, first, I want to thank you for letting me and my family stay here." Will replied.

"You're quite welcome." Deimos nodded. "I hope everything's to your liking."

"It is." Will nodded. "Um, so, my daughter and I are exploring this house- she's in the playroom right now- and I saw the armory. The door was unlocked so anyone- including the kids- could get in."

Deimos was shocked. "What?! Oh, I'm so sorry. I will have a little talk with my housekeeping staff. They're usually pretty good about keeping it locked. Thank you for letting me know."

"You're welcome." Will replied. Deimos left. Will headed to the playroom. The room didn't have very many toys. Most of them were old and worn down.

"I don't like the toys in here." Ari stated.

"Well, then we'll get new toys." Will replied. "Come on. There's still a lot to explore."

The main floor occupied another bathroom, the laundry room, the living room, the mud room, maid's and servant's rooms, the formal dining room, the indoor swimming pool, the pantry, the electronics closet, the coat room, the storage room, and the kitchen.

"This house is _huge_!" Ari exclaimed.

"Yep!" Will agreed. They went outside. What used to be the stables is now a gardener's shed. Next to it was a guest house. They walked around the garden, then went back inside. "All right! You hungry?"

"Yeah!" Ari cheered.

"All right! Let's get some ice cream." A maid brought the two ice cream. Will smiled as he looked around. Despite Deimos and Victor...this place is pretty awesome. _'I think we're gonna like it here.'_

XXX

Later, Deimos ran into Kate at Brady's Pub. "Well, hello, Kate. I heard about your little run-in with Clyde Weston."

A few days earlier, Clyde broke into Kate's house and tried to kill her. Chad arrived just in time to save her. Presently, Kate turned around with a look of disdain for Deimos. "I survived." She turned back to grab her purse and jacket.

"You always do." Deimos noted. "It's the men you get involved with that seem to end up dead sometimes."

Kate smirked. "You are going to be so much happier with someone as sedate as Nicole."

Deimos smirked back. "Hm. Yeah, I guess something like that. Because it's great being with a woman who actually has blood coursing through her veins rather than ice water. And she's a fantastic businesswoman, too. You know, she and I were just talking about how much fun it might be to go after you and DiMera Enterprises."

Kate gritted her teeth. "Just remember that I have the goods on your little black market operation, so if you decide to play dirty-"

"I _always_ play dirty, Kate." Deimos said. "You should remember that. And you should remember _this_ , too: that if you try to take me down for what I did, you'll be on the hook for kidnapping Brady's son. Hmm? So you might wanna think twice before you screw around with me- especially since your grandson, great-granddaughter, and your yet to be born great-grandsons are now living with me." Kate looked surprised. "What, Will didn't tell you? Yeah. He, Sonny, Ari, and their two baby boys are bunking with me for their safety from Orpheus and Friends. If I remember my research correctly, the _last_ time he found incriminating evidence, he was almost strangled to death. So, let's hope he doesn't find...well...you know."

Kate glared at Deimos. "You did not just threaten my grandson."

Deimos raised his hands in surrender. "Hey, at least I didn't try to kill him. God, the number you did on poor Ben Weston. Oh, wait...you _didn't_ avenge your grandson's attempted murder, did you? Well, I guess I have nothing to worry about, then." He grinned, then patted her shoulder. "Be safe out there."

Kate leaned forward. "You be safe, too." She grabbed her stuff and left. She sighed angrily and called Will. "Hey, sweetie. Listen, I know these are dangerous times, so, why don't you, Sonny, and the kids move in with me?"

"Thanks for the offer, Grandma, but Sonny, Ari, and I already moved into the Kiriakis mansion." Will replied. "There's plenty of security, and Sonny can help keep a close eye on Deimos."

"Well, I'm sure there is. I'm also sure that it's getting a little crowded over there." Kate said.

"It's actually not that bad." Will shrugged. "Plus there's a library, an exercise room, an indoor pool, a home theater, and a playroom for Ari."

"I'll add all those things at my house." Kate continued on. "Why wouldn't you wanna live with me?"

"Other than the fact that Andre lives with you, too?" Will asked.

"I can kick him out." Kate said.

"Grandma, why do you want me to live with you so bad?" Will asked. "What's going on?"

Kate scoffed. "I'm just a little concerned about you living with Deimos."

"But you have no problem with me living with Andre?" Will raised an eyebrow. "Grandma, the guy tortured Sonny, kidnapped Ari and tried to have her dropped into a vat of acid right in front of me, made me hurt my Aunt Hope and my mom, and tried to kill my mom and me! So, you'll understand why Deimos is the lesser of two evils here."

Kate sighed heavily. He was not giving in. "Fine. Just...be careful, okay?"

"Okay."

"Oh, and just in case you were wondering, everything in there was brought legally- the furniture, the knicknacks, everything." Kate said.

Will was confused. "O...kay. I wasn't curious, but that's good to know I guess."

"Okay, well...I'll talk to you later."

"Okay. Bye, Grandma." Will was puzzled. Why did Kate tell him that everything in that house was legit? Unless she knows some of the stuff in that house isn't. He laughed to himself. "She's trying to protect me from making the same mistake I did last year with Ben. Hmm." He looked around. Now he was curious just how much of this stuff was bought illegally.


	65. Hostages

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sixty-five, stay alive! XD So, I realized I haven't written for Derrick in a while, so...

Paul loves his niece, but _goddamn_ , could she be more self-absorbed? Even _Will_ was at least a _little_ reasonable and listened to Marlena! Then again, she grew up in small town, Maine; so she's not used to danger. But didn't she get kidnapped when she was younger? Twice?

After John, Marlena, and Claire left; Paul preoccupied himself with work. His latest client thinks her husband is stealing from her and selling her things on the black market. So far, the husband seems legit. He was beginning to think she was being paranoid. Paul headed to the kitchen for a drink. As he walked back to the living room, he heard a knock and stopped short. He slowly and carefully pulled a fireplace poker out of the fireplace and crept towards the door. Paul slowly unlocked the door, raised the poker and swung the door open. After seeing it was Derrick, he lowered the poker and exhaled sharply.

"Derrick." Paul greeted. "Geez. I could've hit you."

"Sorry. Thought I'd surprise you." Derrick replied. He smirked. "Apparently, it worked."

Paul laughed and stepped aside. "Come on in."

Derrick walked in and looked around. "Nice place."

"Yeah. It's been my dad's and stepmom's home for the last ten years." Paul replied. He put the fireplace poker back. "So, what brings you by?"

Derrick shrugged. "I haven't heard from you in a while. Thought we could hang out."

"Oh. Well, I've got some free time now." Paul gestured to the couch. "Please." Derrick sat down. "Want some coffee or beer?"

"Beer would be great." Derrick replied. Paul left and came back with two beers and handed one to Derrick. "Thanks. So, what's been going on with you lately?"

Paul sighed deeply. "You've heard of those three escaped convicts, right?" Derrick nodded. "Well, to make a long story short: one of those convicts really has it in for my dad and Marlena. He crashed my brother's almost-wedding and held us all hostage. I...kind of played hero by grabbing his gun. We struggled and it went off, shooting my dad in the arm- it was a flesh wound. The guy got away. I chased after him, but he was too quick."

Derrick blinked in surprised. "Wow. You were outpaced by an old man? Seriously?"

"Yeah. My ego's still a little bruised." Paul nodded solemnly. He took a swig of beer. "So, anyway, now we need to be extra careful. Which we are. Well, except for my niece, who seems to think she's invisible to all the dangers that are out there."

"Ehh, some teenagers are like that." Derrick shrugged, taking a swig.

"Yeah, I guess." Paul replied. "My mom wants me to move back to San Francisco, but I said 'No way'. I'm not running, but I will be careful. I have a gun and I'm not afraid to use it."

"Good for you." Derrick raised his bottle.

"So, tell me about you. What have you been up to lately?" Paul asked, changing the subject.

"Well, I got a job at Baron's." Derrick grinned. "I'm a sales associate. Men's shoes."

"Really? Wow! Congratulations! I'm so happy for you." Paul replied, smiling.

Derrick smiled and blushed. "Thanks. I don't plan on being there forever, though."

"Oh. What do you want to do career-wise?" Paul asked.

Derrick sat in thought. "I don't know."

Paul's phone rang. "Oh, hold on a sec. I gotta take this. Dad, what's up?"

John sighed. "Orpheus and Clyde cornered Marlena, Claire, and Kate in an alley."

"What?!" Paul exclaimed. "Are they okay?"

"Yeah, they're a little shaken up, but otherwise, fine." John replied. "We're heading to the hospital because there's a generator there so Claire can use her iPad, then we'll be home."

"Okay."

"Also, Joey wasn't with them, which means they have him somewhere." John said. "Will you please update Steve?"

"Sure."

"Thanks, kid. See you soon."

"Bye." Paul hung up and turned to Derrick. "Sorry. One more minute." He dialed Steve. "Hey, Steve, it's Paul. My dad wanted me to let you know that Marlena, Claire, and Kate were cornered by Clyde and Orpheus, but Joey wasn't with them... Yeah, they're okay. ... Okay, you're welcome. Bye." Paul sighed and turned to Derrick again. "Well, that was a close call."

"Yeah. I'm glad they're okay." Derrick said.

"Me, too." Paul nodded. "I'm sorry this happened to her, but I hope this opens Claire's eyes and she'll be more careful."

Derrick chuckled. "Me, too."

XX

Later, Marlena dropped Claire off and told told Paul not to let her leave. After Marlena left, Claire tried to convince Paul to let her go to the Pub, but, he wouldn't budge. Claire seethed and stomped to her room.

"I thought you handled that well." Derrick said.

"Thanks. I feel kind of bad, though." Paul replied. "I mean, she only wants to charge up her iPad to check her Facebook and YouTube account." Derrick chuckled and shook his head. "What?"

"You are going to be the strict and pushover parent in one, aren't you?" Derrick asked, amazed.

Paul scoffed and shook his head. "Marlena trusted me to take care of Claire. I don't want to let her do just whatever she wants, but I am also gonna keep her safe."

"And you totally will." Derrick said supportively.

"I still think I should do something to cheer her up." Paul replied.

Derrick thought for a minute. "Well, she wants her iPad charged up, right?"

"Yeah."

"So, how about I go to the Pub and charge it up for her?" Derrick suggested. "The three convicts have no idea I'm connected to you. I'll be safe."

"You'd do that?" Paul asked, surprised.

"Sure." Derrick shrugged. "You've been so good to me these last few months. Let me pay you back."

Paul smiled. "You don't owe me anything. But, thank you. That's actually a good idea." He stood. "Come on. Let's go tell her."

XXX

Somewhere outside of Salem, the Trio of Terror gathered. Orpheus tended to his wound. Xander walked in carrying a bag of first aid stuff.

"Did you have trouble getting everything?" Orpheus asked.

"Nope." Xander put the bag down. "Everyone was still freaking out about the power outage. They were all in the back of the pharmacy, so I just grabbed what I could get."

"Hmm. Clyde, hand me that shirt over there." Orpheus said.

"Get it yourself. You deserved to get shot." Clyde replied.

"Excuse me?" Orpheus snapped.

"What's your problem, man?" Xander asked as he handed Orpheus a shirt.

Clyde scoffed and walked over to the two. "We had guns on three women, not one of them dead, 'cause our supreme leader just couldn't stop talkin'."

"I don't recall _you_ sticking around for a shootout, Clyde." Orpheus stood up and put his shirt on.

Clyde shook his head. "Uh-uh, no, don't you try and dump this on me, you sumbitch. You blew it. We let you call the shots, but that's over now. You've had your fun- you left Steve Johnson dead in the living room floor, but it is our turn now. I know Xander's itching for some payback, so am I."

"Damn right." Xander nodded.

Orpheus stayed silent for a minute. "Go and check on the Johnson kid and make sure he's not moving around."

"Okay." Xander left.

Orpheus took off his glasses and examined them. "So you're taking over, is that right, Clyde?"

"I was fixing to get what I came to get." Clyde replied. "And I say we use the Johnson kid as bait. We'll tell the new D.A. Mr. Aiden Jennings to deliver us a big, fat, ransom. He walks in, we mow him down like tall grass, and take the money."

"That's deep, Clyde." Orpheus said sarcastically. "They teach you that in hillbilly school?"

Xander walked in. "Kid's good. No problems."

"Thanks." Orpheus said to Xander, then turned to Clyde. "Joey Johnson will not be used as bait. When we dispose of the people we came here to kill, we're gonna need another hostage. A human shield. So what we need to concentrate on now is getting ourselves a sufficient amount of money and some transport."

"Well, the quickest way to do that is get another hostage." Clyde said, leaning back.

"Now that is the most intelligent thing you've said all day, Clyde." Orpheus remarked. He stood up and started digging through a duffel bag. "We're gonna need new disguises. Can you get back into that warehouse?"

"Shouldn't be a problem." Clyde said.

"How about we snatch Theresa and Nicole?" Xander suggested. "We could have fun torturing them before we trade them in for cash."

"Well, they would certainly yield in some large ransom from the Kiriakis family." Orpheus said.

"Then what?" Clyde asked, walking over to them. "Come on, you always say you're ten steps ahead, so we grab hostages, then what?"

"We trade for money and transport." Orpheus said. "We use the lad in there as a hostage, a human shield. And then we vanish."

"And go where?" Clyde asked.

Xander turned to them. "We could go to the Kiriakis compound in Mykonos. Not like any of my family will be using it. They'll all be dead." He laughed evilly. They all nodded in agreement. An idea struck Xander. "Actually...I have a better suggestion."

"Who?"

"My dear cousin Sonny's husband." Xander replied.

Clyde nodded. "Will Horton. Who also happens to be related to all of our enemies."

"Yes. Sonny is Victor's favorite, as I'm sure you already know, Clyde." Xander raised an eyebrow at him.

"Yeah, well, that old fossil shouldn't have tried to have me killed." Clyde grumbled.

"Hey, I'm only disappointed that you didn't succeed." Xander raised his hands. "That goody-two-shoes special snowflake is gonna beg for death when I'm through with him."

"What's he ever done to you?" Clyde raised an eyebrow.

"He's Victor's favorite." Xander explained simply. "I don't understand why. He's a model citizen who has no interest in this family's crime syndicate."

Clyde nodded. "What'd you have in mind?"

"Well, I was going to kidnap him and sell him into sex slavery, but, I have a much better idea." Xander replied.

XXX

Claire sat on a bench near the Pub with her iPad open. It wasn't fully charged and there was no Wifi. She exhaled in frustration. "Great. This can't get any worse." She gasped and froze as she felt a gun to her neck.

"Hello, Claire." Orpheus replied. "I'm gonna need you to do me a favor."

XXX

Will walked downstairs to the entryway of the mansion. His phone rang. "Hey, Claire, what's up?"

Claire swallowed and took a deep breath. "I made a mistake. I-I snuck out of Grandma's townhouse and um...I'm scared. Will you...please come get me?"

Will sighed quietly. "Okay, but I'm at your great-grandpa's house. It'll be a few minutes. Where are you?"

"The park off the square." Claire replied.

Will noticed her cousin sounding upset. "Claire, are you okay?"

Claire scoffed quietly. "Well, I'm not being attacked by tigers or anything if that's what you mean."

Will chuckled. "Okay. Just sit tight. I'll be right there."

XXX

Paul and Derrick came to Claire's closed bedroom door. Paul knocked. "Claire? It's Uncle Paul. Can I come in?" Silence. "Claire, come on. I know you're mad, but, let me make it up to you. My friend Derrick offered to take your iPad to the Pub to get it charged up, and he'll bring it back here. What do you say?" Still silence. Paul knocked louder. "Claire?!" He opened the door and walked inside and nearly had a heart attack when he saw that the room was empty and the window was open. "Damn it, Claire!" His phone rang. "Will?"

"Nice job keeping an eye on my cousin, _Uncle_ Paul." Will said over the phone.

Paul exhaled sharply. "Where is she?"

"At the park off the square." Will replied. "I'm actually only a few minutes away now. She called me earlier to pick her up."

"Oh. Okay. Well, at least she called _someone_." Paul said, relieved. Then realization hit him. "Wait...why did she call _you_ and not me or her grandparents?"

Will shrugged. "I dunno. Maybe she was embarrassed? Wait..."

_Six months ago..._

_"So, how_ did _you tip your mom off, anyway?" Claire asked. She and Will were talking about what happened with Andre._

_"We have a code word to use in case one of us is in danger." Will replied. "Tigers."_

_Claire laughed. "That is so random!"_

_Five minutes ago..._

_Claire scoffed quietly. "Well, I'm not being attacked by tigers or anything if that's what you mean."_

Will's eyes widened in horror. "Paul, send police to the park off the square. Claire's in danger." He hung up and accelerated his car.

XX

"Wha- Will!" Paul cried as Will hung up. He exhaled sharply. "Dammit."

"What's wrong?" Derrick asked.

"What's wrong is that the last thing I'm ever gonna see is my brother-in-law pointing a gun to my head and pulling the trigger." He dialed 911.

"911, what's your emergency?"

"It's my niece and step-nephew. They're in danger." Paul said. He and Derrick sprinted out of the townhouse.

XXX

Will parked at the park and walked as fast as he could towards the square. He saw Clyde and Orpheus standing near a bench, guns drawn.

"Hello, Will. It's been a while." Clyde greeted.

Will glared at Clyde. "Where is my cousin?"

"Right here." Clyde and Orpheus stepped aside to reveal an unconscious Claire laying on the park bench. Clyde aimed his gun at her head. "You're coming with us. Unless you want us to put a bullet in your little cousin's head."

"Wait, no! Please don't hurt her. I'll go with you." Will said.

Clyde smiled wickedly. "Wise choice."

Orpheus tied Will's hands behind his back. "Let's go before someone else gets here."

"What about the girl?"

"We only need one more hostage. Just leave her." Orpheus said. While they were talking, Will discreetly slipped off his wedding ring and let it drop to the ground.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Damn Will for stealing someone else's thunder yet again! Last year with Belle and the DiMera money and then this year with Claire being kidnapped by the Trio of Terror.


	66. Kidnapped

Paul paced around the nurse's station. Derrick sat on one of the chairs. Marlena and John stepped off the elevator and rushed over to Paul.

"Where is she? What happened?" Marlena demanded.

Paul took a deep breath. "It's my fault. I didn't watch her closely enough."

"No, it's not your fault." Marlena assured him.

"So, what- did she sneak out?" John asked.

Paul nodded. "Then Will called and told me that Claire called him to pick her up from the park. Then for some reason, he freaked out, told me to send police, then hung up. When Derrick and I got there..." Paul swallowed. "Claire was knocked out cold and Will was gone."

"Gone?" Marlena questioned. "What do you mean 'gone'?"

"We found his wedding ring lying on the ground." Paul replied. "He was kidnapped by Orpheus."

Marlena gasped in horror. "No! Oh, God, no!"

John put his arm around his fiancee. "Do Sonny, Lucas, and Kate know?"

"Not yet. Police are on the way to Sonny's house now." Paul replied.

Just then, Dr. Chung walked up to them. "Dr. Evans, Mr. Black?"

"Yes? How is our granddaughter?" John asked.

"She suffered a minor blow to the head." Dr. Chung replied. "We were able to stop the internal bleeding, and there's no swelling, so she'll be okay. We'd like to keep her for observation, though."

Marlena exhaled with relief and started crying. "Oh, thank God."

"Can we see her?" John asked.

"Of course. She's in room 402." Dr. Chung replied.

"Thank you." The two ran off to the room.

Paul took a deep breath and sat next to Derrick. "I'm so glad she's all right."

"Me, too." Paul replied. He hugged himself. "I just...I have this horrible feeling in my stomach that won't go away. I'm never gonna forgive myself for this."

Derrick squeezed Paul's hand. "It'll be okay."

XX

Marlena and John walked into Claire's hospital room. Claire was awake, but slightly groggy. "Granddad, Grandma."

"Hey, sweetheart." John sat on her bed and held her hand.

Claire burst into tears. "I'm so sorry."

"Hey, hey, shh. It's not your fault." John said soothingly.

"They made me call Will...they have him, don't they?" Claire's voice quavered. John and Marlena tried not to show it, but Claire could tell. "Oh, my God." She sniffed. "I got my cousin and his unborn baby kidnapped and possibly killed-"

"Whoa, whoa, hey, don't think like that." John said calmly. "You didn't know what was gonna happen."

"Still..." Claire took a deep breath. "I shouldn't have snuck out."

XXX

Sonny stormed through the mansion angrily, almost slamming the door in Brady's face. "I cannot _believe_ we were so stupid!"

"Yeah, none of my plans seem to work for some reason..." Brady replied. "It's just, I really thought my men could handle capturing those three in that warehouse."

"Well, clearly, they weren't!" Sonny snapped. "May I suggest telling someone _before_ you plan a strike so they can talk you out of it?"

Brady scoffed and shook his head. "I need coffee."

Sonny sighed and shook his head. The doorbell rang and he ran to answer it. Two uniform cops stood outside. "Can I help you?"

"Sonny Kiriakis?" One of the officers said.

"Yeah." Sonny replied.

"Your husband was kidnapped from the park off of Horton Town Square about an hour ago." The officer said.

Sonny felt all the air being sucked out of his head. He couldn't breathe. He turned and stumbled and clutched the end table to steady himself. "Do we know who did it?"

"The three convicts that escaped- Xander, Orpheus, and Clyde."

Sonny froze and took deep breaths. "No..."

XXX

Will tried his best to stay calm as Clyde and Orpheus lead him to a room, sat him on a chair, and tied his hands behind his back. The two kidnappers left the room. Will took deep, calming breaths.

"Will?" Will turned to see Joey, also tied to a chair. "They got you, too?"

Will sighed. "Yeah. They used Claire as bait. Threatened to kill her if I didn't go with them."

"Is she okay?" Joey asked, concerned.

"Yeah." Will nodded. "Are _you_ okay?"

"Yeah. You?"

"Yeah." Will sighed. "Do you know where we are?"

Joey shook his head. "No. How about you? How long did it take for you to get here?"

"Ten minutes." Will replied. "But, they could have driven around in circles to fool me."

Joey exhaled sharply. "Crap."

"Oh, yeah- your dad's alive." Will said.

"What?"

"He was wearing a Kelver vest when Orpheus shot him." Will explained.

Joey laughed in relief. "He's alive! Those dudes are slipping."

"Yeah, really." Will said.

Orpheus, Xander, and Clyde came back.

"Well, howdy, boys." Clyde greeted.

Will and Joey glared at them. "Look...you only need one hostage to get what you want. Let Joey go. I'm more valuable than he is. You killed his father, after all."

Xander laughed. "Nice try. We know he's alive."

Orpheus and Clyde glared at him. "Nice."

"You know, if it makes you two feel any better, I already told him." Will shrugged.

"It doesn't." Clyde deadpanned.

"You won't get away with this." Will said. "My family- a.k.a. the entire Salem Police Department and my husband's family will stop at nothing to find us and bring you down."

"Really?" Orpheus aimed his gun at him. "I look forward to the opportunity for them to do just that. They'll do anything to get you back, including playing right into my hand. You two are our 'get out of town free' card."

"Yeah- _if_ you get out of town." Joey remarked. "Do you really think our family and the cops are just gonna let you walk?"

"I'll give you this, kid: your old man is resourceful." Orpheus replied. "But his resources are about to run out."

"But he's alive." Joey replied, grinning. "He's alive, which means you're going down!"

"Oh, spare me the melodrama, kid."

"I ain't your kid." Joey snapped.

"Salem is in a state of chaos because of me and my crew." Orpheus continued. "When we're ready to make our move, we will strike. And you...well, most of you, anyway, can get back to your boring, mundane lives. Now...we have a press conference to prepare for." Orpheus replied.

"And by golly, I hope both your grandmas are there, kid." Clyde turned to Will. "And you...you ruined my boy's life."

"He shouldn't have killed those women and tried to kill more including me, my husband, my cousin, my grandmother, and three of my friends!" Will shot back.

"Chad DiMera shouldn't have slept with his slut." Clyde retorted.

Will tried to lunge for the man, but he was immediately pulled back. "You should have raised your son better!"

"Okay, enough of this." Xander stepped forward. "I've done a lot of research on you, Will Horton. So, Will, eight months ago, you and Sonny were held hostage by Andre DiMera. Andre told you to do what he says, or Sonny dies. Would Sonny do the same for you?" Will glared at Xander as he dialed a number.

XX

Sonny sat on the couch, a map of Salem on Google Maps in his lap. The Trio of Terror were just in Dock 195. They couldn't have travelled too far, right? He had to rescue his husband and unborn child no matter what. Sending in Kiriakis employees didn't work, so maybe a solo mission will. After all, Joey's there, too. Three on three. Sonny lunged for his phone when it rang. It was a blocked number.

"Hello?"

"Hello, dear cousin." Xander replied. "I'm sure you've heard by now that I have your husband." Sonny's heart pounded. "If you don't do as I ask, he will die...and so will your unborn baby."


	67. It's All Happening So Fast

_"Hello, dear cousin." Xander replied. Sonny froze. "I assume you've heard by now that I have your husband." Sonny's heart pounded. "If you don't do exactly as I say, your husband dies...and so does your unborn baby."_

Sonny glared at the wall. "You bastard."

"Now...first of all, I want you to tell the pilot of the Titan jet to be ready to leave for Mykonos in six hours." Xander replied.

Sonny hesitated. "I don't have the authority to do that."

"No authority? Really?" Xander turned to Orpheus. "Take an eye out."

Sonny could hear muffled yells of protests and panicked. "No! Wait, stop!"

"Hold." Xander said to Orpheus.

"It's...it's gonna take some time."

"You have ten minutes." Xander said. "In exactly ten minutes, I will call you with your next task. Get moving, Sonny."

Sonny hung up and took deep breaths. He rubbed his eyes in thought. How was he going to get them all out of this? He collected himself and called the airfield to schedule a flight on the jet.

XX

In exactly ten minutes, Xander called Sonny, who confirmed the flight. "Good work, Sonny. Now, for your next task."

Sonny heard footsteps and thought fast. "No. You have my husband. I wanna talk to him, first."

"You're really not in a position to bargain with me." Xander replied.

"I set up your transport, which means I have leverage." Sonny said simply. "I'm not doing anything more until I know Will is okay."

Xander sucked his teeth in irritation. "Fine." He pulled his phone away and turned to Will. "I'm gonna let you talk to your husband. Tell him you're okay, you're being treated well, and you love him. Nothing more."

Will nodded and Xander held the phone to his ear. "Sonny."

"Will...are you okay?" Sonny asked.

"I'm fine. I'm being treated well- don't do it, Sonny. Whatever it is, don't do it!" Will cried.

Xander yanked the phone away and spoke into it. "Satisfied?" Sonny swallowed and sniffed, and Xander continued. "Now, this next task should be simple: put $20 million into an untraceable, offshore account of my choosing."

"I don't have that kind of money." Sonny replied.

"Uncle Victor does." Xander said simply.

Sonny's breath caught in his throat. "You want me to steal $20 million from Uncle Vic?"

"Yep. Unless of course, you value dear, old Uncle Vic more than you do your husband and child." Xander said.

Sonny swallowed. "Okay...I'll do it."

"Excellent." Xander grinned. Xander gave him the account and routing number. "You have one hour." He hung up.

Sonny sobbed quietly for a minute, then heard someone enter the room. He turned to see Victor standing in the doorway. "Uncle Vic..."

"Save it." Victor said. "I heard everything. Xander wants you to steal $20 million from me in exchange for your husband. You're going to do it, aren't you?"

"I almost lost him...so many times, Uncle Vic. I'm not gonna lose him again." Sonny said, his voice shaking. "I would think you of all people would understand."

Victor sighed deeply. He did not want Sonny to give into Xander's demands. But...Will is carrying a Kiriakis. He needs to keep building the new generation. "All right. What if instead of stealing the money, it was given to you?"

Sonny was taken aback. "What?"

Victor gestured for Sonny to move. "Get up." Sonny stepped away, and Victor sat at the computer, typing and clicking away.

"What are you doing?" Sonny asked.

"I'm assuming Xander wants you to steal from me because he wants to turn you against me." Victor said simply. "Might as well have him lose _one_ battle at least."

Sonny sighed and smiled. "Thanks, Uncle Vic."

"Oh, sure." Victor replied. "You're paying me back, by the way."

"Yeah, I know..." Sonny sighed. His phone rang. "Lucas."

"What the _hell_ is going on with Will? No one will tell me anything!" Lucas exclaimed.

"Well, he was kidnapped by the Trio of Terror." Sonny replied.

"Yeah, I know that. What are we doing to find him?" Lucas demanded.

Sonny sighed. "The police have no leads yet."

"What do you mean? There's gotta be _something_!" Lucas cried.

Sonny rubbed his eyes and sat on the chaise. "Xander called me."

"What?"

"He wants me to give him $20 million...or Will dies." Sonny replied as calmly as he could.

Lucas was silent for a minute. "And you're going to, right?"

"Yeah. My uncle Vic is loaning me the money."

Lucas scoffed. "Yeah, we can _totally_ trust him."

"Victor doesn't want Xander to win." Sonny said. "But he doesn't want to lose his great-grandnephew, either. He'll loan me the money. Lucas I'm so sorry."

Lucas exhaled sharply. "It's not your fault. I'll uh...I'll update Will's grandmother and aunts and uncles. You wanna tell Sami, or should I?"

Sonny chuckled softly. "Can you? I can't deal with her right now."

"Okay. Just...get my son and unborn grandson back." Lucas said.

"I will." Sonny replied. "Bye."

Victor stood up and sighed. "All right, the money's in your account. I'm gonna go talk to your simpleton cousin about that failed raid."

Sonny nodded. "Okay."

XXX

_Claire woke up to someone tying her wrist to a bedpost. She woke up to see Sami glaring down at her. "Aunt Sami?! What are you doing?!"_

_"You got my son and unborn grandson killed." Sami seethed._

_Claire started crying. "I'm so sorry."_

_"Sorry doesn't cut it." Sami walked over to a table and picked up Claire's iPad._

_Claire gasped in horror. "No. Please! Aunt Sami..." Sami smashed the iPad until it broke. "NO! NO!"_

_Sami walked over to Claire, who was sobbing now. She picked up a pair of pliers and held Claire's mouth open. She jammed the pliers down Claire's throat and ripped her vocal chords out. Blood oozed out of Claire's mouth as she coughed and wheezed._

"Claire? Claire, wake up!"

Claire's eyes snapped open and she gasped. She sat up and felt her throat. She looked over at the table and sighed in relief that her iPad was intact.

Paul chuckled softly. "Bad dream?"

Claire sighed. "Oh, yeah."

"Let me guess- someone broke your iPad." Paul smiled teasingly.

"Yeah. Sami- because I got Will and his unborn baby killed." Claire's voice shook. "Have you heard anything? About Will and Joey?"

Paul sighed quietly. "Just that Mayor Carver held a press conference, then Orpheus interrupted the live feed to demand a ransom in exchange for Will and Joey. Then..."

"What?"

"Someone shot Mayor Carver." Paul admitted. "He's alive, but he still had to have surgery."

"What?! Oh my God, Theo!" Claire exclaimed. She threw her covers off. "He must be freaking out! I have to be there for him."

Paul gently grabbed Claire's shoulders. "Whoa, whoa, Claire, you're still healing. You don't want to mess it up."

"Well, then get me a wheelchair or something!" Claire snapped.

Paul smirked. "Now, Claire, remember the _last_ time you didn't listen to me?"

Claire glared at her uncle. "You're gonna hold that over my head for the rest of my life, aren't you?"

"Maaaaybe." Paul teased.

Claire huffed. "I'm surprised you didn't say 'I told you so'."

"I'm not one to rub it in." Paul shrugged.

"Good. I'll remember that."

XXX

Once Xander was on the opposite end of the room, Joey nudged Will with his knee. "Hey, we need a plan. We need to get the hell out of here!"

Will thought for a minute. "I could fake labor pains."

"And then they'll hold a gun to my head and force me to deliver your baby." Joey said.

"The baby will only come out through C-section." Will reminded him.

"Well, then they'll cut your stomach open and-"

"Okay, okay! New plan. We have less than an hour." Will sighed and felt behind him. There was a sharp edge one what felt like a stand. He started cutting his ropes. Will caught Joey's eye and jerked his head behind him. Joey grinned in understanding.

They turned their attention to Xander and Orpheus, who were setting up equipment to hack into the press conference Abe was holding about the convicts.

"Why are they hacking into the press conference if they just forced Sonny to help them?" Joey asked Will.

"I don't know. Probably a failsafe in case the first plan doesn't work out?" Will supplied.

Xander marched over and gagged the cousins. "Shut the hell up."

On the tablet, Abe was talking about safety and the convicts. "...If you see any of these escaped convicts, please do not..."

"I've had enough of this windbag." Orpheus stated. He hacked into the live video feed. "Sorry to interrupt your speech, Mayor Carver, good as it is, but it occurred to me that you and your fellow Salemites might want to see us in the flesh. Mug shots can be so unflattering, don't you think? I am Orpheus, part of the trio of terror that has- as your own broadcast suggests- Salem under siege. And you're right, Mr. Mayor. The people of Salem _should_ be afraid... _very_ afraid. Because we are not going to stop until we get what we want. Now if you'll permit me..." He turned the iPad towards the hostages. "What is happening to these two could just as easily be happening to you if we don't get what we want." Orpheus removed Will's gag.

"John, Grandma, Aunt Hope, Uncle Steve...whatever they ask you to do, _do not do it_!" Will cried. Xander quickly re-gagged him.

Orpheus turned the tablet back to him. "Now, I realize Christmas is still a few months away, but I must confess, I've never been a patient man. So, with a little help from my associates, I've managed to put together what we might call a wish list. $20 million will be transferred to an untraceable, offshore account of our choosing. We will of course be providing you with the routing and the account numbers. Once we receive the transfer and we are safely out of the country, then and only then will we reveal the whereabouts of the hostages. But I warn you: if our demands are not met, terror will continue to spread across Salem like a plague." He turned the feed off. Xander poured drinks. "Well, that couldn't have gone any better."

" _Yiamas_!" Xander exclaimed.

"Now let's hope Clyde is successful." Orpheus downed his glass and turns back to the live feed. Abe Carver was just shot. "The hell?! Clyde shot the mayor! He was supposed to shoot the D.A.!" Joey and Will shared horrified glances. Abe was very close to their family. Orpheus threw his arms up in frustration. "Can you believe this dumb hillbilly? He brags all day and all night about what an experienced hunter he is, and he goes and shoots the wrong guy!"

"Well, he better not let himself be followed out here." Xander sighed. "We still need that ransom money for these idiots."

"Clyde's not that stupid." Orpheus said. "We'll get out money, no problem. They'll have to pay. They have no idea where these two are. Actually, the more I think about it, shooting that fatuous mayor to death might be the best thing that could've happened." Orpheus explained. "They're in a panic, they don't know who's gonna be next. It could be one of them, couldn't be someone they love. They'll be quicker to come up with the ransom money. 'Course we're not gonna tell Clyde that."

Xander chuckled. "Once I get the ransom money, I am going to take care of Theresa and Nicole, and then I am out of here."

"Yeah, that's fine." Orpheus said. "But we have to be patient. Until Clyde gets back, we're not gonna be able to make a play for the ransom. And until then, we have to take care of these hostages. No hostages, no money."

"Once we get the money, I couldn't care less about what happens to them." Xander replied. He checked his watch. "Sonny's hour is almost up. Once we get the money, we'll kill both of those rainbow pooping flamers."

Will glared at Xander, willing for him to choke on his own bile. He managed to break free of the ropes just as Orpheus and Xander left to investigate some noises they heard. Will stood up and waddled over to Joey to free him. They heard someone coming, and Will quickly sat down and held his hands behind his back.

"All right, you two. We are leaving." Xander packed a bag. "And so are you." He walked over to the shelves behind Will and Joey. "Travelling light, this time."

Joey stood up and helped Will up. "Will, go." He started pushing him towards the door. "Come on, go!"

Xander turned around. "What the hell?"

Will grabbed a phone off the table and ran out the door. Joey slammed the door behind him. Will turned and realized Joey didn't follow him. He jiggled the door handle, but it was locked. "Joey?!" He exhaled sharply. "Dammit." He ran down the alley. He saw a shadow approaching and stopped. He recognized Clyde and quickly hid behind some crates. He sighed with relief when Clyde turned a corner. He had to call Sonny. He dialed his number, then ran towards the street.

XX

Sonny was all set to transfer the money. He moved the cursor to the "transfer funds" button and swallowed. He glanced at a family picture of him, Will, and Ari and lightly stroked Will's smiling face. "I'm sorry. But I will do anything to get you and our unborn baby back." He sniffed and clicked "transfer funds". Another pop-up appeared that read "Are you sure you want to transfer?" He moved the cursor to "Yes", and his phone rang. It was an unknown number. "Hello?"

"Sonny!" Will exclaimed over the phone. He sounded out of breath. "I got out, but they still might be after me."

"Wait, what? You escaped?" Sonny asked.

"Yeah." Will exhaled sharply and slowed to a walk and looked around. "I managed to free myself and Joey, but...he pushed me out the door to distract Xander."

Sonny exhaled in relief and cancelled the transfer. "Where are you?"

"I'm ah...I'm at the warehouse district by the pier." Will said. He stopped at the sidewalk. Cars zoomed past. "I'm about a block east of Sycamore."

"Okay. Start heading to the police station. I'm coming for you." Sonny said.

"Sonny...please tell me you hadn't transferred the money already." Will said.

"I was just about to, actually. If you hadn't called when you did..." Sonny sighed.

Will nodded. "I love you."

"I love you, too. See you soon." Sonny hung up, ran to the door, and flung it open to Justin about to slam the door open. "Whoa!"

Both men jumped away. Justin clutched his heart and caught his breath. "God! Uncle Vic told me everything. Please tell me you didn't transfer the money!"

"I didn't." Sonny assured him. "Will escaped. He called me. He's heading down Sycamore by the pier. I'm going now to pick him up."

Justin was relieved. Then he was firm. "Sonny, let the police pick Will up."

"Dad, they could still be after him. He is pregnant and due soon. I have to go," Sonny pushed past Justin, who grabbed his arm. "and you're not stopping me."

"Sonny!" He yelled after him and sighed in frustration. He called Roman. "Roman, it's Justin. Will just called Sonny. He escaped."

"Where is he?"

"Sycamore. By the pier." Justin replied. "Sonny ran to go pick him up."

"All right, thank you."

XXX

Will walked down the street. His feet were starting to hurt and he was getting hungry. He saw a car zooming down the street, which pulled over by him.

"Will?!" John exclaimed.

"Where's Joe?" Steve asked.

Will sighed. "He pushed me out of the room. He had to distract Xander so I could get out."

"All right. Get in. We need to get back to the warehouse to find Joey." John said.

"It's two blocks over." Will said. "Sonny is on his way to pick me up. Go rescue Joey. I'll be fine, I promise."

"Okay. You said two blocks over?" John asked.

"Yeah. It's Warehouse 110." Will replied.

"Okay, thanks, kid." They zoomed off.

Will watched the car drive towards the warehouse and heard another car pull up. He turned to see Sonny getting out of the car. "Sonny." They hugged and held each other for a few minutes.

"Are you okay?" Sonny asked.

"I'm fine." Will said. "Except for my feet hurting and I'm a little hungry."

Sonny laughed softly. They kissed. "Then let's get Burger Barn then head to the station."

Will laughed. "Sounds good."

They got food and then headed to the police station to give their statements. Marlena rushed into the detective area. When she saw Will, she burst into tears of relief and they hugged.

"Oh! I'm so glad you're okay." Marlena said.

"Me, too. How's Claire?" Will asked.

"Shaken, but okay." Marlena replied. "She got a mild concussion. She's actually more worried about you."

"Oh."

"Thank you for saving her." Marlena said. "She told me what happened."

"Of course." Will nodded. "How's Abe?"

"He'll recover, but, it's gonna be a while." Marlena replied.

"Theo must be a wreck."

"He is, but, Claire, Ciara, and I are all there for him." Marlena nodded.

"Well, uh, what about Chad?" Will stammered.

"I haven't seen him yet, but I'm sure he'll be there." Marlena replied.

Will nodded. "Yeah...I hope so." After Marlena left, Will called Chad.

"Will! Hey, I'm glad you're okay." Chad replied. "I saw the press conference."

"Then you know Abe was shot and that Theo needs his family right now?" Will raised an eyebrow.

"Relax. I'm on my way to the hospital. I just had to finish up something for work." Chad said.

Will scoffed lightly. "Well, I was gonna say..."

"I know what it's like to have no one in your family there for you." Chad said calmly. "I'm not gonna do the same to my nephew."

"I know." Will said. "I never doubted you."

Chad snorted. "I'm sure you didn't."

"Bye, Chad." Will replied, then hung up.

XX

Sonny was silent the entire ride home. Will ran upstairs to greet Ari, who had just woken up from her nap. Will held his daughter for a few minutes and played with her until his phone started buzzing like crazy with phone calls from his family.

"I'm fine, Dad. Really." Will was saying. "Those douchebags couldn't hold me for long."

Lucas sighed. "Well, I'm just glad you escaped."

"Me, too, but...Joey..." Will sighed. "He didn't escape with me. If something happens to him, then this would be just one more person sacrificing himself for me."

"Is that so bad?" Lucas asked. "It just means that a lot of people care about you. Besides, you don't know what will happen. They need him alive for the ransom, after all."

Will nodded. "True."

"Anyway, I'm just glad nothing happened to the baby." Lucas laughed softly. "Poor kid's already been through so much, and he hasn't even been born yet!"

Will laughed. "Yeah."

"Oh- I told your mom what happened. You may wanna text her before she bursts a blood vessel." Lucas said.

"All right. Bye, Dad." Will hung up and was about to text Sami, when she got a Facetime message from her. "Hey, Mom."

"Will! Oh my God, it's so good to see your face and hear your voice!" Sami exclaimed. "Your dad told me what happened. Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." Will sighed. "I think I'm starting to get used to danger."

Sami scoffed lightly. "Yeah, well...you've been through a lot these past couple years."

"I know." Will said.

"So, on to happier things." Sami brightened up. "The boys are due in a few days, right?"

"Yeah! We're all really excited."

"Me, too. Ooh, can I see your baby bump? Please?" Sami grinned.

Will chuckled, but got off the bed, anyway and walked to a mirror. "Okay, can you see it?"

"Whoa." Sami chuckled. "Well, that's something you don't see every day."

"Yeah." Will groaned as he sat on the bed.

"So, was your pregnancy the same as say a woman's pregnancy, or...?"

"Oh, yeah. I got mood swings, cravings, swollen ankles, the whole nine." Will nodded. "I have new sympathy and respect for women now."

"Good!" Sami quipped. "But the results will be worth it. Trust me."

Will chuckled. "So, how are the kids and EJ?"

"They are fine." Sami replied. "The twins have their first crushes and Sydney is becoming quite the talented violinist."

"Oh, that's awesome." Will replied. "Ari is taking dance lessons. Not very good lessons according to Gabi, but she loves it anyway, so..."

"Oh, you'll have to send me pictures." Sami said.

"I totally will." Will replied. "Speaking of Ari, I need to put her to bed."

"Oh. Okay. Hey, send me pictures of my grandsons when they're born." Sami requested.

"You know I will." Will promised, smiling. "Um, it's Ari's bedtime, so I'm gonna put her down."

"Oh. Okay. Give her a kiss for me." Sami said.

"I will." Will promised. "Give the kids hugs and kisses for me."

"I will. Bye, love you."

"Love you, too." Will replied. "Bye." Will hung up as Sonny walked into the room. "Hey. I was just face timing my mom."

"How is she?" Sonny asked.

"Good. She, the kids, and EJ are good." Will replied. He stood up. "I am going to put our little girl to bed."

"Oh, she's already down, actually." Sonny said.

"Oh. Okay, well I'll just sneak in a kiss." Will smiled and left for Ari's room. It hit him that this could be the very last time he kissed her goodnight. He wasn't sure if he would survive the birth of his son. He blinked away tears and rubbed his stomach. He crept to Ari's little bed and kissed her cheek. "Goodnight, my little angel. Daddy is here, and he'll chase the tigers away."


	68. The Power- Or Lack Thereof- Of Friendship

The next morning, Theresa tracked Will down. She gestured for him to follow her. They went into her and Brady's room.

"What's up?" Will asked.

Theresa took a deep breath. "I'm assuming you heard about the failed raid Brady and Sonny ordered on the Trio of Terror."

Will was surprised. "Well, the trio did mention something about a raid, but...I thought Victor and Deimos ordered it?"

"Nope." Theresa shook her head. "Brady ordered it and Sonny went along with it."

Will just stared at her. How could Brady do this? And how could Sonny go along with it?! "Are you kidding me right now?"

"No." Theresa sighed. "I wish they'd succeeded, then we wouldn't be in this mess."

"What mess?"

"Long story short: Titan is in trouble and the DiMeras might take advantage of it."

Will was astounded. "Is there _anything else_ you would like to tell me?"

"Yes. That outfit is not flattering on you." Theresa said.

Will scoffed. "Hey, give me a break. I'm pregnant."

"That's no excuse." Theresa shook her head.

Will sighed and shook his head. "I can't believe this. Why would Sonny...?"

"He told his dad that he went along with it to get back at Clyde Weston for having him stabbed." Theresa explained. Will fumed. After all the lectures he gave him about revenge and collateral damage?! "Brady was only thinking of this family and our safety-"

Will whirled around in shock. "You're _defending_ him?! He almost got me and our cousin _killed_ , Theresa!"

"He didn't want that to happen!" Theresa argued in Brady's defense. "And besides, you and Joey are fine."

"If Brady had just gone to the cops instead of ordering a hit, they wouldn't have threatened Claire and then kidnapped me!" Will shot back. "Joey would be safe at home, now!"

"You don't know that!"

"And now we'll never know." Will shook his head. "And Brady is _damn_ lucky neither of us were killed during that raid. If the Kiriakises end up losing everything to the DiMeras, that's on him."

Theresa folded her arms and glared at her cousin. "You _do_ remember that I also told you that Sonny was involved, right? If we all end up losing everything, that's on him, too."

Will just scoffed in disgust, shook his head, and left the room.

XX

Sonny lay on his side on his bed thinking about the events of the last two days. Brady hired a raid on the Trio of Terror's hideout which almost got his cousin, husband, and unborn child killed; Titan is now in trouble because some of their investors pulled their funds and quit because of the raid, which he only went along with because he wanted to get back at Clyde for trying to have him killed, he almost gave Xander $20 million in exchange for Will; then to top it all off, the DiMeras might take advantage of the family crisis. How could he let this happen?

He sat up as Will walked in the room looking upset. "I'm guessing you heard."

"Oh, yeah." Will nodded. "Sonny, how could you be so careless?! You almost got me and our cousin and unborn son killed!"

"I'm sorry." Sonny said sincerely. "Believe me, if I'd known you've been kidnapped, I _never_ would have risked it."

"But you knew _Joey_ was being held captive." Will pointed out. "You know, our _cousin_? Are you _freaking insane_?!"

"Will.."

"You...almost... _divorced_ me because of everything I did to Sami and Kate and then Paul the following year, and you turn around and do something much worse?!" Will exclaimed. "You're a lot of things, Sonny, but I never thought you'd sell your soul."

"There's nothing I can do or say that will make this right." Sonny said calmly. "I feel awful about everything, and I will live with it the rest of my life. I put you in danger...and for that, I'll never forgive myself."

Will calmed down and sat next to him. "We both messed up. And if it helps, I forgive you. This time."

"You shouldn't." Sonny looked away.

Will cupped Sonny's chin in his hand and turned it towards him. "But I _do_. No one was seriously hurt. We'll get through this."

Sonny's eyes welled up with tears and he pulled Will into a hug. "Thank you."

Will gently rubbed Sonny's back. "Anytime." They pulled apart. "Now...what's this about the DiMeras taking advantage of this mess?"

Sonny sighed. "Andre and Chad want to take over Titan in order to save DiMera Enterprises. I met with Chad and asked him as a friend not to do it."

"And you think he won't?" Will raised an eyebrow.

"No." Sonny shook his head. "I trust him."

"Just like you trusted him with the second club? Or like you trusted Ben?" Will asked.

Sonny exhaled sharply. "Will, please, I do not want to argue with you anymore."

"Okay, fine." Will raised his hands in surrender.

Sonny smiled and kissed him. "Thank you. Also...the Spectator wants a statement from us."

"I'll call in a few favors to get them to not throw you guys under the bus." Will promised.

"You're the best." Sonny replied.

"Don't forget it." Will smirked. Sonny chuckled, then left the room. Will sighed. "You may trust Chad, Sonny, but I sure as hell don't." He rubbed his belly and looked down. "Well, looks like we're gonna have to do some damage control. Think you can hang in there for one more day?" He was answered by two kicks. "I'll take that as a yes." He chuckled and left.

XXX

Will's first stop was the Horton House for a small batch of Alice's famous donuts. One of the editors loves donuts, so he figured he could bribe him. Then he headed to the Salem Spectator's office.

"Hey, Will." Editor-in-chief Jerry Swensen greeted. "Come on in."

"Hi, thanks." They sat.

"So, what can I do for you?" Jerry asked.

"Well, I'm assuming you know about Titan being in deep." Will replied. Jerry nodded. "I know we're gonna write an article about that. I'm not asking you to not write it. I am, however, asking you to not throw my husband's family under the bus."

Jerry sighed. "I knew you were gonna ask that. Look, Will, you are a terrific asset to the Spectator; you've put in a lot of work for this newspaper. I'm just not sure..." Will smiled and put the paper bag of donuts on the desk. "What's that?"

"These, my friend, are my great-grandmother's famous donuts." Will replied. "I wanted to give you a little something to show how much I appreciate your work here."

Jerry scoffed lightly. "This is a bribe." Will didn't say anything. "Well, it worked. How about this: I'll have someone write the article, then someone in your husband's family can read it before it goes to print. If they don't like it, then we'll pull the article. Sound fair?"

"Yes, but I'm gonna need your word on that." Will said.

"You have my word." Jerry promised.

"Okay. Great." Will stood up and smiled. They shook hands. "Enjoy the donuts." He left and sighed. "Well, that's one crisis averted."

XX

When Will got to the DiMera mansion, Harold sent him up to the study where Chad was talking on the phone.

"...Thank you, I appreciate it." Chad was saying. He noticed Will entered the room. "Let me know when it's done. ... All right, bye." He hung up and turned to his friend, smiling. "Will. Hey, man, what's up?"

"Not much. What was that call about?" Will asked.

"Oh, it's just business." Chad shrugged.

"Oh. Okay. Just as long as you're not taking over Titan." Will folded his arms.

Chad sighed slowly. "Will, my company is practically bankrupt. I'm trying to build a legacy for my son. And the only way to do that-"

"Is to steal his cousin's company?" Will raised an eyebrow.

"I'm not _stealing_ it." Chad insisted. "Most of the Kiriakis shareholders quit and want to work for me. Everything's perfectly legit."

Will nodded and closed his eyes. "Sonny trusts you, you know. He has a lot of faith in you even after the whole TBD2 fiasco. He forgave you for that. We have three kids to think about now. If you screw him over one more time, if you hurt him, not only will you be dead to me, once he is old enough, I will tell Thomas _exactly_ the kind of person his father is."

"You mean the kind of father who would do anything for his family?" Chad asked, folding his arms. "The kind that puts his family first? I'm sorry Titan is failing, and I'm sorry you and Sonny are upset. But my family and business comes first."

Will was about to say something when Andre entered the room. "So, Chad, I got...oh." Andre noticed Will. "I'm sorry. I didn't realize we had company. I'll come back later." He left.

Chad turned towards Will, who was glaring at him. "Will..."

"Andre? _Really_?" Will spat.

"It's for a trial basis until DiMera gets back on its' feet." Chad explained.

"Have you forgotten that he tried to _freaking kill_ me?!" Will exclaimed.

"Kate will keep an eye on him."

"Oh, this just keeps getting better and better!" Will exclaimed sarcastically. "I thought you told me everything's legit?"

"It _is_."

"Not with Aandre around." Will shrugged. "You know what? Fine. You're doing what you think is best for your family. I'm gonna do the same to mine. Stay away from me, my husband, and our kids. You do not exist in our lives anymore. I no longer trust you."

"Will..." Chad said as Will left. He sighed.

Will headed towards the stairs and almost ran into Kate. "Oh, Will!" Will turned to glare at his grandmother, who sighed. "Okay, look, Will, this isn't personal, it's business. Sometimes you have to do whatever it takes to save your business and preserve your legacy."

"How can you trust Andre after everything he's done?" Will hissed.

"He knows the business and he can help save it." Kate shrugged.

"Help save it? Are you kidding me?" Will exclaimed. "No, okay, you know what? Fine. You and Chad do whatever the hell you want. But I guarantee you: this will blow up in your face." Without another word, he stormed off.

Downstairs, Will ran into Lucas, who just came out of the living room. "Will!"

Will glared at his dad. "Are you in on this, too?"

"What?" Lucas asked, confused.

"Not only is Andre back at DiMera, but he, Chad, and Grandma are taking over Titan, which is in deep financial trouble!" Will exploded. He repeated his conversation with Chad.

"Will, I had no idea." Lucas said honestly. He exhaled sharply. "I can't believe Chad would even consider bringing Andre back to DiMera, especially after everything he's done."

"Because he's stupid and only cares about his business and his son." Will ranted. "To hell with everyone else whose companies are also failing, and who has been nothing but a good friend to them for years!"

Lucas nodded. "Okay, I get where you're coming from, believe me. But this isn't about friendship, it's about family. Put yourself in Chad's position. What would you do?"

"Not betray my friends for one!" Will replied. "I'd pick other venues."

"And what if there were no other venues up for grabs at the moment?" Lucas asked.

Will sighed in frustration and threw his head back. "Then I would just give up and start from scratch."

"Okay, well, you're a better man than Chad, then." Lucas replied. "As for Andre...I don't trust him as far as I can throw him. Not even for one second. Chad is going to regret hiring Andre back, and when it all blows up in his face, he's gonna need all the support he can get."

"I'll keep that in mind." Will replied. "How's Thomas?"

"He's good." Lucas replied. "He misses his mommy. He sometimes looks around for her."

"Oh, yeah. That's what Ari did when Gabi went to prison." Will said. "I just wish she was here. She would have talked Chad out of you know, hiring Andre and betraying Sonny."

"I know." Lucas replied softly. They hugged.

XX

After Will left, Lucas tracked Andre down.

"I assume you know I'm back at DiMera." Andre said. Lucas nodded. "Well, given our history, I will understand if you want to quit."

"I'm not quitting." Lucas replied. "I don't like you, and I don't trust you, but I'm not quitting. But just know this: every breath you take, every move you make, I'll be watching you."

"Promise?" Andre half-joked. Lucas just scoffed and walked off.

XXX

Meanwhile, back at the Kiriakis mansion, the Kiriakis men except for Victor were in the living room, still working on the fallout and possible collapse of Titan. Deimos' phone rang.

"What have you got?" Deimos asked his employee. His face fell and he nodded. "I see. Thank you."

"What's going on?" Justin asked.

Deimos turned to Sonny to address him. "The DiMeras now have control of Titan's shipping and holdings." Sonny looked shocked and hurt. "So much for the power of friendship, right, Sonny?"

"Deimos, lay off." Justin said, glaring at his uncle.

"Oh, wow. 'Let's not cast blame. We need to stand united. Now excuse me while I cast blame and antagonize my family'." Brady said sarcastically.

"Oh, you know what, blow me, Brady!" Deimos snapped.

"You know, considering the lifespan of Brady's hookups, that's actually not a bad idea." Philip said, grinning.

Brady glared at Philip with a look of disgust. "You realize he's my great-uncle, right?"

"Yes. My comment still stands." Philip replied.

Will walked into the room. "Hello, boys."

"This is a private meeting." Deimos said to Will.

"Ignoring you." Will pointed to Deimos and turned to everyone else. "I convinced the editor of the Spectator to go easy on you guys and Titan. I bribed him with my great-grandma's special recipe donuts."

Brady exhaled sharply. "God bless Alice's famous donuts."

"Thank you, Will." Justin replied. "At least that solves the Spectator problem."

"Yeah, too bad you couldn't convince Chad to leave Titan alone." Philip replied. "The DiMeras now have control of Titan's shipping docks."

Will was shocked, but not surprised. "Wow. That didn't take long for Chad to screw us over. Again."

"Yep. Crap judgement seems to be your husband's specialty." Deimos snapped. "Perceptive, my ass!"

Sonny slammed his fists on the table, shot up, and glared at Deimos. "You know what, _Lame_ -os?"

"Sonny..." Justin said warningly.

"Real cute." Deimos replied, sarcastically.

Philip watched the exchange, eagerly. "Beat him, Sonny. Beat him like a-" Brady stood on Philip's foot. Philip glanced up at his nephew. "Um, you do know that's my fake foot, right?"

"Whatever! My point still stands!" Brady snapped.

"I have had it up to _here_ with your superiority complex and your weird need to insult everybody when actually, you're just as bad if not worse than everyone else! You...are an awful person." Sonny said, then left the room.

Will watched his husband storm out of the room, and turned to the group, folding his arms. Philip sat up. "Let me guess: you're gonna pull a Theresa and tell all of us how we should appreciate Sonny more and...shame on us, right?"

"Pretty much." Will replied. "And I will also say this: it's one thing if your best friend betrays you twice, but for family to betray you...I speak from experience- it can be pretty damaging. Family love can save you, but family hatred and betrayal...it might just get you killed." He turned to Brady. "And as for you..."

Brady threw his hands out. "What'd _I_ do?"

"If you _ever_ pull a stunt like that failed raid that almost got me and my cousin killed again, I will slowly cut off your favorite appendage with a white-hot flatiron and shove it down your throat." Will threatened. He turned to Deimos. "Same goes for you, too." Without another word, he left the room and headed upstairs. Ari was standing at Sonny's and Will's door.

"Daddy?" Ari knocked on the door.

"Hey..." Will greeted.

Ari turned to Will. "Daddy looked sad. Is he mad at me?"

"Oh..." Will grunted as he lifted Ari up. "Of course not. He could never be. Sometimes bad things happen and that can make grownups sad and mad at whoever hurt them."

"Oh." Ari said.

"Tell you what?" Will walked into her room and set her down. "Why don't you make Daddy something that will cheer him up? Like a picture."

Ari smiled and nodded. "Okay!"

XX

Sonny waited until his bedroom door was closed before breaking down. How could he be so naive? He and Chad were the ones who set up a little peace treaty that ended the last Kiriakis-DiMera war, now Chad is starting it up again? How could he?! His phone rang. He scowled when he saw that Chad called. He ignored the call, then blocked Chad's number. He then deleted and blocked Chad on Facebook and Twitter, then threw his phone aside. He collapsed onto his bed and let out a a few sobs.

Will quietly walked into the room and closed the door behind him. His heart went out to Sonny. He climbed onto the bed, leaned down and kissed Sonny on the head. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be. You were right." Sonny replied, sounding emotionally drained. Will hugged him from behind. Sonny sighed in content. "I'm so glad I have you. I don't know what I'd do without you."

"Crash and burn?" Will joked. They laughed softly. "I'm not defending Chad in anyway, but, he's doing this to save his business and to preserve his son's legacy."

"He didn't have to do it by screwing me over." Sonny said.

"I know. And believe me: with Andre 'helping' him, this is gonna blow up in his face." Will said. "Karma's a bitch."

"Why? What are you planning?" Sonny asked, without thinking.

Will scoffed. "I'm not planning anything. I don't have to- Andre and Kate are gonna do it for me."

Sonny paused. "True." He turned around. "Speaking of legacy...what do you want _yours_ to be?"

"Oh, I haven't thought about it, actually." Will replied. "Definitely not my hypocrisy." Sonny laughed. "I guess...redemption. Being a better person than my parents. Um...storytelling. What about you?"

"Hmm. Well, definitely not my naivete." They laughed. "I guess mine would be redemption, too. So many of my relatives are reflections of the worst parts of my Uncle Vic. That's why I'm his favorite. Because...well, except for the raid fiasco and my financial troubles a couple years ago, I'm pretty good standing on my own two feet. Uncle Vic wants the Kiriakis family to be revered and not feared like the DiMeras. And...the one relative I have with the last name Kiriakis- Philip...well, let's just say Uncle Vic's lost a lot of faith in him. My brothers and I can bear children with the last name, so...I want one of our boys to have the last name Kiriakis."

Will smiled and nodded. "That's fine with me. We'll pull an Allie and Johnny and have our boys have different last names. There's not a lot of Horton men with the last name Horton. And as much as I love Nathan, his mother was adopted by my Aunt Maggie and Uncle Mickey. My Uncle Tommy only has a daughter, and she married. It's too late for my dad and Uncle Mike to have more kids, and Jeremy...well...who knows. We haven't seen or heard from the guy in years. So, basically, Nathan and I are the family's only hope of continuing the Horton name."

Sonny smiled. "I think you just found your legacy."

"I believe I did." Will nodded and smiled. "As to the DiMeras...well, unless Johnny decides to take our mom's maiden name, and unless Andre has kids- God forbid, and Stefano's brothers have kids, then I would say the DiMeras are done."

"What about the Bradys?" Sonny asked.

"Well...Shawn is probably done procreating." Will replied. "My Uncle Eric...well, who knows? My Uncle Frankie is married, but doesn't have kids. My Uncle Max and Chelsea are married, but, if they want kids, they're gonna have to adopt, because Chelsea can't bear children. Uncle Rex is engaged, so, he might have kids. So, the Bradys aren't totally done. What about the Johnsons?"

Sonny shook his head. "It's all on Joey unless Stephanie has kids and they go by Johnson instead of their father's name."

"So, the DiMeras are the only major Salem family whose name will become extinct in twenty years." Will said.

"And the Hernandezes." Sonny pointed out. "Rafe and Dario don't have kids, and I doubt they ever will."

Will nodded. "I feel kind of sad for them. Rafe's always wanted a kid of his own."

"Unless he has a long-lost kid out there somewhere." Sonny winked. They laughed.

"That does happen quite a lot: Kate, Grandpa Roman, John, Abe, Aunt Maggie, Uncle Bo..." Will said.

"Uncle Vic, Stefano..." Sonny listed.

"You and Paul could have long lost kids!" Will exclaimed.

Sonny laughed. "Well, I don't know about Paul, but, I've never had sex with a girl, so...unless my sperm was stolen somehow..."

Will nodded. "Good point. Paul, though...he's slept with quite a few women before he came out. There could be a little Paul Narita or two running around the country!"

Sonny gasped. "You're right! Wouldn't that be a full-circle moment? He was a long-lost child himself."

"Yeah!" They laughed.

"Thank you for this conversation. It really helped cheer me up and take my mind off of everything." Sonny said.

"I'm glad." Will kissed Sonny. The door opened a little. "And there's more where that came from. Come on in, sweetheart!"

Ari ran in, waving a drawing. She walked up to Sonny and smiled. "I made this for you, Daddy, 'cause I knew you were sad."

"Oh, thank you, sweetheart." Sonny smiled and took the picture. Ari had drawn a sun with what Sonny assumed was his face, then underneath were stick figures of herself, Will, Gabi, Lucas, Adrienne, Marlena, and Caroline. He gasped happily. "Is the sun supposed to be me."

Ari nodded. "Mm-hm. 'Cause Daddy Will says you light up our lives."

Sonny laughed softly and hugged Ari. "You are the sweetest little girl ever." He kissed her head. "Mwah! You know what I'm gonna do with this?"

"What?"

"I am going to frame it and hang it in my office." Sonny replied.

Will chuckled softly. "Great idea." He groaned and sat up. "Well, Ari, it is time for your nap."

"Do I have to?" Ari whined.

"Yes, you have to." Will replied, imitating her little voice. "Come on."

Sonny stood up. "I have to run a few errands and then I'll be home."

"Okay. Be very careful out there." Will said.

"I will." They kissed.

"Sonny, one more thing...I do believe that you." Will rubbed Sonny's arms. "And knowing you, you will be the savior of your family and your company. I mean, Titan is lucky to have you."

Sonny smiled. "Thank you. It means a lot that you believe in me."

"Of course." Will and Sonny hugged tight.

XXX

Later, Marlena stopped by with Nicole to talk to Victor about Xander. Will came downstairs and ran into Marlena. "Grandma, hey."

"Hi. How are you holding up?" Marlena asked.

"Good. I'm still having nightmares about being kidnapped, but other than that, just fine." Will smiled and nodded.

"I'm glad." Marlena smiled.

"So, what brings you here?"

"Having a very unsuccessful talk with Victor about Xander." Marlena replied. "I'm trying to make psychological profiles on Xander, Clyde, and Orpheus. Actually, I just remembered: you once wrote an article about Clyde. Is there anything you can tell me that might help make his profile?"

Will sighed and closed his eyes. "Um...just that he was about to scare an entire town into not saying one unkind word about him." He shrugged. "I went to his hometown, and no one had anything bad to say about him, but I could tell they were scared of him or didn't like him."

Marlena nodded. "I see. Well, that helps. Thank you."

"You're welcome." Will replied.

"And did Sonny ever talk about Xander?" Marlena asked.

"Just that he's the blackest of black sheep of the family." Will replied. He sighed. "Also that he is the epitome of what Victor does not want his family to become."

Marlena huffed and shook her head. "I guess Nicole was right."

"What?"

"Never mind. It's not important." Marlena replied. She cleared her throat. "Thank you for your input."

"Anytime."

Marlena's phone beeped. "Oh. Excuse me." She read her text and gasped. "Oh my God."

"What?"

"They found Joey." Marlena laughed.

"Oh my god!" Will gasped and laughed in relief.

"Oh, I better go." Marlena said.

"Okay. I'd come, but, I can't leave Ari." Will replied. "No one's here but Victor, so..."

"I understand." Marlena replied. "Oh- call me as soon as those babies are born."

Will chuckled. "I will." He sighed and rubbed his stomach and got a huge cramp. He groaned slightly and headed upstairs.

Later that night, Sonny arrived home all smiles.

"I'm guessing you heard." Will said.

"Yeah! I can't believe they all got away again, though." Sonny said.

"I know. They'll catch them, I'm sure." Will replied.

Sonny nodded. "I'll take Ari to Gabi's for her visitation."

"Okay. Let's get her ready." Will said.

They packed Ari up. "Why can't I stay here?" Ari asked.

"Because Mommy doesn't live with us." Will explained. "She wants to see you, too, so, you'll stay with her for a few days, then you'll come back here."

"Okay." Ari said.

Will could tell she still doesn't understand. He kissed the top of her head. "You'll understand someday."

After Sonny and Ari left, Will walked into the now finished nursery. The room had two cribs on either side of the room. The walls were painted a light blue. Pictures and wall hangings of animals lined the walls. Mobiles hung over each crib, and there were two of everything: two nightstands, two dressers, two changing tables, and two rocking chairs. Tears welled up in his eyes. More than anything, he wants to be there to watch his kids grow up, but...there's the chance that he might not make it. He didn't want to tell anyone- even Sonny. They've all gone through enough. He felt a huge cramp and groaned. He coughed up a little blood, then everything went blurry.

XXX

Sonny walked through the house, which was quiet. He headed upstairs to his and Will's wing. His heart nearly stopped when he saw his husband laying on the floor, unconscious; blood dripping from his mouth. "Will!" He ran and collapsed at Will's side, fighting tears. "Will!" He shook Will's shoulders, but couldn't wake him up.


	69. The Twins

It was almost midnight when Brady, Philip, and Justin walked into the foyer. "Well, everything worked out. Joey's okay now."

Justin scoffed. "Yeah, but that still doesn't erase what happened."

"Justin, believe me. If I could change the past, I would." Brady said. He sighed and started heading up the stairs. Philip and Justin followed suit.

"So, how did Victor take it?" Philip asked.

"He still won't answer my calls." Brady replied. "I'm not even sure if he's more angry that I put this company in jeopardy or that I dragged Sonny into it."

"Probably both." Justin replied.

"HELP! SOMEBODY HELP!" They heard Sonny scream.

Justin started racing up the stairs, Brady and Philip in hot pursuit. "Sonny!"

XX

Sonny leaned over Will, who was breathing evenly, but still unconscious. He held back sobs as he called 911. "... It's my husband. He's pregnant, and he's unconscious and bleeding. ... 125 Glen Oaks Drive. Please, hurry." He hung up as he heard running footsteps.

Justin exhaled sharply in slight relief that Sonny was okay. He rushed over to him. "Sonny, what happened?"

"I don't know." Sonny shook his head. "I came up here and he was like this. I called an ambulance..."

Justin took his jacket off, folded it, and slowly and gently put it under Will's head. He squeezed Sonny's shoulder. "Hey, he's gonna be okay."

Philip and Brady called Lucas and Marlena respectively. Then they went downstairs to send the paramedics up where Will, Sonny, and Justin are.

XX

Sonny rode in the back of the ambulance, holding Will's hand. It was almost exactly a year ago he saved Will from Ben...all because he chose _that_ day to come back to fix things, chose _that_ moment to visit Caroline, who had a vision of Will. Now here they were a year later. Will is pregnant and quite possibly in labor.

Once they arrived at the hospital, Will was wheeled into the OR for an emergency C-Section. By then, Lucas and Adrienne had arrived. They were all allowed in the OR.

"Baby, it's going to be okay. They'll make it through this." Adrienne said, rubbing Sonny's back.

"They have to be." Lucas said.

Sonny took deep breaths. _'I'm not gonna lose them...they'll be okay.'_

Just then, the sound of a baby crying filled the room. Sonny sighed, then laughed in relief. Tears of joy filled his eyes as the nurse cleaned his baby off, swaddled him in a blanket, and carried him over to Sonny. "Would you like to meet your son?"

Sonny grinned and nodded. "Yes." He carefully held his newborn baby in his arms. He has black hair. His eyes were closed, so he couldn't tell what color they were.

"Oh..." Adrienne cooed. "He has your nose and mouth."

"And Will's chin and eyes." Lucas added.

They all looked up as they heard rapid beeping.

"He's going into cardiac arrest!" One of the doctor's exclaimed.

"What?" Sonny asked, horrified.

Another nurse pushed them out. "I've asked Maxine to set up a room for your babies. She'll take your son to run a few tests to make sure he's okay."

"Okay." Sonny replied. "What...?" The nurse closed the door behind her.

"Sonny?" They turned to see Maxine. "Congratulations. What's his name?"

Sonny swallowed. "Devon Justin. We'll call him DJ."

"Awwww. That's a nice name." Maxine replied. She carefully took DJ into her arms. "Hi, little one. Hi." She looked up at Sonny. "Don't worry. I'll take good care of him."

"Thanks, Maxine." Sonny said. He leaned down to his son. "See you in a little bit, buddy. You be good for Maxine."

Maxine chuckled, set DJ in a bassinet, and wheeled him off.

Sonny took a deep breath and turned back to the OR. They were still working on Will. "Come on, baby. Live for our children."

XX

"Charging...clear!" The doctor used a defibrillator on Will a few times. Will started to flatline. "We're losing him!"

Outside the room, Sonny held onto the door to steady himself. A lump rose to his throat and tears sprang to his eyes. He shook his head. "No...no. Please, no..." The EKG started beeping again, and Will was revived. Sonny collapsed against the wall in relief. Dr. Ford came out of the OR.

"Well, that was a close one." Dr. Ford replied. "Your husband's a fighter."

Sonny chuckled. "Tell me something I don't know."

The doctor chuckled. "We're wheeling him into recovery, now. As soon as the pediatrician finishes running tests, we'll move your son into Will's room, too."

"Sounds good. Thanks."

XXX

Will woke to the sound of a baby fussing. He opened his eyes and saw Sonny holding a baby.

"Look who's awake." Sonny said, grinning widely.

Will smiled and laughed softly. "Oh my god...is that...?"

"Yep." Sonny replied. "This is our son." Sonny pressed the button to make Will sit up and carefully handed the baby to him.

"Hi. Hi." Will beamed down at his little boy, who snuggled against him.

"He was born at 12:15 this morning." Sonny said. "He's perfectly healthy."

"Oh. That's good." Will sighed in content. "Where is my dad and your mom?"

"I sent them home to get some sleep." Sonny replied. "They should be here any minute, though."

Someone knocked and opened the door. Gabi entered. "Hey, guys."

"Hey, Gabi. How'd you know we were here?" Will asked.

"Your dad called me." Gabi replied. She gasped happily. "Is that my little godson?"

"It is." Will beamed.

"Oh...he looks just like you, Sonny." Gabi gushed. Just then, she clutched her stomach. "Oh! Oh, God."

"What?"

"I'm in labor." Gabi said.

"Oh, well, at least you're in a hospital this time." Sonny said. He walked over to Gabi and helped her out of the room. He glanced back to Will. "Are you gonna be okay?"

"Yeah, I'll be fine." Will said. They left the room, and Will looked down at his son. "You're very lucky, you know that? You have Sonny Kiriakis as a dad; Adrienne Kiriakis, Justin Kiriakis, and Lucas Horton as grandparents, Marlena Evans as a great-grandma, and Caroline Brady as a great-great-grandma. You're related to so many fantastic people. You'll never be alone. Although that can get pretty annoying." He laughed softly.

Marlena walked into the room. "Hi."

"Hey! Come meet your new great-grandson." Will said, smiling. "I believe I made a promise to you a while ago. Something about you being one of the first to hold DJ." Marlena laughed softly. She walked over and carefully lifted DJ from Will's arms. "Meet your great-grandma, DJ."

"Hi. Hello." Marlena greeted. DJ started fussing, and Marlena gently bounced him up and down. "Aw."

DJ quieted down. Will smiled. "Aw, he likes you already!"

"Oh. Look, he's got a birthmark between his shoulder and neck." Marlena noted. She leaned down and showed Will. The birthmark was shaped like the state of Ohio.

"Whoa." Will breathed. "You know, I'll bet when he's older, people will think that's a tattoo."

Marlena laughed. "Probably."

XX

JJ walked into Gabi's room. "Hey, how's it going?"

"Well, it's a lot easier than Arianna's birth, that's for sure." Gabi chuckled. She was already sweaty.

"I can definitely vouch for that." Sonny nodded solemnly.

JJ chuckled. "So, you're using the drugs, huh?"

"Yep." Gabi nodded. "I've experienced natural birth, and...I didn't really like it, so..."

Sonny and JJ chuckled softly. The doula came in. "How are we doing, Gabi?"

"Good." Gabi replied.

The doula checked the screen. "All right, we're at nine centimeters."

"Is that good?" Sonny asked.

"It's great. That means the baby's almost ready to be delivered." The doula replied.

"Oh. Awesome." Sonny grinned and nodded.

XX

Lucas and Adrienne arrived at Will's and DJ's room with cameras at the ready.

"Are you guys excited? I can't tell." Will said teasingly.

Adrienne laughed and Lucas rolled his eyes. "Shut up."

Adrienne and Lucas took turns holding the baby and taking pictures. A nurse rushed in with a wheelchair. "Will, your surrogate is ready for delivery. Are you well enough to...?"

"Yeah!" Will exclaimed. "I wanna see _one_ of my kids' birth!"

Lucas laughed as the nurse helped Will into the wheelchair. "Don't worry- Adrienne and I will watch this little tyke."

"Thanks!" Will leaned over to DJ. "Daddy will be right back, buddy, okay?"

The nurse wheeled Will to the delivery room and helped him dress in protective garb.

"Hey, you're just in time!" Sonny exclaimed.

"Oh, good. I didn't miss it." Will said.

"All right, Gabi, one more big push!" The doula said.

Gabi pushed and screamed, then gasped for breath as the baby came out, crying. Will and Sonny gasped happily. Will carefully cut the cord, and the nurse wiped the baby clean, and wrapped him up in a blanket. She gave him to Will.

"Hi, Leon Lucas." Will whispered.

Sonny leaned down. "Hi, buddy. He looks just like you, Will."

Leon has light brown hair and has Will's eyes and nose. "You're right. You know, DJ has a birthmark the shape of Ohio on his shoulder." He looked Leon over. "Looks like Leon doesn't."

"Guess we know how to tell them apart." Sonny replied.

XX

The trio headed to Will's room where Marlena, Lucas, and Adrienne were joined by Victor, Maggie, Caroline, Philip, Justin, Brady, and Theresa.

"Whoa! Now it's a party." Will commented. They all laughed.

Sonny walked over to Lucas and took DJ in his arms and stood beside Will. "Everyone...allow us to introduce Devon Justin 'DJ' Kiriakis..."

"And Leon Lucas Horton." Will said.


	70. Tick, Tick, BOOM!

"How come only _one_ of the boys is a Kiriakis?" Victor asked.

"Victor!" Maggie scolded.

"They're _both_ Kiriakises, Uncle Victor." Sonny said. "And they're both Hortons and Bradys, too. Will and I both want our family names to continue. Though we have cousins- and brothers in my case- who bear our last names, they are few and far between. So...we'll have at least two boys to carry on the Horton and Kiriakis names."

"Sounds good to me." Lucas said, smiling. "And sometimes, the next generation can grow better than the one before. If given the chance."

"That sounds like it came from a Disney movie." Brady commented. Theresa swatted him warningly.

"That's 'cause it is!" Lucas exclaimed. "But, my point still stands. And I will definitely order their Christmas ornaments right away."

"Thanks, Dad." Will replied.

"So, DJ, huh?" Victor asked. "I don't know if I like that. It sounds too much like EJ DiMera."

"Really, Victor?" Lucas snapped.

"Uncle Vic, if it's any comfort to you, Will and I will do a better job raising him and Leon right, tons better than EJ's parents raised him." Sonny said.

"Damn straight." Justin added.

"You know, we are- well, I am- also honoring my uncle DJ who only lived a few months." Will said.

Maggie gasped quietly. "Oh, I remember DJ. He was so sweet."

 _'Hmm. Wonder what Nicole's reaction would be to DJ.'_ Theresa thought. _'She'd probably think Will and Sonny are honoring Daniel.'_

Marlena nodded. "You know, I'd often imagine what he would be like had he lived."

"Well, for starters, he'd probably kick my ass every time I disrespected you." Brady half-joked. Everyone laughed.

"Yeah, probably." Will said.

Adrienne walked in with Ari. "Hey, look who I brought."

"Hey, Ari!" Will greeted. "Come meet your baby brothers!" Adrienne set Ari down on the bed. "This is Leon."

"Hi, Leon." Ari said, looking at her brother in wonder.

"And this is DJ." Sonny showed DJ to Ari.

"Hi, DJ." Ari greeted.

"Aww. Let's get a picture!" Adrienne squealed. Ari squeezed between her dads and brothers. "Smile!" She took a few pictures and showed them to Will and Sonny to see if they like them.

"Looks great, Mom." Sonny said. "Let's take pictures of Ari holding the boys now."

"Okay!" They set Ari on a chair and held each baby in her lap. Once they were done, the boys started crying.

"Uh-oh. It's starting." Adrienne said. Lucas and Justin took the babies to calm then down. DJ needed a diaper change. Adrienne turned to Sonny. "I remember the day you were born. I held you all day and night."

"'Cause I wouldn't stop crying?" Sonny guessed, teasingly. They laughed. "Man, what a little nightmare I was, huh?"

"Hey, you may have been a little nightmare, but you were _my_ little nightmare." Adrienne said, smiling. "Come here." They hugged. "Oh...I'm so proud of and happy for you."

XXX

"Are you ready for this?"

Paul and Gabi were in Gabi's hospital room. She and Paul talked about Sonny's and Chad's rift and decided to stage a little intervention. Gabi texted Chad to meet her at the hospital.

"Oh, yeah." Gabi said, carefully and slowly standing up. "Like I said before, now is not the time for friends to be fighting."

"I agree." Paul replied. "You sure you're up for this?"

"Yep. I have regained feeling in my legs again and my doctor said I have to walk around to stimulate my muscles." Gabi replied, walking to the door. "...I'll probably need to sit down once we get to Will's room, though."

Paul chuckled softly and followed his friend out to the hall. They walked to the nurse's station just as Chad stepped off the elevator and threw his arms out in frustration.

"Why did you ask me to come out here? What could be so important?" Chad demanded. "Do you know what's going on?"

"Yes, we do actually. That's why we called you here." Gabi linked her arm through Chad's. "We're going to pay Will and Sonny a little visit."

"Are you kidding-?"

Paul stood behind Chad and put his hands on his shoulders. "Nope. You're coming with us whether you want to or not."

Chad groaned in dread, but let the two drag him to Will's room.

XX

"How are you feeling?" Sonny asked as they finished their lunch. The boys were in radiology getting tests done and Ari was left in Ciara's and Claire's care.

"Better." Will sighed. "I'm just so glad the three of us made it out alive."

Sonny chuckled softly. "Me too. You have no idea..."

Gabi knocked and poked her head in. "Hey. Is this a bad time?"

"No. It's a perfect time, actually." Sonny smiled. "Come on in."

Gabi, Paul, and Chad all walked in. "Hey, guys."

"What the hell is _he_ doing here?!" Sonny exclaimed.

"Okay, I'm going." Chad said and turned for the door, but Paul stopped him.

"No, you are not." Paul said firmly. "We are gonna work this out."

"Work out what? The fact that Chad betrayed me? _Again_?" Sonny asked.

"Look, you guys have been friends for over half a decade." Gabi said. "That's too good a friendship to let anything get between you."

"Okay, look, I'm sorry. Really." Chad said. "I'm sorry that Sonny can't see that this whole thing is about business not friendship and that I am doing what is best for my family."

"Really? 'Cause it felt personal."

Chad scoffed. "How would it be personal?" Sonny stood next to Will's bed and cast a glance at him. Chad laughed softly. "Really? _That's_ what you think this is about?"

"Maybe you just can't stand me having one over you." Sonny said.

"Sonny, come on. That's a little high school, don't you think?" Paul asked.

" _Life_ is high school. The stakes are higher." Sonny said simply.

Will nodded in agreement. "Guys, I appreciate what you're trying to do here, but, I'm on Sonny's side. And honestly, I wouldn't want to be friends with someone who keeps betraying their friend over and over again, even though said friend was the best friend he could ever have."

"Oh, but you can be married to someone who's cheated on you _twice_?" Chad asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Will made up for that, and he hasn't betrayed me since!" Sonny snapped, coming to Will's defense. " _You_ on the other hand..."

Gabi sighed and rubbed her eyes in frustration. "Look you guys need to stop being mad at each other."

"Oh, I'm not mad at Sonny." Chad said. "It's just business."

"Felt personal to me." Sonny said.

"You know what? Brady trying to ambush your cousin Xander and his pals, _that_ was dumb." Chad said. "Doing it on the docks where Titan _ic_ unloads its' ships was even dumber. It's your and your family's fault that the clients and investors went running for the hills, not mine."

"Okay, if I can just get a word-"

"Oh yeah, and you and Kate and Andre just took advantage of that after I begged you not to!" Sonny exclaimed, interrupting Gabi.

"And after I threatened to tell Thomas, Johnny, Sydney, and Theo exactly the kind of guy you are." Will put in.

"I'm trying to get DiMera back on its feet." Chad argued.

"Yeah, well, I thought you were gonna make it legit in Abigail's memory." Sonny said. "What happened to that?"

"It's completely legit to take advantage of a competitor's stupidity!"

"Okay, both of you just stop." Gabi stood up and got between them. "Just shut the hell up. Now we are all scared, and everyone is being stretched to their breaking point, so now is not the time to be reckless," Gabi turned to Chad, then Sonny. "lame," She turned to Will. "or vindictive."

"I have a son to think of." Chad said softly.

"Yes, you do. So why don't you set a good example?" Gabi asked.

"Thank you." Sonny said to Gabi.

"And you two?" Gabi looked at Sonny and Will. "You have three kids to think about. So, please, why don't you start thinking about yourselves, and not listen to that crackpot, Deimos?"

"We _don't_ listen to Deimos..." Will said.

"Whatever. My point is, we need each other right now, and you guys have been friends forever." Gabi said.

"You started a business together." Paul added. "You trusted each other."

"You grieved Abigail together. Sonny, you and Chad helped save Will's life last year and brought Ben down." Gabi pointed out.

"I will miss Abigail until the day I die." Sonny said. "But I don't know what she has to do with this."

"Abby, Abby never wanted me to get involved in the whole family business crap." Chad explained.

"Okay, well, I never wanted Sonny to be involved his his family business crap, either, but that doesn't excuse what you did." Will said.

"Do you think Abigail would like the way you've been acting?" Gabi asked before Chad retorted.

"No. No, I don't think she would." Chad admitted.

Sonny sighed and shoved his hands into his pockets. "You know we're not kids throwing potshots at grownups. I mean, we _are_ the grownups."

"Or you _should_ be." Gabi pointed out.

Chad relented. "Okay. You seem to have all the answers. So, what do we do?" Gabi just shook her head. Chad turned to Sonny. "Our families may be messed up, but they're still our families."

"I have known both of you a long time." Will spoke up. He turned to Chad. "I know you try to do the right thing."

"Most of the time." Gabi muttered.

"And Sonny- he's got this built-in thing about him where injustice drives him nuts." Will continues. "You're trying to do what's right for your family, but Sonny thinks what you're doing to his- to our family is unjust. Right?"

Sonny nodded. "Yeah, pretty much."

"You know, after I left those messages," Gabi pulled out a TBD business card. "I found this in my purse. You guys remember this?"

"Is that our old TBD business card?" Chad asked, amazed.

"Yeah." Gabi gave the card to Sonny.

"You saved this?" Sonny asked, surprised.

"I remember when you guys opened the place, and uh," Gabi pointed to Chad. "you know, you put up the money."

"Well, Sonny had the experience." Chad said, looking at the card.

"The point is, you trusted each other and it worked." Gabi said. "Please don't let the pressure of this sink a wonderful friendship."

"Gabi's right. I need all the friends I can get right now." Chad said. He turned to Sonny. "I've been making the wrong decisions, I have Clyde Weston trying to take my son, and I'm scared. Sorry."

Sonny softened and rubbed Chad's back. "It's gonna be all right." They hugged. "We got you."

Paul and Gabi beamed at each other in triumph. One drama resolved!

Sonny turned to Will. "Are you still gonna tell Thomas, Theo, and your brother and sister the kind of man Chad is?"

Will chuckled softly. "Yes. I will tell them...that Chad is the kind of man who would do anything and everything for the sake of his family."

Chad chuckled and smiled. "Thanks, man."

"Come here." Will opened his arms, and they hugged. "Ohhhh."

"Well, our work here is done." Gabi said. "I will relieve the girls of Ari. Join me, Paul?"

"Sure." Paul replied. "Later, guys."

After they left, Sonny spoke up. "So, what are you planning on doing about Thomas?"

"Oh, don't worry- I have a plan." Chad smiled mischievously.

"Which is?" Will asked.

"We're gonna trap Clyde." Chad said simply.

"Who's 'we'?" Sonny asked, warily.

"Adrienne and Lucas and I." Chad grinned.

"What?!" Sonny exclaimed. "You're putting our parents in danger?! What the hell, Chad?!"

"Sonny, they volunteered." Chad said calmly. "I told them they could back out, but they insisted on going along with it. Anything to protect Thomas. And don't worry- I called the cops. They're in on it, too."

"What if something goes wrong? You or Thomas or my mom or Lucas could end up killed!" Sonny exclaimed.

"You're telling me you wouldn't do the same thing?" Chad raised an eyebrow.

"Of course I would!" Sonny snapped and turned around.

Chad sighed softly. "Sonny, I will make damn sure nothing happens to your mom or Lucas."

"Not that they can't take care of themselves." Will added. "Both of them know how to use a gun, Lucas beat up EJ on more than one occasion, and- I speak from personal experience- your mom has a mean right hook."

Sonny chuckled softly and nodded. He sighed and turned around. "If anything happens to them, I will hold you personally responsible."

"Nothing will happen." Chad insisted. "Actually, um...I could use a little help from you, Sonny."

"Me?"

"In order for my plan to be a success, I need someone to watch Thomas." Chad said. "Once Clyde is in custody, I need that someone to bring him into the room."

"Why is that necessary?" Sonny asked, shaking his head.

"'Cause I need Clyde to see it." Chad sighed. "I need to see the look on his face when he realizes that he lost."

Sonny nodded, and something occurred to him. "You know...having the guy he tried to have killed to get back at Victor holding Thomas just might crush his spirit."

"So...you'll do it?" Chad asked, hopefully.

Sonny sighed and turned to Will, who hesitated before saying. "Be very careful, Sonny."

"Are you sure?" Sonny asked.

"Not really." Will shrugged. "But...someone has to do it. Gabi's laid up in the hospital and Paul and Sonny aren't close enough friends for it to be convincing, so..."

Sonny smiled and kissed Will. "I'll be back the second the sting is over."

"Promise?" Will asked.

"I promise."

"Okay. I'll talk to you guys later." Will said.

After they left, there was a knock on the door, and the nurse entered with both boys in their bassinets. "Look who's ba-ack."

"Hey!" Will greeted, smiling. "How are my boys doing?"

"They are doing just fine." The nurse replied. "The pediatrician will be here in a minute with details."

"Okay, thanks." Will replied. He lifted a crying DJ out of his bassinet. "Ooh, looks like someone needs a diaper change. Yes, he does." Will said in a baby voice and headed for the bathroom.

XXX

Sonny settled Thomas in in the guest house. He turned all the lights off to throw Clyde off his scent. He set Thomas on a blanket and entertained him with toys. He had a police scanner on.

"All units, we have Clyde Weston in custody. I repeat, Clyde Weston is in custody."

"Well, that's our cue, buddy." Sonny grunted as he stood up. He picked Thomas up. "Ready to go see Daddy?"

XX

Chad's plan worked. JJ and another cop has Clyde in custody. Chad cleaned off his shirt, Andre poured himself a drink, and Lucas and Adrienne hung out in the corner.

Clyde glared at Chad. "You are a damn fool, son. And I'm almost sorry I won't be here to see it played out."

"Show's over." Chad said, walking towards him. "Look around."

Sonny entered with Thomas in his arms. "Howdy, y'all." He deadpanned.

Clyde glared at Sonny and lunged forward, but JJ pulled him back. "I don't think so."

"You again." Clyde hissed. "Should have known you'd be throwing your fairy dust all over this."

It took all of Adrienne's willpower to not attack Clyde. Sonny took that comment in stride. "Yeah. Too bad I didn't have any when you tried to have me killed."

Chad, JJ, Lucas, and Andre held back snickers. Chad walked over to Thomas. "There's my beautiful boy."

"That should be my boy's, son!" Clyde snapped. "You took him away from him."

Chad pointed to Thomas. "That there is my son. See, your son went crazy after years of watching you abuse his mother and sister."

"Don't you say anything about me and my family." Clyde hissed angrily. "You know _nothing_ about me and my family!"

"Gladly." Chad said simply.

"Let's go." JJ said. He and the officer dragged Clyde out of the room.

"There's a loading dock outside the kitchen." Andre said. "You can pull the police car right up to the door."

Sonny grinned and walked up to JJ. "Hey, nicely done. Sorry about bursting in."

"No, no, it's fine." JJ replied. "I just can't wait to book him." He paused. "And hopefully, no one will land in the hospital this time."

Sonny laughed. "Yeah."

"Okay, so, I'm gonna change my shirt and make a quick phone call. I'll be right back." Chad said. "Are you okay to watch Thomas for a few?"

"Yeah. Sure."

XXX

Once Chad returned, he put Thomas to bed. "So, how's Ari?"

"She's good." Sonny replied. "She's at the hospital with all her preschool friends. She thinks it's a party."

"Oh, that's good. How's Will?"

"Good. The boys are good, too." Sonny beamed.

Chad chuckled. "I'd ask if you have pictures, but, something tells me you'll show them to me, anyway."

Sonny chuckled. "Or you could come with me to the hospital and meet them yourself. I did promise Will I'd come back there once this little sting operation was done."

"Okay, sure. I'll leave Thomas with your mom and Lucas."

XXX

Dr. Sharp, the pediatrician walked into Will's room. "Hello, Will."

"Hey." Will greeted. "So, what's the word, Doc?"

"Both boys are pretty healthy." She replied. "However, Leon's test showed some irregularities."

"What kind of irregularities?" Will asked.

"Some of Leon's brain cells don't match up to DJ's." Dr. Sharp said. "Meaning Leon could have a mental or physical disability."

"Oh. Is there any way to tell what kind?"

"Not yet. The next six months are critical." Dr. Sharp replied. "Keep an eye on him. If you start noticing strange behaviors, please come see me."

"Okay. Thanks."

"You're welcome." She left.

Will sighed quietly and looked down at Leon. "Hear that, buddy? You're gonna be special." Leon cooed. "Yeah. You're my special little boy." He picked up his phone to check and see if Sonny left a message. He sighed. "Where is your daddy?"

Boom! Boom...boom...

Will snapped around towards the window. A series of explosions just went off in the distance. "Sonny..."


	71. Afterboom

"Paul, you didn't have to do this."

Paul met Derrick after his shift at Baron's and offered to walk him home.

"I wanted to." Paul replied. "Any excuse to spend more time with you."

Derrick blushed. "Well, thanks, anyway."

"Oh, sure." Paul said.

Just then, an explosion went off and hit a tree heading for Derrick. Paul pushed him out of the way, and was struck by a limb and fell unconscious.

Derrick gasped in fear and took deep breaths and crawled over to his friend. "Paul? Hey, Paul! Paul, wake up!" Derrick lightly slapped Paul's face. "Paul! Paul, wake up! I gotta get you to a hospital."

Paul groaned and blinked his eyes open. "Hi."

Derrick sighed in relief. "You saved me."

"Of course I did." Paul said as though it were obvious. He lost consciousness again and stopped breathing.

"No. No, no, no, no, no, no! Paul!" Derrick exclaimed worriedly. He performed CPR and did mouth-to-mouth. Paul gasped and woke up, coughing. "Oh, thank God! Hey, can you see me?"

Paul smiled up at Derrick, gratefully. He gently caressed his cheek. Derrick did the same and held his hand. "I'm fine. Really."

XX

Chad and Sonny drove down the street when the explosions went off. Chad pulled over. "Holy...! What the hell was that?!"

"Oh my God..." Sonny sighed. "We need to get to the hospital. What if there was an explosion there?" His phone rang. "Oh, thank God! Will?"

"Sonny! Thank God. I was afraid that..." Will sighed.

"Are you okay? Did you hear those explosions?"

"Yeah, we're okay. The hospital didn't explode." Will replied.

Sonny sighed in relief. "Okay. I am on my way there."

"All right. Love you."

"Love you, too. Bye." Sonny replied.

XX

Paul kept slipping in and out of consciousness. Derrick called for an ambulance, but first responders are backed up.

"Really?!" Derrick exclaimed in frustration. He saw a car coming from a distance and ran out into the street to flag it down. "Hey!"

Chad saw Derrick and Paul and pulled over. He and Sonny leapt out and ran to the two. "Derrick? What happened?!"

"An explosion went off and knocked a tree over." Derrick explained. "Paul pushed me out of the way..." He sighed. "I called an ambulance, but they're backed up."

"Okay, we need to get him to the hospital now." Sonny said. He bent down and put Paul's arm over his shoulder. "Get his other arm. Come on. Up, up, up." He and Derrick carried Paul to the car, and Chad opened the car door, and Derrick slid in and helped Paul in. Sonny climbed in and Chad sped off.

XXX

Once he left Derrick and Paul with the nurses, Sonny headed to Will's hospital room. Will stood up, and the husbands embraced.

"I'm so glad you're okay." Will murmured into Sonny's shoulder.

"Me, too." Sonny replied.

They pulled apart. Will noticed blood on Sonny's face. "Sonny..." He turned his face.

"It's not my blood." Sonny explained. "Chad and I were driving and we saw Derrick and Paul at the side of a road. Paul had been hit with a tree that got knocked over by an explosion."

"Is Paul okay?" Will asked.

"He will be." Sonny nodded. "Where are the kids?"

"Ari is in Gabi's room and the boys are in the nursery." Will replied. He started pulling Sonny towards the bed. "Come on. Let's get that blood off your face." He sat Sonny down and went over to the sink.

Sonny huffed. "Will, you _just_ had surgery!"

"I am well enough to clean off my husband's face." Will insisted. He grabbed a rag and dampened it, and walked over and sat on the bed. He carefully and gently cleaned the blood off. Sonny chuckled. "What?"

"I just remember tending to your bruises after your last fight with Nick." Sonny replied. "This kind of reminded me of that."

Will laughed softly. "You're silly."

"I know." Sonny replied. Will finished cleaning Sonny's face off and started to stand up, but Sonny gently grabbed his hands. "Hey...at least let me throw this away."

"Okay." Will replied. Sonny got up, and Will slowly climbed back into bed.

Sonny threw the rag away and slowly climbed into bed with Will, and they put their arms around each other. Sonny kissed the top of Will's head and sighed. "What a day, huh?"

"Yeah." Will sighed. "Last year, you and I helped bring Ben down and Paul, Chad, you, and I all landed in the hospital; and this year, you and Chad helped bring Clyde down and Paul and I ended up in the hospital. We should make this a tradition."

Sonny laughed. "God, I hope this is the last night you ever spend in this place."

"Aww. Me, too." Will replied. "So, I assume Operation: Clyde was a success?"

"It was." Sonny smiled. "Andre really came through."

"Please tell me you don't trust him." Will sighed.

"Oh, hell no. I'll _never_ trust him." Sonny shook his head.

"Good." Will cleared his throat. "So, the boys were in radiology earlier."

"Oh, how'd that go?"

"DJ is a picture of health, but, there were some irregularities with Leon." Will said. "He's gonna need special care."

"Oh. Well, we knew he was going to be special needs." Sonny said.

"Yep." Will nodded. "The pediatrician said the next six months are critical."

Sonny nodded. "Okay, well...maybe Abe and Theo can give us advice on this kind of thing."

"Maybe." Will shrugged. "Is Operation: Xander in effect, yet?"

"Yep. Looks like Deimos came through as well." Sonny replied with hesitation.

Will could tell by his husband's expression that he wasn't buying it. "What was the plan?"

"Use Nicole and Theresa as bait." Sonny said simply. "Xander grabbed Nicole, but Deimos came to her rescue and is going to trick him into going to Pier 17 where a freighter would be waiting to take him to Greece...with Theresa onboard, bound and gagged below deck. Roman will be waiting there to arrest Xander."

"Sounds like a good plan." Will nodded. He sighed. "I just can't wait until this whole nightmare is over."

"Me neither. But, we'll have the kids to distract us from the danger." Sonny grinned.

Will chuckled. "Yeah."

"So are you liking living in the mansion?" Sonny asked.

"Yeah. Yeah, despite the fact I have to sit across from Deimos and Victor at the breakfast table." Will said. "It's so big and different than the DiMera mansion. Does Victor's house have any secret rooms or passageways?"

"Yeah, actually." Sonny said. "There's a small, secret room in my Uncle Vic's closet. And there's a secret passageway that goes from the pantry to the stables. There's a trapdoor."

"Nice!" Will said, smiling. sonny's phone rang. "Oh- could that be about Deimos?"

"I don't know." He answered his phone. "Brady, what's up? ... Uh-huh... really? ... Wow. So, Xander's dead. ... Do you believe that? I mean... good point, but still ... okay. Well, thanks for letting me know. ... All right. Bye." Sonny hung up, put his phone on the night table, and sighed. "Well, Operation: Xander was a success."

"He's dead?" Will asked.

"Yep. Xander was tipped off, but Deimos intervened and told him to meet him at another pier." Sonny explained. "Things got physical and Deimos shot and killed Xander, and he fell into the river."

"Did he?" Will asked, unconvinced. "You know, it's been my experience that if anyone is shoved into the river, they're not dead."

Sonny shook his head. "Well, they're dragging the river for his body, so...I guess we'll find out soon enough."

"Hmm." Will looked suspiciously into space. This seems too easy.

"What are you thinking?" Sonny asked.

Will sighed quietly and shook his head. "It's nothing. You've heard enough paranoia coming from me."

"Try me." Sonny insisted. "Who knows? I may actually agree with you."

Will laughed softly. "Okay. Honestly? I don't believe a word Deimos said. I think he's playing us. I think he faked Xander's death for his own agenda."

Sonny considered his husband's words. "You know...I think you may be on to something. Deimos is untrustworthy and selfish. I wouldn't put it past him."

"Mm-hmm." Will nodded.

"I really hope no one else is buying that crap." Sonny admitted. "Brady, Nicole, and Theresa are more likely to buy it; but I hope Philip, my dad, Uncle Vic, and Maggie are smarter than that."

"Me, too." Will replied. "For what it's worth, I hope Deimos was telling the truth."

"Me, too." Sonny nodded.

The next few hours were crazy. There was a bomb at Brady's Pub, but they were able to diffuse it, John was taken hostage by Orpheus, who shot JJ when he was passing by, Steve saved John, and Orpheus was arrested. Then, Orpheus took a lethal drug.

Will exhaled sharply and leaned back on his pillow. "I am so glad that nightmare is over!"

"Me, too." Sonny replied.

"You know what amazes me about this whole thing?"

"What?"

"No one died." Will said simply. "I mean, we've had several near-deaths: Theresa, John, Paul, Uncle Steve, JJ, Abe, Chad, Jennifer, Grandma Kate, Grandma Marlena, Hope. But no one actually died. I call that a win."

Gabi came into the room with Ari. "Hey."

"Hey!" Will greeted. "How's JJ?"

"He's in a coma." Gabi said simply. "Um, his lung collapsed. They were able to stop the bleeding, but all the blood loss caused him to slip into a coma."

"Yikes." Will said.

"He'll be okay." Sonny replied optimistically.

"I hope so." Gabi cleared her throat.

Will noticed Ari holding a piece of paper. "Whatcha got there, sweetheart?" Ari showed him her drawing of their family. At the top, she scribbled who they were. Will gasped in surprise. "Did you write this?" Ari nodded. Will's eyes brimmed with tears of pride. His little girl was starting to write! "Come here." Ari hopped onto the bed and Will hugged her tight. "Good job, Ari, I'm so proud of you! We're gonna make a writer out of you yet!"

"Whoa, let's not get ahead of ourselves." Gabi chuckled.

Will laughed softly. "I am going to frame this picture."

"So many framed pictures." Sonny joked. He laughed when Will swatted him playfully.

"You know, Gabi, if you want us to take Ari for a few days so you can be with JJ, it's okay." Will said softly.

Gabi shook her head. "It's fine. Jennifer's there with him most of the time, and um...we need to get Ari used to this whole custody arrangement."

"What custody arrangement?" Everyone turned to see Kate and Adrienne walk into the room. Kate glared suspiciously at Gabi.

Adrienne could feel the tension growing. She cleared her throat. "Hey, Ari, how about we go see your baby brothers before heading home?"

"Okay!" Ari jumped off the bed and ran to Adrienne.

"You know about this?" Kate asked Adrienne.

"Yep. So does Lucas." Adrienne said over her shoulder. They left.

Kate scoffed and turned to Gabi. "Unbelievable."

"Grandma, it's okay." Will said.

"Really? It's okay for Gabi to take your daughter away from you?" Kate asked.

"Kate, I would never do that." Gabi said. "Will and I are not married. We don't live together anymore."

"Why?" Kate demanded.

"Because Sonny and Will moved into Victor's house, and I do not want to live there because of Deimos." Gabi explained.

"I can get rid of Deimos." Kate said.

"Kate, you're not getting rid of anyone." Sonny spoke up. "Look, this is the best situation for all of us."

"How is Will practically never seeing his daughter the best situation?" Kate asked, folding her arms.

"I have her every other week, Grandma." Will said. "And I can see her whenever I want. She just can't come home with me when it's Gabi's week with Ari."

"And you're okay with that?" Kate asked.

"Well, it's better than every other weekend and holiday like you tried to do with Gabi." Will raised an eyebrow.

"Can you blame me after what she put you through?" Kate scoffed.

"Grandma, what is this animosity you have with Gabi?" Will asked, getting frustrated. "I've told you countless times, it was all Nick influencing Gabi! Since she's been released from prison, Gabi has been nothing but a good mother to Ari. In fact, I wish she were _my_ mother!" Gabi smiled, touched. "Honestly, Grandma, I think you just like controlling situations."

"Excuse me?"

"Now, why don't you put your controlling nature to good use, and control Andre into either turning himself in for the crimes he committed against my family, or to leave town and never come back?" Will asked. " _That_ would be great."

Kate scoffed and shook her head. "Okay, you know what? Fine. Don't come crawling to me when you find out you're wrong about this."

"I won't." Will smiled.

Kate shook her head again and turned to Gabi. "I'm keeping a close eye on you." With that, she left.

Gabi scoffed and turned to Will and Sonny. "Well, I guess I now know how you guys feel when it comes to Rafe."

Will chuckled softly. "They'll see in time how well we can get along. Ari's not gonna grow up like I did."

"Hear, hear." Gabi said.

XXX

Gabi, Will, and the twins were released from the hospital the next day. The next week and a half were hectic. They put the twins on a schedule, which made the two even more tired than they would be with only one baby. So, Will naps while Leon naps, and Sonny naps when DJ naps. They also hired Emma, Tate's nanny, to be the twins' nanny as well.

Will stretched and yawned as Sonny walked into their room. "Hey. Is Emma watching the boys?"

"Yep." Sonny sighed as he crawled into bed next to Will. "So, I was thinking..."

"Yes?" Will asked.

"Halloween's coming up." Sonny said. "I kinda want Ari to be a nun so she'll stand out against all the fairies and princesses."

Will laughed. "Oh, I know quite a few members of my family who would love that! My great-aunt Marie, Uncle Eric, Grandma Caroline, my mom..."

"Oh, yeah!" Sonny replied.

"And, actually, my great-aunt Colleen on my mom's side was a nun." Will remembered. "That is, until she found out she was pregnant with Santo DiMera's baby."

"Santo DiMera?" Sonny questioned.

"Stefano's father." Will explained. "It was an epic and tragic tale of heartbreak."

"Mm. I'll bet." Sonny snuggled under the covers and Will cuddled him for body heat. "You think we could talk Gabi into letting Ari be a nun for Halloween? You know...standing out against all the little girls who will be fairy princesses and Disney princesses?"

Will chuckled. "Hmm. You seem to have a need to stand out, my dear."

"What do you mean?" Sonny asked, innocently.

Will grinned. "Like that comic convention you and Paul went to when you two were still dating?"

Sonny groaned and fell back on his pillow. "He told you about that?!"

"Yep." Will nodded. "Something about you dressing as Viper and wearing too-short green tights?"

"They were the last ones in the store! A-and Viper wears green tights!" Sonny exclaimed defensively.

"Honey, I have two words for you: skinny jeans." Will laughed.

"It's not the same, though!"

"Okay, then how about leggings?" Will asked.

"I'm not sure they would fit." Sonny said.

"Hello, tall sizes!" Will exclaimed. "You call yourself a fashionista."

"I wasn't thinking..." Sonny shook his head. "Anyway, I got the green tank top and the gloves and the green wig. Everyone wanted to take my picture. And I did- you know, the crouch perfectly."

"Neeeerrrrrdddd!" Will cupped his hands to his mouth. He laughed at Sonny's impatient expression.

"Oh, like _you've_ never dressed as a fictional character before? A female one?" Sonny asked.

Will thought about that. "No. Although...did I ever tell you my mom had a temporary sex change?"

Sonny scoffed in disbelief. "What?"

"Yeah. She cut off all her hair, got a voice changer, and taped her boobs flat." Will explained. "All to prove that she didn't cheat on my dad. She called her male counterpart Stan."

"Why not Sam?" Sonny wondered.

Will shrugged. "I dunno. Anyway, that Halloween..." He sighed at that horrible memory. "Some of the guys at school dressed as Stan. It was humiliating."

"Wow. I'm sorry you had to go through that." Sonny said sympathetically.

"Thanks. I didn't speak to my mom for three months after that." Will cleared his throat and explained the whole Stan drama. Sonny was about to say something, but hesitated. "What?"

"It's just that...your mom pretending to be a man who ruined lives and almost got a few people killed sounds a lot stronger than her cheating on her husband or seeking revenge against Abigail for sleeping with her fiance." Sonny shrugged. "I dunno. I just thought that..."

Will exhaled sharply. "Mom being mean to Abigail was the straw that broke the camel's back."

Sonny nodded. "Our kids are lucky. We're not going to do anything like that, and Gabi would never do a thing like that."

Will nodded and cuddled up to Sonny. "I'm jealous. Sonny, I am jealous of a toddler and babies. What's wrong with me?"

Sonny laughed. "Well, you can be jealous of me. My parents were pretty good parents."

Will chuckled. "True. I'm glad your parents weren't crazy like my mom. I just hope Sami never hurts my sisters and brother or humiliates them like she did me."

"Considering you treat her like crap every time she does something bad, I'm sure she's learned her lesson by now." Sonny raised an eyebrow.

"Oh, come on. I wasn't _that_ bad." Will rolled his eyes.

"I guess that's true. You never hit her." Sonny raised an eyebrow. Will was quiet. "Will?" Will avoided Sonny's eyes. "William Robert Horton! You _did not_ hit your own mother!"

"I...may have shoved her. Once." Will admitted. "I felt bad about it afterwards."

Sonny scoffed. "I wouldn't be surprised if she slapped you after that."

"Well, she did slap me once, but it wasn't after I shoved her. I called her a slut."

Sonny scoffed again. "You know, I recall Chad telling me that you beat him up when he called your mom a slut."

"Exactly. No one treats my mom that way but me." Will declared. Sonny laughed softly. "So, has your mom ever slapped you?"

"No. She almost did when I stole Uncle Vic's limo when I only had my permit." Sonny replied. "She had her hand raised and she was angrier than I'd ever seen her. But, something pulled her back, and she ended up grounding me for a year and didn't speak to me for a week."

"What held her back?" Will wondered.

"Memories of her abusive father." Sonny said.

"She was that traumatized, huh?" Will replied.

"Yes. Possibly even more traumatized than _you_ were by Sami." Sonny smirked.

"Screw you." Will deadpanned.

Sonny laughed softly and decided to change the subject. "So, Uncle Vic is retiring."

"Wait, what? Really?" Will asked, shocked.

"Yep." Sonny nodded. "He's stepping away from Titan to spend more time with Maggie."

"Wow, I never thought I'd see the day." Will slowly shook his head.

"Me neither." Sonny replied.

"So, who's gonna take over Titan? Your dad?" Will asked.

Sonny shrugged. "Hopefully. Brady and Philip messed up one too many times and Deimos has no experience with the business."

Will nodded in agreement. "I think _you_ should run Titan."

"Me?" Sonny asked, surprised.

"Yeah. You did a pretty good job running Titan when Grandma was CEO." Will replied.

Sonny grinned. "Plus, you want all the advantages of being married to a CEO."

"I didn't say that." Will said with aloofness. He rolled on his back.

"But you were thinking it, weren't you?" Sonny teased. He started tickling Will's side. "Weren't you?"

Will shrieked with laughter. "Sonny! Stahahahop!"

"Only if you admit you're looking forward to the perks of being married to a CEO." Sonny replied. He tickled Will's neck and shoulders. Then moved his hands to tickle his sides and back. Will continued howling with laughter and tears started streaming. "Give up, Will?"

Will took a deep breath. "Never!"

"Okay, then." Sonny threw the covers off and tickled the back of Will's legs and grabbed his feet under his armpit.

"No!" Will cried. Sonny tickled his feet. "AAAH! HAHAHAHA! STOP! STOP! OKAY! I GIVE UP! I ADMIT IT!"

"Admit what?" Sonny asked.

Will gasped for breath. "I want all the advantages being married to a CEO."

Sonny grinned triumphantly and stopped tickling Will, who held his breath to get rid of hiccups and wiped tears from his eyes. "Sorry, I forgot how ticklish you are."

Will exhaled. "Yeah. The complete opposite of you."

"True." Sonny replied. He hugged Will. "I'm sorry, baby."

Will rolled his eyes. "Fine, I forgive you."

"Yay." Sonny replied. They both laughed and fell asleep.


	72. Halloween Confessions

Will lightly rocked Leon as he fed him. The schedule is working out great for them. He stood up and burped Leon as Sonny trudged into their bedroom and flopped on the bed face first. He gently laid Leon down in his crib and quietly left the room. He saw Philip stomping up the stairs. He met his eye and put his finger to his lips and pointed to the room. Philip sighed and quietly went into his room. Will walked into his own bedroom and quietly shut the door. He climbed onto his bed.

"Hey." Will rubbed Sonny's back gently. Sonny looked towards him. "I'm guessing by your expression that you are not Victor's successor or CEO of Titan."

"You guess correct." Sonny sighed.

"And I just saw Philip. He didn't look happy." Will said. "I'm guessing he's not CEO, either? Or Victor's successor?"

"Nope." Sonny shook his head.

"Okay, and you wouldn't be upset if your dad or Brady got the position, so..." Sonny sat up and looked at Will pointedly. "No."

Sonny nodded. "Yep."

"Are you _serious_ right now? _Deimos_ is Victor's successor and CEO of Titan?!" Will asked, aghast. Sonny nodded again. " _Why_?!"

Sonny exhaled sharply. "I dunno. I'm _really_ hoping this is all part of some elaborate scheme of my Uncle Vic's. Otherwise, he's gone senile."

Will chuckled. "Well...I certainly don't trust Deimos."

"I don't, either." Sonny shook his head. "Brady, Philip, and I are each running a division of Titan. Brady's heading up Titan TV, Philip has Mad World, and I am heading up Titan Publishing."

Will scoffed lightly. "Oh, so _now_ you head up TItan Publishing. Remember TruVista?"

"I try not to." Sonny chuckled. "Well, never you worry. There will be no trashy magazines at Titan, I can assure you."

"Good!" Will replied. "So, how big a tantrum did Uncle Phil throw when Victor made that announcement?"

"He ranted a bit, then stormed out of the room." Sonny replied. He was about to say something, then changed his mind. He leaned in close and whispered. "I get the feeling Deimos has a plan for all of us. He may have bugged each room."

"No, he didn't." Will shook his head. "I check every nook and cranny of this room every morning. Hi. Will Horton. Paranoid bastard."

Sonny stared at Will and smiled. "Will...you're pretty awesome." He grabbed his face. "Come here." They kissed passionately. "Mm." They pulled apart. "I'm sorry I ever complained about your paranoia."

"You're forgiven." Will smiled. "So, you think Deimos is up to no good?"

"I think that if we're not careful, we could end up in a Frank Lloyd Wright situation where Deimos would burn the house down with everyone inside." Sonny admitted.

"Well, we can't let on that we're suspicious- even for a second." Will advised. "Remember the old adage: 'Keep your friends close...'"

"'...and your enemies closer.'" They finished simultaneously.

"Right!" Will sat up. "Anyway, in case things go south, I have an escape plan."

Sonny raised an eyebrow. "Really?"

"Yep! And I have a backup plan, and a decoy plan just in case things get bloody and you need to save someone's life if Deimos threatens them." Will grinned. "The decoy plan is the Horton Cabin."

"Sounds good." Sonny nodded in approval. "What are the actual plans?"

"We escape through the passageway, cross a couple yards to another street and head for Chad's house. Plan B is to head to the hospital, which is the closest business from here." Will replied.

"Sounds like good plans." Sonny nodded. "Once my dad, Brady, and Philip are suspicious of Deimos as well, I'll relay those plans to them."

"Sounds good." Will nodded. His phone beeped. "Ooh! Gabi sent us a picture of Ari in her Halloween costume."

Sonny's face dropped a little. "Oh. Esmerelda from _The Hunchback of Notre Dame_?"

Will laughed. "No. She's a flamenco dancer. Gabi wanted Ari to get in touch with her Mexican roots."

"Oh." Sonny nodded. "Well, that would stand out too, I guess."

"Awww. Are you disappointed?" Will asked, teasingly.

Sonny laughed. "A little. Maybe next year, she'll be a nun."

"That's the spirit." Will chuckled, then sighed. "Like father, like daughter. Getting in touch with our salt of the earth roots."

"So you're still planning on going as Lucky the Leprechaun?" Sonny asked.

"Yep!" Will grinned.

XXX

The next morning was Ari's Preschool Halloween program. There were only 5 girls and 10 boys in her class, and none of them were dressed as princesses.

"Daddy! I thought you said everyone would be dressed as princesses!" Ari exclaimed, a little miffed.

"I'm sorry, sweetheart. I was wrong." Sonny replied.

Ari sulked until they sang Halloween songs and acted out some Halloween stories. Then, she ignored Sonny for the rest of the day.

XXX

Will headed to the Halloween party in the square dressed as Lucky the Leprechaun. Emma was watching the boys, Ari was with Gabi, and Sonny was at work. There was also a fundraiser set up in Abigail's name for research for aplastic anema, which Abigail had when she was a baby. Will donated some money from himself and Sonny, and from Caroline.

"There he is! Lucky the Leprechaun!" Will turned to see Doug and Julie heading towards him. "Oh, hey, guys! Love your costumes."

"Oh, thank you, Will." Julie said.

"So, what are you guys supposed to be? A Sultan and Sultana?" Will asked.

Julie laughed. "No. Maharaja and Maharani."

"Oh." Will nodded. "So, I donated money for the aplastic anema research. Grandma Caroline isn't feeling well, so she gave me some of her money to donate."

"Oh, that's nice." Doug replied. He glanced towards the makeshift stage and podium. "Oh- time for the Deputy Mayor's speech."

Everyone gathered around to hear the Deputy Mayor honor Hope with an award for her services. All of a sudden, a recording of Hope saying "I killed Stefano" came over the loudspeakers. Hope, Rafe, and Roman looked around in horror; and everyone else stared in shock. Chad, Gabi, and Ari came in just a minute later. Will was stunned.

Andre stood to the side, grinning triumphantly, holding a tape. Rafe fumed, marched over to him, grabbed the recording, and tossed it aside. He started strangling Andre, but Roman held him back.

"Smart move, Commissioner. Police brutality just might invalidate our hero's commendation he just received." Andre said.

"What sick game are you playing now, Andre?" Roman asked.

"The game is over." Andre said simply. "Premeditated murder is a very serious crime. Especially when it's against one of Salem's finest. But, I'm sure that you and the rest of the police in your force will make sure that this crime doesn't go unpunished." He walked to the middle of the crowd. "And to believe that my father was considered to be Salem's most despicable villains."

Justin, Adrienne, and Lucas joined the scene. Lucas looked around and saw Will. "Hey, what's going on?"

"Uh, Andre played a tape recording of Hope saying she killed Stefano." Will answered.

"No. She wouldn't. She's not capable!" Lucas exclaimed. They turned to Hope, who was begging Julie and Doug to get Ciara out of there. Doug and Julie managed to drag Ciara off.

"I hope you're taking her downtown." Andre said loudly. "'Cause anywhere else would be obstruction of justice."

Justin jumped into lawyer mode. "You'd know all about that, wouldn't you, Andre?"

"Who helped you doctor that recording?" Lucas demanded.

Andre turned to them. "I didn't need help."

"You expect us to believe that Hope freely confessed to murder?" Adrienne asked.

"Why not?" Andre asked.

"It's gotta be a hoax." Lucas said. "There's already a man in prison who admitted to shooting your father."

"Yes, an innocent man who's about to be set free." Andre explained.

"After everything you've done to help put Clyde Weston behind bars- we all thought you turned a corner." Adrienne said. "We all thought that you'd made the decision to be a better man."

"Too much to expect from a DiMera, obviously." Justin said simply.

Andre grinned and turned to Will. "Ah, just think. If you would have killed Hope when I asked you to, this whole charade could have been avoided."

Lucas yanked out his fake sword and held it under Andre's chin. "I will use this."

Andre grinned, grabbed the sword, and bent it. "Really, Lucas?"

"Okay, Lucas, let's just go." Adrienne grabbed Lucas' arm.

"Actually, Andre, if your dad hadn't terrorized and tormented everyone in town, none of this would have happened." Will replied. "Just saying." He walked away. He received a text from Gabi telling him to meet her and Chad in the private area of the square. Will headed there just as Chad and Gabi were talking about the recording.

"...I mean, is someone playing a joke on me?" Chad asked.

"I know. I don't know what's happening and I can't understand it," Gabi replied. "but I do know that you're shaken up, and I'm sorry."

"No, I mean, he was my father, and my brother Andre..." Chad sighed, and turned to Ari. "I'm sorry, sweetie." Then turned back to Gabi and Will, who joined them. "My brother Andre, he told me that Hope killed our father months ago, but I didn't believe him. Because, why? Because my brother Andre- he's crazy. And I thought 'Hope is not the kind of person that would do something like that, but if she was, how is she gonna walk around living her life when she took away somebody else's?'"

"I'm sorry." Gabi said. "I'm sorry that you're going through this. Can I help you? Is there anything that I can help you with?"

Chad sighed and rubbed his eyes. "I'm sorry. I appreciate your concern. Um..."

"Listen, you don't have to be Mr. Cool and Controlled with me." Gabi said. "Okay? Especially with stuff like this. Hearing what Hope said, it shook a lot of people, but this is your father we're talking about. Of course it's gonna upset you. Terribly upset. You're gonna be very angry."

Chad took a deep breath. "Listen, um...will you please take Thomas home? I need to find some answers."

"O-okay." Gabi and Will watched Chad storm off. She sighed and turned to Will. "Well, that went well."

"Yeah..." Will sighed. "You know, Andre told me that Hope killed Stefano, too. I didn't believe him, either. I mean...it's just so...out of character, you know?"

Gabi nodded. "You know, I can just hear my mother now: 'I just knew that Hope woman wasn't good enough for my son!'"

"Adriana doesn't like Hope?" Will asked, surprised. "Well, she hasn't met my mom, so..."

"That's what I told her." Gabi shrugged. "Speaking of, good luck telling Sami. I bet this will be a nasty argument between her and EJ."

Will groaned and threw back her head. "Well, she's gonna find out, anyway."

"Mommy, when are we going trick or treating?" Ari whined.

"Very soon, mama." Gabi knelt next to Ari. "Actually, Mommy has to go take care of your cousin Thomas, so, Da is taking you trick or treating."

Da is what Irish children called their fathers. Will decided to "train" Ari to call him "Da" and Sonny "Daddy". The boys will hopefully follow her example when they're old enough.

"Okay." Ari said.

"All right. Be good. And eat only one piece of candy." Gabi said. Will caught Ari's eye and winked behind Gabi's back. Ari giggled and Gabi whirled around and glared at Will, sternly. She stood up and pointed a finger at him. "If she gets a cavity at her next dentist appointment, you are paying for it."

Will raised his hands in surrender. "Okay, okay. Fair enough. Ready, Ari?"

"Yeah!" Ari exclaimed.

"Ha-ha! All right. Come on." Will took Ari's hand and they walked off.

Will drove to a few neighborhoods. He decided against going to Jennifer's house, since they would be a little busy. They went to Kayla and Steve's house, but no one was home. They then went to their neighborhood. Most of the neighbors gave out full-sized candy bars, gum packs, and even money!

XX

Sonny heard the doorbell ring and headed towards the door.

"Trick or treat!" He heard Ari yell through the door.

Sonny grabbed the candy bucket and opened the door. "Hey! Wow, great costume, Ari!" He put some candy in her Halloween bucket. He stood up and kissed Will. "Hey, honey. How was the party?"

"It was good." Will replied.

"Aunt Hope killed Stefano." Ari announced.

Sonny stared at Will in bewilderment. Will shook his head and turned to Ari. "Hey, sweetheart, why don't you go through your candy and get rid of the candy you don't want?"

"Okay!" Ari and Will walked into the living room where Maggie and Theresa were hanging out. Theresa was dressed as Lilo from Lilo and Stitch.

Will smirked. "Aloha, cousin."

Theresa laughed. "Hey, Will, Ari."

"So, who was Stitch?" Will asked.

"Tate." Theresa replied.

"Look how much candy I got!" Ari exclaimed, putting her bucket on the coffee table.

Maggie gasped. "Wow! That's a lot!"

"Yeah. Hey, do me a favor, make sure she doesn't eat more than one piece of candy." Will said to Maggie. "I'll be right back."

"Okay."

Will met Sonny in the foyer. "Boy do I have lots to tell you."

"About what?" Sonny asked.

"Andre played a tape of Hope saying 'I killed Stefano' on repeat." Will announced.

"What?!" Sonny asked, shocked. "No...would she?"

"Apparently. I mean...when I...when Andre told me to kill her, I told her that Andre thought she killed Stefano. She didn't deny it, but she didn't confirm it, either." Will replied.

Sonny exhaled slowly. "Wow. Does Chad...?"

"Yeah. He arrived just as the tape played." Will replied. "He's still trying to process it."

"Did you tell your mom?"

"Not yet." Will replied. "She and EJ and the kids are so happy right now. I don't wanna rock the boat."

"They'll find out eventually." Sonny shrugged.

"True." Will paused. "You know, she did it because she thought Stefano was responsible for what happened to Bo."

"I know."

"And...I was wondering..." Will folded his arms. "If Ben had succeeded in killing me...would you go after him, seeking revenge?"

Sonny sighed. "Well, I'd probably consider doing that, but...it wouldn't bring you back and...I would end up regretting it for the rest of my life."

Will nodded. "Good point."

"Well, this has been some Halloween, huh?" Sonny asked, trying to lighten up the moment.

Will chuckled. "Yeah."


	73. Out of the Fire and Into the Fire Again

After putting Ari to bed, Sonny and Will headed back downstairs to the living room. No one else was home, so Sonny is on candy duty. The doorbell rang.

"Trick or Treat!" Some kids sang from the doorstep.

Sonny grabbed the cauldron of candy and opened the door. He gasped lightly. "Wow! Look who we have here! All right, one for Batman, one for the ninja, one for the angel, and Captain America? Two for you, my friend."

"Thank you!" The kids said simultaneously, then ran off.

"Happy Halloween! Watch out for the goblins at the front gate!" Sonny smiled, and the kids laughed. He walked back into the foyer and his phone buzzed with a text message from Paul.

_"Hey, Derrick and I are going to The Spot- you and Will wanna join?"_

"Oh- Derrick and Paul are inviting us to go to the Spot. Wanna go?" Sonny asked Will.

Will thought for a minute. "No, I'm all partied out."

"Oh, okay." Sonny replied. The doorbell rang again.

Will headed to the living room. "I'll turn the game on!"

A few minutes later, Sonny returned to the living room and sat on the couch and sighed. "So, we've become that couple, huh? The couple that stays home on Halloween?"

Will laughed weakly. "Maybe next year...if none of my cousins murder anyone by then." They both chuckled. The doorbell rang again.

Sonny grabbed the cauldron and opened the door to Derrick and Paul. "Oh, hey, sorry. I meant to text you back..."

"That's okay. We got sidetracked, anyway." Derrick replied, glancing at Paul.

"We need your help." Paul said.

"What's up?" Sonny asked. Will walked into the foyer.

Paul walked into the foyer, as well. "Uh, you know anyone working at the Kiriakis warehouse on the pier tonight?"

"Um..." Sonny closed the door and put the cauldron back on the table. "Yeah."

"I know technically they aren't supposed to be there this time of night," Paul said. "they can only be handling goods or services that aren't, uh- you know what, never mind. I don't care about that stuff. Can you ask someone if they've seen anything strange around Warehouse 67?"

"Why?" Sonny asked.

"Orpheus is alive and he's got Marlena and Kayla." Paul explained.

"What?!" Will exclaimed, horrified.

"Wow, this isn't a good night for you, is it?" Sonny asked Will as he pulled out his cell phone. "I'll make some calls. Excuse me."

"Why isn't this a good night for you?" Paul asked Will.

Will sighed heavily. "At the party in the square, Andre played a recording of my Aunt Hope admitting to killing Stefano."

Paul nodded, surprised. "Yikes."

"Yeah."

"Okay, I just talked to the dock foreman, and he did see something strange a few hours ago by the old office. But he thought it was just Halloween." Sonny announced.

"Did he see Marlena or Dr. Brady?" Paul asked.

"No people. That's why-"

"Well, what was it?" Paul interrupted.

"He saw a truck pull up to Warehouse 67 and unload two coffins." Sonny replied.

Panic rose inside Paul. "Coffins..."

"Like you said, it's Halloween. Maybe they're just party decorations." Derrick supplied.

Will refrained from slapping his forehead and made a mental note not to include Derrick on any mystery solving adventures.

"Warehouse 67 has been boarded up for years." Sonny explained. "Titan hadn't used it in over a decade."

"This doesn't feel right." Paul said. He turned around and called John. "It looks like your lead could be right. ... Someone said they saw two coffins being delivered to Warehouse 67 a few hours ago. Now, do you want me to go check it out? ... At Sonny's house. ... Okay, Dad, but if you need backup- ... Okay, bye." He sighed and started pacing. Will sat on the couch and put his head in his hands.

"John will call." Sonny assured Paul.

"Yeah, yeah." Paul said, hiding his worry.

"So, what are you guys doing holed up here all night?" Derrick asked, changing the subject.

"Well, after what happened to my aunt, I wasn't really in a party mood." Will explained. "And after hearing about Aunt Kayla and Grandma, I'm _definitely_ not in a party mood."

"And plus, there's a great game on." Sonny jumped in, smiling.

"It's the Bears. How great could it be?" Derrick grinned.

"That's cold. It's a great game. They tied at halftime." Sonny replied.

"Just DVR it." Derrick suggested. "Paul, you with me?"

"I'm kind of on pins and needles here." Paul replied.

"Yeah, I really don't-"

"Uh-uh, guys...I'm not taking no for an answer." Derrick said simply. They all glared at him. "Oh, come on!"

"Maybe next time." Sonny said.

Derrick sighed and sat on the couch. "All right. You said you have a game on, right?"

"Yep!" Sonny replied. "Anyone want beer?"

"I could use one." Paul replied.

"Me, too." Derrick said.

"All righty. Coming up." Sonny left for the kitchen.

John finally called Paul. "Okay, got the all-clear. Marlena and Kayla are fine. Orpheus was shot, and...looks like our info paid off."

Will breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank God."

"Oh, no, that's offsides. Come on!" Derrick stood up and yells at the TV. Paul just shook his head. "Hey, so can we go out as soon as Sonny finds his costume?"

"I apologize in advance, by the way." Will said. "I tried to talk him out of it, but..."

Sonny walked in wearing his old Viper costume. Paul gasped. "Oh, no. That is not the same costume from that comic convention!"

"Hey, do you think I'd get rid of something this fine?" Sonny asked, defensively. "It is a little tight, though."

"Did you fix the last rip?" Paul asked.

"I did. No more superhero poses." Sonny said, smiling. He caught sight of the TV. "Oh, fumble."

Derrick stood up. "Yes, yes. But Bears' ball on the 7..."

"I told you this was a great game." Sonny said.

"And hey, don't let them diss your costume, man, I think it looks hot." Derrick said.

"Yeah, I mean maybe five years ago." Sonny shrugged.

Will chuckled. "Five years?"

"Was it more?" He asked.

"Does it matter? You still look hot." Will said. He stood up and kissed Sonny. "Oh, they're running it in."

"Oh. Go, go, go, go!" Sonny yelled at the TV.

"Touchdown!" Derrick exclaimed. The four men jumped up and down, cheering...until Sonny's tight ripped again.

Sonny blushed as Paul and Derrick held back laughter. "Well, I think-I think we should stay in for the evening."

"Good thing you have the cape." Will remarked.

"Well, here's to Dad and Marlena," Paul raised his beer bottle, and his friends followed. "To..."

"Us." Derrick spoke up.

"Us." Sonny said. They clinked bottles and sat down on the couch.

XXX

The next morning, Will and Sonny headed to the newly reopened St. Luke's church. Several people were already there- Victor, Maggie, Brady, Nicole, and Paul to name a few. They headed to the sepulchre. Will lit a match and chuckled humorlessly.

"What?" Sonny asked.

"It just feels a little tactless to light a candle for someone who almost got burned to death." Will replied.

"Well, it's symbolic, so I'm sure they'll understand." Sonny replied, smiling.

Will nodded. "Yeah, that's true." They noticed Theresa rushing through and out of the chapel, looking frazzeled. "What's up with Theresa?"

"Hmm. No idea." Sonny replied.

XXX

"All right, ready, Ari?" 

"Ready!" Ari exclaimed excitedly. She was dressed in jeans, a sweater, and a jacket; and her hair was pulled into a high ponytail. She and her dads were all outside. All the leaves have fallen from the trees in the backyard. The gardener raked the leaves into a huge pile for Ari to play in. Ari squealed and jumped into the pile of leaves, then burst out, laughing adn throwing leaves around.

Will joined in and threw leaves over Ari's head. "Whee!" Ari laughed, gleefully and danced around, catching the leaves. Sonny smiled and filmed the whole thing. Will noticed, grinned, then whispered something to Ari. 

Sonny noticed. "Uh-oh. What are you guys planning?" He asked with a note of teasing in his voice. Will and Ari gathered up a bunch of leaves and started towards Sonny, whose eyes widened in horror. "Wait...can we talk about this?" 

"Get him!" Will exclaimed. They all yelled out as Will and Ari threw the leaves at Sonny, who ran and fell into the pile of leaves. "Oh! You okay, babe?" 

Sonny smirked, gathered up some leaves and threw them at Will. Ari ran behind Will. Sonny laughed. "I am now!" 

Will chuckled. "You're sleeping on the couch tonight." 

"Oh, am I?" Sonny made a puppy dog face and whimpered. 

Will groaned loudly. "Fine! You're forgiven." 

Sonny giggled, wrapped his arms around Will's neck and kissed him. 

"Can the boys play with us?" Ari asked. 

"Oh, no, sweetheart, they're too little." Will said. "When they get a little older, we'll play in the leaves with them."

"Okay!" Ari said, smiling. 

"All right, let's go inside and have some hot chocolate." Will said, brushing leaves out of Ari's hair. 

"Can we have ice cream?" Ari asked. 

Will laughed softly. "Sure, sweetheart." 

XXX

Later that afternoon, Sonny took the twins out for a walk. They stopped in the park by Horton Town Square. Sonny sighed as he sat down on a bench and turned the carriage towards him. The boys were babbling and moving around. "Hey, buddies. How bout we call it a day. Did you enjoy the park? Huh?" He rubbed their tummies. "I did, too. It's so beautiful today." The boys yawned sleepily. "Aww. You ready for your nap? All right, let's go." He stood up, and started pushing the carriage.

"Excuse me!" Sonny turned around to see a man wearing a jacket, a baseball cap, and a backpack slung over one shoulder heading towards him. "Uh, sorry to bother you, but I'm a little lost." 

"Oh. It's okay." Sonny replied. 

"See, I'm trying to find-" His backpack fell off his shoulder, and the zipper came loose. Books and papers fell out. "Oops. Dammit, I'm such a klutz." He bent down to gather his stuff. 

Sonny bent down to help. "It's okay. It happens to everybody."

Behind Sonny's back, someone sneaked up and quietly pulled, then pushed the carriage away. 

"Thank you for your help." The man said, standing up. 

"You're welcome. Now, did you need directions, or...?" Sonny asked. 

"Yeah. I'm looking for Brady's Pub." The man replied. 

"Oh. Well, you head straight behind you, cut through Horton Town Square, and it's right next door." Sonny replied. 

"Thanks!" The man walked off. 

"You're welcome!" Sonny replied. "All right, boys, lets-" He turned around to see the carriage missing. "Boys?" Panic slowly began to rise inside him. He ran through the park and made it to the parking lot. He saw the carriage in a parking space, then saw a car speed away. Sonny ran after it, helplessly. He took deep breaths and called 911. "This is Sonny Kiriakis. My sons have been kidnapped!"


	74. An Emergency Situation

Will sped to the park. When he got there, there were two police cars. Sonny was talking to Rafe. Will headed to his husband. "Sonny."

Sonny hugged his husband and started crying. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

Will exhaled slowly, pulled away, and cupped Sonny's face in his hands. "What happened?"

Sonny sniffed and wiped away tears. "I was with the boys...someone came up to me and asked for directions to the Pub. After he left, I turned around, and they were gone."

"How the hell could you be so careless?! You couldn't have one hand on the stroller?!" Will asked, infuriated.

"I'm sorry! I just...I wasn't...!" Sonny exhaled sharply and rubbed his eyes. "I have no excuse."

Will just shook his head and turned away from Sonny. He addressed Rafe. "Do we have any leads yet?"

"Sonny told us that he saw a car drive away quickly from the parking lot not long after the boys were taken." Rafe replied. "Black sedan, no plates. We're looking at satelite photos and we put up an AMBER Alert." Will swallowed and nodded. "Will, is there anyone you can think of that would kidnap your sons?"

Will took a deep breath and rubbed his eyes. "I'd say Andre, but I think he's a little preoccupied at the moment."

"Okay, well, we'll look into Andre, anyway." Rafe nodded. "Anyone else?"

"Deimos." Sonny said simply.

"Because you think he kidnapped them to get back at you for something, or because you don't like him?" Rafe asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Because he doesn't like him." Will said simply. Sonny side-glared at him.

Rafe chuckled softly. "Okay, we'll look into him as well. In the meantime, go home. Once there's a ransom call, please call me so I can trace it."

"Okay. Thanks."

"All right. Don't worry- we'll find them." Rafe replied, then left.

Sonny turned to Will. "Will-"

"Don't even _look_ at me." Will said, still upset. He stormed to his car, got in, and drove off.

XXX

"Are you sure it's not just Theresa's time of the month?"

Brady and Philip sat in the living room of the mansion drinking soda. Brady shook his head. "No, man, this is something else. I just can't figure out what it is."

"You know, if you're that concerned, then why don't you ask?"

"She won't give me a straight answer!" Brady exclaimed. He sighed. "What about you? How are things with Chloe?"

Philip scoffed and shook his head. "Things are fine, actually. Except for the part where I wasn't as supportive as I should have been."

"Ah, she'll forgive you if you apologize. She's like that." Brady shrugged.

Philip smiled and nodded. "Yeah, I guess you're right."

Deimos walked into the room and headed for the liquor cart. "Gentlemen."

"Aaand that's my cue." Philip stood up to leave.

"Really? That's how you're gonna be now?" Deimos asked.

Philip turned to glare at his uncle. "You took everything from me."

"I didn't take your home. Or your dignity, apparently." Deimos said.

"All right, break it up, you two." Justin said as he walked in. "We have an emergency."

"What now?" Philip asked.

"DJ and Leon have been kidnapped." Justin announced.

Everyone looked at Deimos, who looked confused. "Why are you all looking at me?"

Sonny walked into the room, glaring at Deimos. "Where are they, Deimos?"

"Not for nothing, Sonny, but the last time you accused me of kidnapping, I actually did not do it, so..." Deimos replied.

"Just because you are innocent of one crime, doesn't mean you're innocent every time." Sonny said, advancing towards him.

Deimos exhaled sharply. "Okay, you know what? I have had it with you. Ever since I came to town, you've shown me nothing but suspicion and resentment, and you know what? I'm sick of it. You are living in _my_ house, and I am your great-uncle. As long as you live here, you will show me respect!"

"Unless you tell me where you are holding my sons, the only respect you'll get is respect for the dead." Sonny threatened.

XXX

Will sat on his bed and rubbed his eyes. This cannot be happening! Who would kidnap his sons? Will's phone rang. "Hello?"

"Hello, Will." Will froze as he recognized Matt's voice. "It's a shame what happened to your babies. You know, you should really keep a closer eye on them."

Will was surprised. "How-how did you know...?"

"I'll give you a hint. Remember when you stole my article and rewrote it?" Matt asked. Will's heart thudded. "Remember when I said you will pay?"

Will glared at the wall. "You son of a bitch. You kidnapped them."

Matt laughed. "That's right! You took everything from me. I'm returning the favor."

Will swallowed. "Look, Matt...your issue is with me. Please...leave my sons out of it. Take me instead."

"Sacrificing yourself for your sons. That's so sweet! And so predictable." Matt said sarcastically. "But you're too late. You'll never see them again."

"You-!" Will sighed angrily as Matt hung up. He suppressed sobs.

XXX

Deimos glared at Sonny. "I. Did. Not. Kidnap. Your. Sons!"

Brady stood up and put his hands on Sonny's shoulders to calm him. "Sonny, Sonny, listen to me. I know what you're going through. Blaming Deimos isn't gonna help anything."

"Brady, after everything he's done, how can I _not_ think Deimos kidnapped my babies?" Sonny asked.

"We don't have any evidence that he did." Brady replied.

"You're _defending_ him?!"

"No, I'm just stating a fact." Brady replied.

Will slowly walked into the room, clutching his cell phone. "Sonny...it wasn't Deimos."

Sonny turned to Will. "What?"

Will swallowed. "It was Matt Stevenson. He called me and...he admitted to kidnapping our babies."

Everyone stared at Will. "What does he want?"

"Me to suffer." Will replied. He cleared his throat. "I ruined his life by stealing his article and rewriting it." Sonny was stunned and furious at Will. He slowly walked towards him. "Sonny, I'm so-" Sonny slapped Will across the face. Will rubbed his cheek and turned back to Sonny, shocked. Sonny looked shocked as well, and slightly guilty. "I guess I deserved that."

"No. No, you didn't. Will, I'm so sorry." Sonny said sincerely.

Will took a deep breath. "I'm sorry, too. If I had predicted this, I never would have stolen that article." He suppressed sobs.

Sonny pulled him into a hug. "It's okay. It's gonna be okay. We'll find them."

XXX

Adrienne and Lucas rushed over as soon as they heard the news. Adrienne hugged Sonny.

"What happened?" Adrienne asked.

Sonny took a deep breath. "The twins have been kidnapped."

"When?" Adrienne asked.

"A few hours ago." Sonny sniffed. "It's all my fault."

"Oh, baby..."

"I was distracted, and I let go of the stroller." Sonny muffled his sobs. Adrienne pulled him into a hug.

XXX

Will called John and Paul to update them. They went right to work. A few hours later, Paul came to the mansion.

"So, I managed to trace Matt's whereabouts, and um...it's not good."

"What do you mean?" Asked Will.

Paul swallowed. "I think...and my dad agrees...that the twins are being sold on the black market."

Will and Sonny looked at Paul, then each other in horror.


	75. Black Market

Will nearly collapsed in Sonny's arms. "Oh my God."

"We are doing everything we can to track them all down." Paul assured them. "They left for the airport two hours ago. I already alerted airport security. They're gonna call back soon."

Will sighed as Sonny held him. "You know, it's not too late. We can find a couple to adopt the twins, then they'll give them back to us!"

"Okay, that's a good idea." Sonny replied, nodding. "Let's call JJ and Gabi."

"Gabi's a convicted murderer. No adoption agency is gonna let her adopt anyone." Paul replied.

"Okay. Brady and Theresa?" Will suggested.

"Theresa's going through some stuff right now." Sonny replied.

Will sighed in irritation. "Philip and Chloe?"

"Chloe is MIA."

"Claire and Theo?"

"They are not gonna let two college freshman adopt two babies."

"Nicole and Dei-"

"No." Sonny said simply.

"Fine." Will replied, then turned to Paul. "How about you and Derrick?"

"We could try, but, depending on what country they're sent to, we might not be allowed to." Paul replied.

"It's worth a shot." Will said simply. "If all else fails, there's always Dad and Adrienne."

"Didn't your dad kill someone when you were little?" Sonny asked.

"Yes, but it was self-defense. The guy was about to shish-kebob my grandma." Will replied. Sonny and Paul looked at him, surprised. "Long story."

"All right, I'll call Derrick." Paul said. He pulled out his cell phone and walked away.

Victor walked down the stairs. "Any news?"

"The boys are being sold on the black market." Sonny announced.

"What?!" Victor exclaimed.

"It's all my fault." Will sniffed. "I stole Matt's article about the New Year's Eve accident and rewrote it."

Victor gasped, then was furious. "Why, you big fraud! You-you-you four-flusher! I am fed up!"

"Uncle Vic, calm down." Sonny said, raising his hands.

"Okay, Derrick's on board. He's on his way over now." Paul announced.

"On board with what? What are you planning?" Victor asked.

"Paul and Derrick are going to pose as a married couple and adopt our boys, then give them back to us." Sonny explained.

"Sounds like a good plan." Victor replied. "I'll have someone fake a marriage license. I'm gonna need full names and ages."

"Paul Hiro Narita, Derrick- D-E-R-R-I-C-K- Rutherford." Paul answered. "I'm 26 and Derrick is 25."

"All right. You'll also need rings." Victor said.

Sonny and Will looked at each other, nodded, and took off their rings. Sonny gave his to Paul. The doorbell rang, and Victor walked over to open the door. "Derrick, right?"

"Yep." Derrick walked inside.

"All right, we're all set. Victor's gonna make a fake marriage license." Paul replied. He gave Derrick Will's ring.

Derrick slipped the ring on his finger. "Perfect."

Paul's phone rang. "Hello? ... Yes. ... What?! Where?! ..." Paul sighed and rubbed his eyes. "Okay, thanks. ... All right, stand by." He hung up and turned to the group. "Okay, I've got good news and bad news. Which do you wanna hear first?"

"Good news." Will answered.

"Okay, good news is we know where they're heading." Paul replied. "Bad news, they seperated the twins and they're going to different countries."

Sonny sighed in frustration. "Great."

"One of them is going to London, and the other is going to Sydney." Paul replied. He got a text, then sighed. "Just got an update. The one who went to London is DJ, and he's already been adopted."

"Wow, that was fast." Victor replied. "Did you get a name?"

Paul shook his head. "But, I do know that they are an American couple living in London with Visas."

"We need to find out who that is." Sonny said.

XXX

Max Brady walked into his house, smiling. "Chels? I'm home!"

"Hey." Chelsea Brady walked into the living room carrying their newly adopted son. A few years prior, they got married. Because of a surgery a few years ago, Chelsea is not able to bear children. They've been on the adoption waiting list for the past two years, and they finally adopted a baby boy originally from the United States.

Max beamed and leaned down. "Hi, buddy." He looked at Chelsea. "Have you decided on a name?"

"Yeah. I thought I'd name him after my dad." Chelsea replied. "Beaugard Isaac Brady. I thought it'd be a good way to honor him."

"It is." Max agreed.

Chelsea put the baby down in a bassinet and sighed. "I can't believe this all happened so fast. Usually adoptions take time."

"Mm-hmm." Max replied. His phone buzzed. "Oh. It's Roman. Oh, God..."

"What's wrong?"

"Will and Sonny's twins have been kidnapped and sold on the black market." Max replied.

"Oh my God." Chelsea huffed.

"Yeah. There's an AMER Alert and everything." Max said. "I think I have thier picture on my phone. Hang on." He found the photo and showed Chelsea.

Chelsea's eyes widened when she saw the photo. One of the boys looks a lot like the baby they adopted. She rushed over to the bassinet and held the photo next to the baby. The baby she adopted is one of Will and Sonny's twins. She swallowed and blinked away tears. "Call them."

"Chels?" Max asked, concerned.

"Call Will and Sonny." Chelsea said. She turned around and fought back tears. After years of waiting to adopt a baby, she ends up adopting her cousins' baby, who was sold on the black market.

"Hi, Will, it's Uncle Max. ... I know, I heard about that. Um, I don't quite know how to put this, but, your aunt and I accidentally adopted your son."

XXX

Back in Salem, Will hung up and turned to Sonny. "That was my Uncle Max. He and Chelsea adopted DJ."

Sonny exhaled sharply and laughed with relief. "They're gonna give him back, right?"

"They are." Will replied. "They're cancelling the adoption as we speak. We just need to be in London by morning."

"Oh, Will." They hugged and cried softly. "Now we just need to track down Leon."

XXX

The next morning, Will and Sonny arrived in London and headed straight to Max and Chelsea's house. Max let them in. Chelsea brought DJ out into the foyer. Laughing and crying with relief, Will picked DJ up and hugged and kissed him.

"Oh, my baby. Are you okay?" Will sniffed. "Oh."

Sonny hugged his cousin tight. "Thank you."

"You're welcome." Chelsea replied.

Will handed DJ to Sonny, who hugged him close. "I'm so sorry. I'll never let anything happen to you again. I promise."

Will hugged his uncle. "Thank you, Uncle Max."

"You're welcome." Max replied.

Will then hugged Chelsea. "As for you...I take back everything I ever said about you."

"Aww." Chelsea chuckled, then sobered. "Wait, what?"

"So have you guys tracked down your other baby? Leon, was it?" Max asked.

"Yeah. Paul and his...sort of boyfriend are heading to Sydney as we speak." Will replied. "They're posing as a married couple looking to adopt."

"Well, I hope it works." Max replied.

"Thanks. Us, too."

XX

After Will and Sonny left with DJ, Max sighed and hugged and kissed Chelsea. "I'm proud of you. You did the right thing."

Chelsea nodded and swallowed. "Yeah."

XXX

Sami Brady DiMera walked through the Sydney airport. She was heading home from a business trip, which was a small blessing to her. She and EJ had a fight after they found out Hope had killed his father. Guess whose side Sami was on?

Sami sat on a chair at her gate and sighed as she pulled out her cell phone. She had a few missed calls from EJ and the kids and a missed text from Will. Will texted her about the twins' kidnapping and being sold on the black market. "Oh my God." She texted Will back.

_"Sorry I haven't responded. I've been travelling for work. What happened, exactly? Who did it?"_

It took a minute for Will to respond. _"Matt Stevenson, the guy whose article I stole from and rewrote. He had someone distract Sonny while he was with the boys, and took their stroller. Paul managed to track them down, and found out that they sent DJ to London and Leon to Sydney. We found DJ (Chelsea and Uncle Max accidentally adopted him. Isn't that funny? They cancelled the adoption), and Paul and his sort of boyfriend are posing as a married couple and heading to Sydney as we speak."_

_"Well, I'm glad it was Max and Chelsea who adopted him and that they gave him back to you."_

_"Me, too."_

Someone set a baby in a carseat on the chair next to Sami. "Excuse me. What's your name?"

"Um, Sami. Why?" Sami asked.

"Would you mind watching my baby for a few minutes? I just need to use the little boys' room." The man said.

"Sure." Sami nodded.

"Thank you." The man leaned down to the baby. "Hey, buddy. Daddy will be right back. This nice woman is gonna keep an eye on you." He stood up and walked away.

Sami leaned over. "Hi, sweetheart. Hi. My name is Sami. What's yours?" The baby babbled and smiled up at Sami. "Hmm. You know, you look just like my grandson. A lot like my grandson, actually." She pulled out her phone and pulled up a photo of the twins. Her eyes widened as she saw that the baby in front of her is the same one in the photo. She exhaled sharply. "What luck." Sami texted Will.

_"Will, Leon's kidnapper just put him down next to me. I'm at the Syndey airport. He left the baby with me to watch while he goes to the bathroom."_

_"Wow. We're just having a lot of good luck today, aren't we?"_ Will replied. _"Okay, don't do anything. Paul and Derrick are on their way. We don't want to tip the kidnapper off."_

Sami exhaled sharply. _"Fine. Can I at least make sure he gives the baby to Paul and Derrick?"_

_"Sure. Just don't get caught."_

_"I won't."_

The man came back. "Hey, thanks again."

"You're welcome, um...?" Sami said. "I didn't get your name."

"Oh. Call me Bob." The man replied.

"Okay, Bob. What's your son's name?" Sami asked.

"Oh, this isn't my son, actually." Bob replied. "I'm an adoption agent. I'm delivering him to his adopted parents. A nice, young couple."

"Oh." Sami nodded. "Well, good luck."

"Thanks. Nice meeting you." Bob left.

"You, too." Sami replied. She waited until Bob was halfway down the hallway before getting up and following him. She followed him all the way to the other terminal. He looked behind him once, but Sami hid behind a wall to avoid being seen.

XX

"Do you think this will work?"

Derrick and Paul stepped out into the terminal.

"It has to." Paul replied. "I can't believe our luck. I mean, this all seems a bit too easy."

"Yeah...or this Matt guy sucks at revenge-kidnapping plots." Derrick pointed out.

Paul laughed. "Yeah, that, too."

They saw a man with a carseat heading straight to them. "Paul and Derrick?"

"Yeah, that's us." Paul nodded.

The man smiled. "Congratulations, it's a boy." He handed the carseat to Paul.

Paul gasped happily and acted like he's never seen the baby before. "Hi, buddy. Hi!"

Derrick leaned over and smiled. "Hi."

"All right, I've got the adoption papers right here." Bob pulled out a batch of stapled papers and a pen. "All you need to do is sign."

Paul and Derrick signed the papers, and watched as the adoption agent walked off. "Well, that was anticlimatic."

"I'll say." They turned to see Sami walking towards them. "Well, I'm jealous. My son had an easier time getting his babies back than I did!"

"Sami?" Paul asked.

"Yes?"

"Just making sure." Paul replied. "Nice to officially meet you."

"You, too." Sami replied. "You know, I gotta be honest. If I met you two years ago, I would have lashed out at you for ruining my son's marriage. But, you saved Sonny, who in turn saved Will. I can't be mad at you for that."

Paul nodded. "Good point. Thanks."

"Mm-hm." Sami nodded. She leaned down to Leon. "Bye, sweetheart. It was nice to see you in person."

"I'll update Will." Paul replied.

"Okay, well...thank you for doing this. And, um...I actually have to go, so, see you." Sami walked off.

"That was random." Derrick said.

"She's still on the run or something." Paul shrugged and texted Will to let him know what happened.

XX

Sami called Will from a payphone. "Hey."

"Hi." Will answered, smiling. "Crazy day."

"I'll bet." Sami chuckled. "Paul and Derrick are on their way back to Salem. Are you?"

"Yeah. You know, I was expecting more of a struggle. I'm both relieved and a bit disappointed." Will admitted.

Sami laughed. "Well, you guys got lucky."

"True." Will nodded. "So, Dad's wedding is in a couple weeks. Is Allie still coming?"

"I'm not sure." Sami admitted.

"Okay, well...are you and the kids coming back for Thanksgiving and Christmas at least?" Will asked.

Sami sighed quietly and closed her eyes. "No. Um...honestly, I don't think I'll ever come back to Salem."

"Why?"

"I didn't leave on the best of terms with everyone," Sami said. "I have no friends, our family sees me as the black sheep of the family. I've never fit in in Salem. I just feel like no one's ever on my side even if I'm the one who's hurt."

Will sighed deeply, feeling guilty. "Mom, I hate to think that I'm one of those people."

Sami smiled and shook her head. He was, but she's not about to tell him that. "You know I love you and I forgive you everything."

"What about the kids? Don't they want to come back to Salem?" Will asked.

"If the kids don't want to give up their roots, that's fine, but I do." Sami replied. "Once they're old enough, they are free to return to Salem. Hopefully, they'll be treated better than I was."

Will chuckled. "They will be. I'll make sure of it."

"Good." Sami replied. "I have to go. I'll talk to you soon. Love you."

"I love you, too." Will replied. "Bye, Mom."

"Bye." Sami sighed, hung up the phone and walked off.

XXX

The next afternoon, Paul arrived at the Kiriakis mansion with Leon. Will picked his baby up and hugged him.

"Oh, buddy, I missed you so much." Will said, sniffing.

Sonny hugged both of them. "Me, too. I'm sorry. It won't happen again."

XXX

Later, in an apartment on the outskirts of New York, Matt Stevenson read an online article about the twin babies being found so quickly after being kidnapped and sold on the black market. He fumed. So, Will's suffering didn't last long. He screamed in rage and tore the whole place apart. He calmed down a little as someone knocked on the door. He opened it to a man dressed all in black.

"Matthew Stevenson?"

"Yes."

"I have a message for you from Deimos Kiriakis." The man said. He pulled out a handgun and shot Matt in the heart, killing him. He moved his body to the couch and made it look like he killed himself. He then called Deimos. "It's done."

Deimos smiled in satisfaction. "Good. Maybe this will send a message about what happens when they mess with the Kiriakis family."


	76. Video Game Champion

Will spent all night with the twins in his arms. Sonny is now the only one in their family who hasn't been kidnapped (or does being held hostage count as kidnapping?). This year has been a crazy and bad one for them.

On a lighter note, Will, Sonny, and Gabi headed over to the Horton House to throw a welcome home party for JJ, who just got out of the hospital after being shot. JJ opened the door to the trio. Sonny was wearing a metallic silver hat, Gabi was wearing a red flower crown, and Will was wearing a metallic bronze cowboy hat.

"Surprise!" Gabi exclaimed. "Wait a minute, where- where are you going? The doctor said you had to rest."

"Yeah, I was just gonna walk around the block real quick." JJ replied.

"Well, you can't walk out on your own party." Gabi replied as she waved a jar of sunflowers.

"Party?" JJ questioned as Gabi, Will, and Sonny walked into the house.

Sonny nodded. "Yeah, you're house-bound, so we brought the celebration..."

"To you." Gabi finished.

"To you." Sonny repeated.

Will nodded. "Mm-hmm."

JJ laughed. "Okay, um, what are we celebrating?"

"You getting out of the hospital." Gabi replied. "You're gonna be fine. You get to go back to work. Come on, don't be such a grump. Put-here, put this on." Gabi gave him a metallic gold cowboy hat.

"I'll look stupid if I wear this." JJ complained.

Gabi shook her head. "No-"

"That is the point. You put on the hat, and hilarity ensues." Sonny replied.

Jennifer walked into the foyer. "Gabi, Sonny, Will, hi. This is so nice of you. Come on in."

"Thank you, guys." JJ said dully and walked into the living room.

Gabi sighed. "He seems, um, really depressed."

"Honestly, I think he's going stir crazy." Jennifer replied.

Will shrugged. "Well, that's why we're here."

"Excellent, thank you. Come in. Come on." Jennifer lead the trio into the living room.

"JJ, my man. Listen, if you got the impression that we're here because you were shot, you were wrong. We're here," Sonny sat on the couch and pulled out a gamebox. "because I want a rematch."

"Oh, my God." JJ exclaimed. They laughed. "Where'd you get this?"

"What is that?" Gabi asked.

"That is a game box, and JJ and Abigail were addicted to this." Jennifer explained.

"This is great." JJ replied.

Jennifer nodded. "Yeah, I think it was your sixth birthday. I mean, this was your entertainment."

"Let's do it." JJ declared.

"All right, not until you put on the hat." Sonny said.

"I'm not wearing the hat." JJ said.

"You're gonna wear the hat, or I will put this back in the box, and I will take off." Sonny said.

Gabi cracked up. "Oh, gosh, what are you guys, like, six?"

The doorbell rang.

"Oh, I'll get it." Jennifer went to answer it. "Oh, hey, Paul."

"Hey, Mrs. Horton." Paul greeted.

"Oh, Jennifer, please." Jennifer insisted.

"Jennifer, hey."

"How are you?" They walked into the living room.

"Good." Paul replied. "Hey, JJ, how are you?"

"Hey." JJ replied.

Paul saw the game box and gasped. "Oh, my God, where did you guys find these?'

Gabi huffed good-naturedly. "What, another six year old?"

"Yes, I'm gonna go get juice boxes for all of you." Jennifer joked and headed to the kitchen.

"Sounds great." Sonny said over his shoulder.

"Ooh. Grape, please!" Will half-joked. Jennifer laughed.

JJ turned to Gabi. "Do you want me to put on the hat?"

"More than anything." Gabi replied. JJ laughed and put on the hat. "Yay! Okay. Oh, it looks great. Come here. Oh." She walked over to JJ, stood next to him, and took a selfie. "Love it." The doorbell rang again. "Oh, I'll get it. I'll get it, guys."

"All right, and I get to play first, because it's my game box." Sonny said.

"It's my party." JJ pouted.

"I challenge the winner." Paul said.

Gabi came back into the living room with Chad and Thomas in tow. "JJ, what's going on, man? Cool hat. Oh, my God, what is this? Is this what I think it is?"

"Now that he's here, we're gonna play teams." Paul said.

Chad looked confused. "What?"

Paul nodded. "Yup."

"Only if he wears a hat." Sonny insisted, handing Chad a small, pink cowboy hat.

"All right! We're doing teams of three!" JJ asked.

Jennifer came in and handed Gabi a tray of beer and snacks, then leaned down to Thomas. "Oh, look at my little sweetheart. Hi, buddy."

Thomas started fussing. Chad leaned down. "Oh, yup, I should have known as I got here he was gonna get hungry."

"Oh, no, no, please. Let me feed him, seriously." Jennifer offered.

"Well, you sure?"

"Yes, I am positive. He is my favorite little lunch date. 'Scuse me." She pushed Thomas' carriage towards the kitchen. "Hey, buddy, what do you want for lunch today, huh?"

Sonny stood up and walked over to Paul. "Hey, how'd your, uh, date with Derrick go?"

"It was fine." Paul replied.

"Oh, that's great. That's great." Sonny nodded.

"Okay, how about teams?" JJ said. "Chad, Gabi, and me versus the three of you."

"Ooh, once again a DiMera faces off against a Kiriakis." Chad said dramatically.

"And a Brady." Will piped up.

Chad groaned playfully. "Come on! That's not fair!"

Everyone laughed. "Oh, yeah, that always works out. And just FYI, JJ, we're not just gonna let you win because you were shot saving lives, okay? Because this matters." Sonny replied.

"Gentlemen..." Chad said dramatically. "Prepare to be destroyed."

They all laughed.

"All right, let's do this." Will said.

"Whoo!"

"It's hard to take you serious with that little hat on." Paul said to Chad.

Chad chose to ignore that. "Let's get it going, boys."

"You ain't gonna get to the next level, come on." JJ said.

"We are, we're so close." Chad said.

"Sonny! Sonny, help!" JJ cried. "Come on!"

They all yelled as Sonny's team won. "Yes!"

"Cheat." JJ said, standing up. "We want a rematch."

"I want to switch teams." Chad stated.

"No. Sonny, Will, and Paul are a good team." Gabi said.

"Yeah, I think that's why he wants to switch, so that he can win." Sonny said.

"Okay, well-well, listen, before round two, we have doughnuts." Jennifer said.

Will exclaimed in delight, and Chad smiled. "I thought you would never ask."

"Famous doughnuts, I'll have you know." Jennifer replied. She headed to the kitchen.

"All right! Who's up for round two?!" Chad exclaimed.

"I'll play." Gabi replied.

"Have you ever played this game before?" JJ asked. Gabi shook her head. "All right, let me show you how it's done."

Will raised an eyebrow at Gabi, who smiled, put her finger to her lips and winked knowingly.

Gabi ended up beating JJ. "Yay!"

Sonny raised Gabi's hand. "And the winner is Gabi!"

"Okay, a little rule of thumb here, when a man offers to show a woman how to play a game she's never heard of, and he's, like, king of it, she shouldn't proceed to trounce him the first time out." JJ said.

Gabi chuckled. "All right, tell me you let me win."

"I didn't."

"I know."

"Dude, JJ. I could have told you- I turned Gabi into a video game playing champion when she and I dated." Will said.

JJ laughed softly. "Should have known."

Chad, who stepped out of the room to take a phone call, returned. "Hey, uh, sorry to interrupt, but Gabi, I could use your help again."

"Oh, did Mr. Bush call?" Chad nodded. "Okay."

"Who's Mr. Bush? What's going on?" JJ asked.

"Well, the guy that he was trying to do business with last night," Gabi replied. "Mr. Bush-see, what he doesn't know is that Mrs. Bush, she is always on the prowl, and she was all up on Chad and, like, her hands were all over him and she was-"

"Uh, Gabi defended my virtue, though, by pretending that we were an item." Chad explained.

"Oh, how did that work out?" Sonny wanted to know.

"Great." Chad replied. "Yeah, after, uh-after the wife's approval, he invested in DiMera. But now he wants to meet us at the cafe in the square."

Gabi turned to JJ. "Um... hey, is it all right if I go?"

"Sure. Sounds like Chad needs you to run interference." JJ replied.

"Yeah." Chad turned to Jennifer. "Um, if I can bring Thomas home to the nanny-"

"No, no, no, please. Please, I would love to keep him here." Jennifer offered.

"Got it." Chad replied.

"Yeah."

"JJ, thank you." Chad said. He turned to Gabi. "You ready?"

"Yeah. Bye, guys." She and Chad left.

"All right! Who wants to play next?" Sonny asked.

"Ooh! Ooh! Me! Me!" JJ exclaimed.

"I do!" Paul exclaimed.

"All right! JJ versus Paul!" Will said. He and Sonny stepped aside. "You know, I keep picturing our own boys in there against either Tate or Thomas- or both. They'd be the best ones."

Sonny chuckled. "Yeah. Between you, me, and Gabi; they'd be legendary video game champions."

"Aw, damn it!" Paul exclaimed as JJ beat him.

"I just beat a cy young contender. I am a happy man." JJ said simply. "You guys want some more beer?"

"Sure."

"Yeah, yeah."

Paul stood up and walked over to Sonny and Will. "He's a great guy."

"You let him win." Sonny smirked.

"I did not." Paul insisted.

"You are the most competitive guy on this planet. You have the hand-eye coordination of, like, a 99.999999 percentile. And-" Sonny went off.

"And?"

"And if he had won fair and square, you would have immediately demanded a rematch. Because you hate losing and you never give up." Sonny said plainly.

"You're right. I never give up." Paul chuckled softly. "You know, what I meant was, uh... I am not giving up until I beat JJ or gamers everywhere. I'm not gonna stop until I'm world champion shellcreeper killer."

"You're a man on a mission." Sonny said.

Paul nodded. "That's right."

JJ walked back into the room and handed beers to Sonny, Paul, and Will. "Here you guys go. Uh, Sonny, Will, check this out." He showed his cousins a picture of all of them plus Abigail sitting at a table at a restaurant. "Look what my mom found. It's when you guys and Abs took me to that, uh, karaoke bar down over in Little Korea. Right when I got out of boarding school. I'll never forget you two singing that duet."

"'I Will Always Love You.'" Sonny nodded. "That was the moment I knew I was in love."

"Isn't that a breakup song?" Paul asked.

"The Whitney Houston one is. We sang the Kenny Rogers one." Will explained. "I remember that day so well. It was a few days before Ari was born, right?"

"Yeah. Mm-hm." Sonny nodded.

"Actually, I have it recorded on my phone. Check this out, let me find it." JJ pulled out his phone.

"Okay." Sonny replied. He turned to Will. "We should do it again sometime. It can be a triple-date: you and me, JJ and Gabi, and Paul and Derrick."

"Yeah!" Will exclaimed.

"Sounds fun." Paul said, nodding. "You know what, guys, I, uh... it's a great party, but I got to run. Take care of yourself." He clapped JJ on the shoulder and left.

"Found it!" JJ exclaimed. They listened to the audio. "You guys sound so young."

"Yeah." Sonny agreed. "We actually sound pretty good."

"Mm-hm."


	77. Turkey and Cake

"Well, this is definitely a step down from last year."

Will and Sonny headed downstairs. They just put the boys down for a nap.

"Tell me about it." Sonny replied, heading to the liquor cart. "Only the Hortons and the Kiriakises this year."

"And Thomas' birthday party." Will said. He sighed. "I can't believe he's a year old."

"I know. Me neither." Sonny said.

"The Kiriakis Thanksgiving should be interesting." Will commented.

"Yep. One big, dysfunctional family." Sonny raised his glass and downed it.

Will chuckled. "Yeah."

XXX

Will, Sonny, Gabi, and Ari all headed to the Horton house together. Will carried the twins in carseats, and Gabi carried Ari.

"Will Thomas like my present?" Ari asked.

"You kidding? He's gonna love it!" Sonny said encouragingly.

Gabi chuckled and rang the doorbell. Chad answered. "Oh, hey." Chad looked at Gabi, surprised. "I didn't expect to see you here."

"Are we allowed to come in?" Gabi asked.

"Oh, yeah. Sorry." Chad stepped aside to let them all in. "Gabi, I thought you were going to be with your family today?"

"Oh, yes. Normally I would be, but Rafe went to go see Hope and Dario and Papi are having Thanksgiving at a restaurant." Gabi replied. "Anyway, when JJ mentioned that you were gonna be here, we were really excited. Right? 'Cause we wanted to give Thomas his birthday present."

"Oh. Well, unfortunately, he won't understand what's really going on, but it's really nice of you." Chad replied.

"Hey, neither did Ari at her first two birthday parties." Will pointed out.

Chad chuckled. "Good point. He'll be really happy to see you, about as happy as I am." Chad turned to Ari. "I missed you."

"Missed you, too." Ari replied.

"Aw, well, I missed you more." Chad said.

They all laughed. Adrienne and Lucas arrived. "Hey!"

"Grandpa! Grandma!" Ari exclaimed.

"Hey, sweetheart." Lucas greeted. He kissed Ari's forehead. "Mwah! Did you get a present for Thomas?"

"Yep! It's a surprise." Ari replied.

"Oh, well, let's see." They all headed to the couch. Gabi and Chad sat down with Ari in Gabi's lap. Will carried the boys over to the armchair and set them on the floor. Chad shook the present. "Is it a sailboat?"

"No!" Ari replied.

"No? All right, here, you try shaking it." Chad shook it again. "I know! It's a bicycle!"

"No!"

"No? Come on!" Chad exclaimed playfully.

"He's silly." Gabi said to Ari.

JJ walked into the living room. "Thomas is out like a light."

Gabi turned towards JJ. "Hey."

"Hey! You're here."

"Yeah." Gabi replied. She set Ari down. "Look who's here."

JJ bent down to hug Ari. "Come here, beautiful." He stood up, then bent down to kiss Gabi. "You look beautiful."

"I'm gonna see if your mom needs help-" Chad said.

"No, it's okay." JJ replied. "Everything's done. She's just up in the attic looking for the gravy boat. Let me get you guys something to drink while we wait." He turned to Ari. "And you, young lady, can be my helper."

"He loves Arianna." Chad mentioned.

"Well, I should hope so. They _are_ cousins, after all." Will shrugged.

"Oh, yeah."

"Yeah, she's crazy about him, too." Gabi replied. "So, no dinner at the mansion today? Not that I'm sorry you're here. I know what it means to Jennifer for Abigail."

"Yeah, no, uh, Andre prefers martinis at the Salem Inn to turkey and stuffing with the family unfortunately." Chad replied.

Gabi nodded and turned to Adrienne and Lucas. "So! You guys ready for your wedding tomorrow?"

"Yeah, we are!" Lucas replied. "We got the flowers, food, the whole nine."

"Oh, well, congratulations," Gabi said to Lucas, then turned to Adrienne. "and best wishes."

"Thank you, Gabi." Adrienne replied.

Julie and Doug came into the living room. "Chad! I'm surprised to see you here."

"Yeah. Jennifer was kind enough to invite the DiMera boys." Chad replied.

"Happy Thanksgiving, Julie." Gabi said politely. "Jennifer made a lot of food, so I hope you guys brought your appetites."

"Actually, I think I just lost mine." Julie said pointedly.

Will was surprised. He thought Julie forgave Gabi. Oh well.

"I think I'm gonna go help JJ with the drinks." Gabi said, and walked off to the kitchen.

"I wouldn't swallow anything that girl pours." Julie said.

"Will you stop? Enough." Chad snapped.

"I beg your pardon?" Julie asked.

"JJ invited her here because he loves her. So for his sake, will you try to show some respect?" Chad asked.

"Oh, I'm sorry if I'm remembering what seems to have slipped everyone's mind that that girl shot and killed my cousin." Julie shot back.

 _'Well, I'm sorry if I'm remembering what seems to have slipped_ your _mind that Nick was a sociopath who tried to steal my baby.'_ Will thought.

"Hope killed my father." Chad retorted.

"Not your most persuasive argument, Chad." Sonny said.

"And you made sure she went to prison for it, didn't you with your statement to the court" Julie argued.

"She confessed to a crime that she committed." Chad said.

"And she was Stefano's victim for decades." Julie said. "He goaded her into it. What Gabi did to Nick was completely different!"

 _'Yeah, because Nick tried to rape her, attacked her, blackmailed her, manipulated her...'_ Will thought.

"She served her time, so leave it alone!" Chad declared.

"Okay, okay!" Doug stepped in. "You two, cool it. It's Thanksgiving. Not only that, it's Thomas' birthday, so we're gonna put aside differences for a few hours and we're gonna try to enjoy together this very special day."

JJ walked into the living room carrying a tray with glasses of cranberry juice. "Courtesy of my little helper." He set the tray down on the coffee table, and turned to Doug and Julie. "What can I get you two?"

"I'll wait til dinner." Julie replied.

"Okay. Everything's ready. I think my mom's still up there in the attic looking for Gram's gravy boat." JJ replied. "I'm gonna tell her we'll have to do without it."

"You know what, I'll go." Chad offered. "You've been taking care of everybody else. You hardly had enough time to hang out with Gabi."

"You sure?" JJ asked.

"Yeah." Chad replied, and walked off.

"Look, Julie, Gabi helped save my life last year." Will said. "Doesn't that kind of cancel out her killing Nick?"

"How would that cancel it out?" Julie asked.

Sonny sighed and patted Will on the shoulder. "You tried."

Jennifer walked into the living room. "Sorry, everyone, it took longer than I thought, but dinner is ready." She saw Gabi. "Gabi! Oh my goodness, hi! I didn't know you were gonna come. It's so good to see you. I'm glad you did." They hugged.

'Well, at least Jennifer warmed up to Gabi.' Will thought.

"Yeah." Gabi said.

They pulled away. "Yeah. I'm missing something."

"Gabi decided to give me a second chance." JJ replied. JJ had cheated on Gabi while he was in Miami. He told her, and she was, of course, heartbroken, but she forgave JJ.

"That's great." Jennifer said. "I knew that it was gonna work out."

"Didn't look that way at first." JJ said.

"Well, Gabi loves you enough to forgive you, so that makes me happy." Jennifer said. "Okay, let's go stuff ourselves. You ready?"

"Yeah!"

Julie walked over to the fireplace. "First...I need to apologize in the spirit of the day, I would like to apologize for my behavior. And my attitude earlier. I was not at my best. And before we sit down, I would like to give thanks. I have gratitude for all of the wonderful things in our life. Including each other. For the people who love us, who care for us. And for all the people who can't be here. And in recalling them, we feel so much gratitude for the time we did spend together. Especially our precious Hope who we love unconditionally. And whose safety we pray for."

They ate dinner and talked and laughed, then it was time for Thomas to open his presents.

"Can Thomas open ours first?" Ari asked.

"Oh, is that okay?" Gabi asked Jennifer.

"Oh, yeah!" Jennifer exclaimed.

"Of course." Chad replied. Gabi handed him hers and Ari's present to Thomas. "Here we go, Thomas."

"Ooh, what is it? What is it?" Doug asked.

"Ooh, we got a shirt." Chad replied. He held it up for everyone to see.

"Very good." Julie said.

"Oh, what is this?" Chad pulled out a soccor ball.

"A soccor ball!" Doug exclaimed.

"Really?" Julie replied. "He doesn't even _walk_ yet."

"Oh, he will any day now. And when he does, he's gonna love this soccor ball." Chad replied, taking Julie's comment in stride.

"Thanks, uh, well, I just remembered how much he loved watching those kids play at the park." Gabi said. "His eyes were just so big."

Julie clasped her hands together. "I am going to get the cake."

"I'll help." Doug replied. They left.

"Please do not hurry back." Lucas mutterd under his breath.

"What was that?" Julie asked.

"Uh...don't forget the ice cream!" Lucas grinned.

"We won't." Doug replied.

"Nice save." Will whispered.

Chad held the soccor ball up and smiled at Gabi. "Thanks." He turned to Jennifer. "Uh, yours? You ready for your gift?"

"Oh. Oh, yeah." Jennifer replied. "I'm sorry. My gift, um...I didn't have time to wrap it." She pulled out a large, ratty, stuffed elephant.

"No, it's fine." Chad said. He showed it to Thomas. "Look at that."

"That's Lulu." Jennifer explained. "I gave it to Abigail for her first birthday, and I'm just sure that she would want Thomas to have it."

Before Chad could respond, Julie walked back into the living room with cake. "Who's ready for birthday cake?"

 _'Way to ruin the moment.'_ Will thought.

"Yay!" Gabi cheered.

"Cake!" Julie held up a white, round cake.

"Me! Me!" JJ exclaimed.

They sang "Happy Birthday" to Thomas. Chad gave Thomas to Jennifer and stepped out of the room for some reason. Jennifer followed him, and they came back after a minute. They all had cake and ice cream.

Julie and Jennifer then went to the kitchen to clean up, Doug went upstairs to take a nap, JJ went up to the attic, and Chad and Gabi sat in the living room to talk.

"So, what are your plans for tonight?" Will asked Lucas. "I'm sorry I didn't arrange a bachelor party, but, you guys chose a weird time to get married."

Lucas laughed softly. "It's fine. Adrienne and I are actually going to a movie later."

"Oh. Well, have fun." Will said.

"Thanks." Lucas' phone buzzed. "Oh, hey, it's Allie on FaceTime. Hi, sweetheart!"

"Hi! Happy Thanksgiving." Allie greeted.

"Hey, Allie-Cat!" Will greeted back. "Happy Thanksgiving!"

"Daddy, I'm sorry I can't make it to the wedding tomorrow." Allie said. "But, I broke my leg carrying my laundry down the stairs."

"Aw, it's okay. Did you get a cool cast?" Lucas asked.

"I did!" Allie moved her phone to show her white cast which was covered in writing and stickers.

"Wow." Will commented.

"Yeah." Allie moved her phone back to her. "So, how was Thanksgiving at the Hortons? Is everyone still there?"

"Yeah, but, Doug is napping." Lucas said. "Julie and Aunt Jennifer are in the kitchen cleaning up."

"Oh."

Will turned towards Ari, who was playing with Thomas. "Ari, sweetie, come here. Aunt Allie is on the phone. Wanna say hi?"

Ari ran over to her dad and grandpa, who held the phone towards her. "Hi, Aunt Allie!"

"Hi, sweetheart! Happy Thanksgiving." Allie said.

"Happy Thanksgiving." Ari replied.

They talked for another minute, then Ari went back to playing.

"So, when can I meet my new nephews?" Allie asked.

"You know what? Right now." Will moved over to the carseats where the twins were moving around. "Meet DJ and Leon."

"Hi, buddies. Hi. I can't wait to meet you guys in person." Allie said.

Jennifer walked back into the living room. "Hey, what'd I miss?"

"Allie's on FaceTime." Will replied. He stood up and showed the phone to Jennifer.

"Oh, hi, Allie!" Jennifer greeted. "Wow, it's been so long since I've seen you. You've grown so much."

"Yeah. Puberty hit me like an oncoming train." Allie said bluntly.

Jennifer chuckled. "I'll bet. Hey, you haven't met Thomas yet, have you?"

"No." Allie replied.

Jennifer bent down and scooped Thomas up. "Say 'Hi', Thomas. It's your cousin Allie."

"Hi, Thomas! Happy Birthday." Allie said.

"You know, Julie should be done in just a minute. You can say hi." Jennifer said.

"Oh, um, you know what? My phone battery is only at 1%, so, I gotta go." Allie replied. "Sorry! Happy Thanksgiving! I'll talk to you again, soon."

"Okay. Bye!"

"Bye, Allie!" Will turned the phone towards him, then hung up.

Lucas texted Allie. _"So...is your phone really dying, or was that just an excuse so you wouldn't have to talk to Julie?"_

_"Depends. How much do you like Julie?"_

_"A lot."_

_"Then yes. It really is dying."_

Lucas chuckled and shook his head. _"All right. Well, I'll talk to you tomorrow after the wedding."_

_"Okay, love you!"_

XX

Sonny walked over to his mom who was talking on the phone with her mom. "...I know. I hope you feel better. ... Okay, Happy Thanksgiving. ... I love you, too. Bye."

"How's Grandma?" Sonny asked.

"About as good as can be expected." Adrienne sighed. "She's too sick to travel, so..."

"Oh." Sonny replied.

Adrienne's phone buzzed again. "Oh. It's Joseph. He said he can't make it. His fiancee is sick, so he's taking care of her."

"Oh, that's nice."

Adrienne's phone buzzed again. She huffed. "And Victor can't make it, either."

"Well, you still have me." Sonny smiled.

Adrienne smiled. "Yeah, that's true."

XXX

Will and Sonny left Ari with Gabi and Chad, and left for the Kiriakis mansion.

Later that evening, Victor, Maggie, Justin, Deimos, Philip, Will, and Sonny all sat at the table in the dining room. Turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, gravy, yams, cranberry sauce, rolls, and mixed vegetables lined the table. Deimos was excited, because it was his very first Thanksgiving. Deimos said grace, and they all started digging in.

"I made the yams myself." Deimos announced, proudly.

"What's the secret ingredient? Poison?" Philip quipped.

"Allspice." Deimos said, slightly offended.

"It's really good." Will said sincerely.

"Thank you, Will." Deimos replied.

"Traitor." Philip muttered, darkly, casting a glare at his nephew.

"What was that, Uncle Phil?" Will asked.

"Nothing." Philip lied, smiling.

"I think we should each say what we're thankful for." Victor suggested. "We'll go counterclockwise. I'll start. I am thankful for Maggie. She is the light of my life."

Maggie blushed. "I am thankful for family."

Philip cleared his throat. "I am thankful to live in a big house, so I can avoid certain family members easily."

"I'm thankful for-"

"Let me guess: money." Philip quipped.

"Well, yes, that, and also the ability to forgive." Deimos replied.

"I am thankful for laws." Justin said before Philip could retort. "Without them, it would be chaos."

"I am thankful for modern medicine." Sonny said.

"I'm thankful for technology." Will said, smiling.

"Awesome." Philip deadpanned.

"So," Victor cleared his throat. "Has anyone seen any good movies lately?"

"Will and I took Ari to see _Trolls_." Sonny replied. "It's atually kind good for a kid's movie."

"Nicole and I had a Lifetime movie marathon." Deimos said. "A few of those were about babies being kidnapped."

"Must be your kind of movie." Philip snarked.

"What is your problem?" Deimos asked, irritated.

"Hey, hey, hey. No arguing." Victor said.

"You mean besides the fact that you're treated like the head of the family even after everything you've done?" Philip asked.

"I thought you were over that?" Deimos asked.

"Yeah, well, I'm not." Philip replied. "I'd rather Brady be running things."

"Oh, that's just hurtful!" Deimos exclaimed.

"So is being tortured, I bet." Philip retorted.

"I will do it! I will take the ring to Mordor." Sonny suddenly exclaimed, to break the tension. "Though I do not know the way."

"What are you talking about?! What ring?!" Deimos exclaimed.

"One ring to rule them all." Will joked.

"It's a quote from _Lord of the Rings_." Justin explained.

Deimos exhaled sharply. "Pop culture references..."

They ate the rest of the dinner in silence. Afterwards, Will and Sonny trudged upstairs to their bedroom. Sonny sighed and flopped on the bed. "Next year, we're going to the Brady's and that's it."

"Couldn't agree with you more."


	78. Crisis Intervention

Today was the day! Will and Lucas headed to the church dressed in tuxes.

"Hey, guys." Steve greeted.

"Hey! Is Adrienne here yet?" Lucas asked.

"She's still in the bridal room. Kayla's helping her get ready." Steve replied.

"Thanks." Lucas replied, then turned to Will. "You got the rings, right?"

Will smiled and patted his pocket. "Right here."

"Oh, good."

"Anything else I can do for you?" Will asked.

"No, no." Lucas shook his head. "Um, as long as Adrienne's here, I'm here, the rings are here, everything should go smoothly."

"Good." Will replied. He stared into space as memories of his own wedding came to him.

Lucas could tell. He smiled. "You're, uh, thinking about Sonny, aren't you? When you guys got married. I mean, it was a beautiful day."

Will nodded. "It was. It was the happiest day of my life."

"Where is he, by the way?" Lucas asked.

"Oh, um..." Will turned around as Sonny walked into the church. "Oh, there's my husband." He walked over to Sonny, grabbed both his hands and kissed him. "Did the boys get settled in with Emma?"

"Yeah." Sonny sighed and smiled. "It's all good."

"Great." Will replied.

"All right. Guess we should go in." Lucas replied. He and Will headed for the chapel.

Sonny lingered back and sighed inwardly. He knew he shouldn't have waited until the last minute to talk to his dad, but...he really wanted his parents together. "Sorry, Will." He followed Lucas and Will into the chapel.

The wedding was very small and intimate. Kate, Philip, and Steve were the only guests outside the wedding party. Kate, Philip, and Steve stood as the Bridal Chorus started playing and Adrienne walked down the aisle.

"Adrienne! You can't do this!" The music stopped and everyone turned to the door to see Justin barging in. The Johnsons, Kate, and Philip looked shocked; Lucas looked angry, and Sonny had a smirk on his face, much to Will's confusion. "I'm sorry. I can't let you do this."

"What the hell is the matter with you, Justin?" Lucas demanded.

"Nothing. Nothing's the matter with me. But please, Adrienne, just don't get married tonight. Please." Justin said. Sonny nodded encouragingly.

Kate's mouth dropped open and Philip paid her. Will noticed and leaned over. "Really, guys?"

"Asks the guy who betted with his husband on what Brady and Theresa's announcement earlier this year was going to be." Philip retorted.

"...Touche." Will said quietly.

"What are you doing?" Adrienne asked Justin.

Justin shook his head. "I don't know. I don't know what I'm doing. I just-it just hit me that I can't let you go through with this. Not without telling you that...I'm still in love with you."

Lucas stepped down from the altar and started walking towards Justin. "I don't know if you're drunk or high or what. Who cares? Get out of here, right now!"

Justin ignored Lucas. "Adrienne, please, just listen to what I have to say."

"I said leave her alone!" Lucas said loudly, glaring at the lawyer.

"I just need to tell you something, please!" Justin exclaimed.

"No! No!" Adrienne exclaimed. "Justin, this is ridiculous. If you have things to tell me, put 'em in a letter and mail it to Maui, where I'll be on my honeymoon."

"It'll only take a minute!" Justin insisted. "Adrienne, if I ever meant anything at all to you, you will give me this minute. Please? Please?"

Adrienne sighed impatiently. "Fine."

Lucas turned to his fiancee. "What?"

"Whatever it takes to end this idiocy, talk." Adrienne said. "And then we'll get on with our wedding. This is absolutely absurd. What could you possibly have to tell me that would make me change my mind?"

Justin turned to everyone else. "Can we please have some privacy?"

Lucas threw his hands up in frustration. "Oh, come on."

"Absolutely. Fine by me." Father Louis spoke up. "Someone can come and get me if they need any spiritual counsel." He left.

"You think I'm gonna leave you alone with my fiancee so you can say God knows what, you better think again, man." Lucas said.

Sonny walked over to Justin. "Dad, if Lucas is staying, I'm staying, too. I can kind of referee, I guess."

"Oh, really? Well, I'm not gonna abandon my son with his so-called bride." Kate said.

Lucas turned to Kate. "You could stay, just don't say anything, all right?"

Kate nodded. "Okay, well, Philip and Will stay, too."

"Fine."

"Oh for God's sake. Is anyone gonna leave?" Justin asked, throwing his hands up in frustration.

"We are." Steve replied, gesturing to Kayla and Joey.

Kayla nodded. "Yeah."

"Come on, sweetness." Steve said.

Kayla grabbed her stuff. "That's a good idea."

"I think my sister needs to work this out on her own." Steve kissed Adrienne. "We'll be right out there." They left.

"Well, you're on, pal. Make it quick. Come on." Lucas said.

"Adrienne, I love you. I always have. I always will." Justin said. "I think if you're honest with yourself, you'll admit that you feel the same way."

"Don't tell her how she feels. She's your ex for a reason." Lucas snapped.

"Lucas, can we just let 'em talk real quick?" Sonny asked.

Justin smiled gratefully at Sonny, then turned to Adrienne. "I can see it in your eyes. You do feel the same way. From the first time I saw you crying on that park bench, I knew that you were the one for me. The only one. I know I've screwed up... but if I can, if you'll let me, I wanna fix it. Will you give me that chance? One last chance? We have a lifetime of memories together."

Sonny looked proudly upon his father. Will studied Sonny's expression. He was starting to think Sonny had something to do with Justin crashing the wedding. Sonny caught Will's eye, then immediately looked away, slightly guilty.

"Yeah, and half of those memories are painful as hell for her." Lucas said. "How many times have you and Adrienne been divorced? Three or four? I know you think I can't hang with the Kiriakis bank account. We're not in Greece right now. I don't have a guitar in my hand making some sappy serenade and we're not taking a yacht trip later at all. But you know what? None of that matters to Adrienne anymore because she's changed. We have more in common than you think. We enjoy spending time together. Quiet time together. That's what matters to us. You think you can just scream in here with your white horse change everything at the last minute? What's the matter with you, man? Where've you been? Where were you when Adrienne had that cancer scare? Where were you when your son was stabbed? I'll tell you where I was: I was by her side, holding her hand helping her through the whole thing while you were in Dubai hitting the sheets with your ever-loving Elsa. It doesn't matter what we do. We spend great time together. We laugh, we joke, we spend all night just talking. We have more in common than you might want to admit, Justin."

Philip was impressed by his brother's speech. He turned to Kate. "Looks like you're gonna lose that bet after all. My money, please?" Kate ignored him and Lucas continued.

"You know, Adrienne told me she just can't be herself around you. Did you know that? I mean, how could she be?" Lucas shrugged.

Justin turned to Adrienne, surprised. "You said that?"

"That's the truth." Lucas said simply. "You spent your whole life trying to be the big shot. Trying to be Mr. Kiriakis with all the money. But you know what? None of that matters to her anymore. And that's not the only reason why she's ready to move on. She knows I'll never cheat on her. I will never disrespect her like that. I will treat her the way she deserves to be treated. So you know what? We're done with you right now. You can leave. Adrienne, are you ready? Are you ready to get this wedding back on track? Adrienne, all we have to do is call Father Louis back, and we can pick up where we left off. Adrienne?"

Adrienne was quiet for a minute until Kate threw her arms up in frustration. "Oh, for God's sake. I knew this would happen. I knew she would break your heart."

"Mom, stop it." Lucas said.

"She always goes back to that womanizer." Kate reminded Lucas.

Lucas glared at Kate. "Enough."

Sonny walked towards Kate. "Whoa, Kate, hey, hey. I'm gonna give you a break out of respect for Will, but just shut it down."

Will just scoffed at his husband and shook his head. "Really, Sonny?"

Philip jumped in. "Oh come on, Sonny. Even you've gotta see how ridiculous this is."

"You know what, you guys? This is none of your business, so stay out of this." Lucas snapped.

"Just take a deep breath, okay? Let Adrienne have a moment to..." They all started talking at once.

"Stop! Stop, please!" Adrienne yelled, crying. "I can't think. Justin, you're...you're right. I do still love you. But the reality is, Lucas, that I love you, too."

Kate scoffed. "Do you love him with your whole heart?"

"Mom." Philip chided.

"This isn't a two-for-one sale. Make up your damn mind, Adrienne!" Kate exclaimed.

Adrienne cries, then runs out. Justin started to follow her.

"Where the hell do you think you're going?" Lucas demanded.

"To find Adrienne." Justin said simply.

"Why do you think she left? She wanted to get away from you." Lucas said simply.

"You don't have a clue what she wants!" Justin said angrily. He turned for the door, but Lucas grabbed his shoulder.

"I said hold it."

"Get your hands off me." Justin said in a dangerously low voice.

"Fine." Lucas said. He punches Justin. "Leave her alone!"

"You son of a bitch." Justin shook his head and lunged towards Lucas, but Sonny stops him.

"Dad, no, no, Dad!" Sonny exclaimed.

Lucas lunged as well, but Philip stopped him. "Settle down! Come on!"

Will stood in front of Kate, sheilding her from the violence.

"You think you can just come in here and wreck my life?" Lucas yelled.

"Oh, I don't give a damn about your life! I care about Adrienne!" Justin yelled back.

"You don't care about nothing but yourself!" Lucas shot back.

"Dad! Dad! Come on. Let's go. Let's go." Sonny gently pushed Justin towards the exit.

Justin pulled away. "Fine!"

Sonny turned to the crowd and exhaled sharply. "Sorry." He followed Justin.

"Don't let him go after your mother. She needs time alone to herself." Lucas called after him. He sighed.

Kate scoffed and shook her head. "God. I am so sorry that this had to happen to you, but honey, I do believe that it's for the best."

"No, no, you were right, Mom. You are always right. Break out the champagne and celebrate. Go ahead." Lucas said.

Philip shook his head. "I'm sorry, man."

Lucas sighed. "No, it's all right. Guys, just leave. Okay? Just go. All of you. Go."

Kate, Philip, and Will all left the chapel. Kate cleared her throat and put her jacket on. "Well, that was eventful."

"You certainly enjoyed it." Philip guessed.

"Well, not Adrienne hurting your brother, but, hey, bad news is always good news in disguise." Kate shrugged. They headed for the door.

Will just stared after them in shock. "Wait- you're leaving?"

"Yeah, that's generally what happens when there's nothing to stay for." Philip nodded. "Later, Nephew!"

Will scoffed lightly. Figures that Kate and Philip would abandon their son and brother in his time of need. He sat on a chair and sighed. His phone buzzed with a text from Allie.

[i]"Hey. Sorry I couldn't make the wedding. How'd it go? Can I FaceTime?"

"The wedding didn't happen. Justin barged in at the last minute and told Adrienne he still loves her. Adrienne ran out."

"Oh my God. How's Dad?"

"He'll be okay."

"Why would Sonny's dad do something like that?"

"I'm not sure...but I think he had help."[/i] Will sent that text before he could stop himself.

[i]"Help from who?"

"I really hope I'm wrong, but I think Sonny may have encouraged him."[/i] Will replied.

[i]"On his mother's wedding day? That doesn't sound like him."

"Good point."[/i] Will heard the door to the chapel open and stood up. Lucas stood in the doorway, his eyes red from crying. Will gave him a sympathetic smile and held his arms open. Lucas pulled his son into a hug. "I'm sorry. It's gonna be okay." Lucas swallowed and nodded. They pulled away. "Do you want to go somewhere? The Pub? Home?"

"Pub is fine." Lucas said.

"Okay." They walked outside. "How are your motor skills?" Lucas didn't say anything. "I'll drive."

XX

Lucas was quiet during the ride to the Pub. Will opened his door to get out.

"You know...I really thought Adrienne and I would get married." Lucas said, staring out the window. Will closed his door and listened. "I mean, we did talk about what would happen if Justin or Sami did something like this, would she take him back? Would I take her back? We both answered 'In a heartbeat'. That was almost a year ago. We've been engaged for six months. Why did Justin wait until the very last minute to beg for her back?"

"I don't know. Maybe he wasn't expecting you to make it all the way to the altar." Will guessed.

"Still..." He sighed. He opened his door and stepped out of the car. The two headed inside the almost-empty pub and sat at a table near the bar. Lucas gazed at the shelves of liquor.

"I'll get us some hot chocolates. Is that okay?" Will asked.

"Sure."

"All right. Be back in a minute." Will replied, then walked to the bar.

"You know, for someone who looks so good, you don't look so good." Lucas looked over to the next table where Anne Millbauer was sitting.

"I was supposed to get married tonight." Lucas said. "She left me at the altar."

Anne pointed her fruit kebob at Lucas. "You win. My best and only friend Theresa left town without saying goodbye."

"Really? Such a mystery why no one wants to be friends with you." Lucas quipped.

Anne scoffed lightly. "Could you use a drink?"

"You have no idea how badly I need one right now." Lucas admitted.

Anne smiled, nodded, and headed to the bar. She came back with a Mai Thai and set it in front of Lucas and sat across from him. Lucas stared at it intently. "Come on, this Mai Thai won't drink itself."

Will watched the exchange with two mugs of hot chocolate in his hands.

Lucas pulled his sobriety chip from his pocket and showed it to Anne. "Seven years, one month, and twenty-eight days."

"Oh, you're a drunk." Anne realized. "Oh, well, I can fix that for you." She tood the Mai Thai and chugged it. She coughed and burped. "Whoo. That was good."

Will walked over and cleared his throat. Lucas looked up. "Anne, I believe you've met my son Will."

"We have met." Anne replied. "You're also Theresa's cousin, right?"

"Yeah." Will nodded.

"Oh. Hmm. I don't suppose you know why she left town?"

Will sighed inwardly. "She relapsed and just left town."

"Mm. I don't buy that." Anne shook her head. She cleared her throat and stood up. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to use the little girl's room."

Will sat down and waited until Anne was out of earshot before speaking. "Anne Millbauer, Dad? Really?"

"Hey, some people can surprise you." Lucas shrugged. "I saw her softer side. During the blackout, while I was at Chad's, she came looking for shelter."

Will laughed softly. "Can you imagine Aunt Jennifer's reaction?"

"Mmmm, probably similar to my reaction to her dating Daniel." Lucas said simply, taking a sip of hot chocolate.

"Good point." Will said. "I saw you refuse that drink, by the way. I'm proud of you."

Lucas smiled and nodded. "Yeah, well...hot chocolate tastes better, anyway." They both laughed. Lucas' phone rang. "Hmm. It's Sonny. Hey, Sonny, what's up? ... Really? ...Oh. Okay. I'll be there in a few. Thanks! ... All right, bye." Lucas smiled and stood up. "Well, now it's a [i]really[/i] good thing I didn't accept that drink. Adrienne wants me to come to her hotel room. Things are looking up."

"Dad, that's great! Well, let me know how it goes." Will replied, smiling.

"I will." Lucas chugged his hot chocolate. "Thanks for the hot chocolate." He clapped Will's arm and ran out.

Anne walked back to the table and sat down. "Well, looks like someone's night turned around."

"Looks like it." Will nodded, smiling. He sobered up. "Look, Anne, for what it's worth, I'm glad my dad has a friend he can talk to."

"Oh, sure." Anne shrugged and sipped her drink.

"Just...ah...don't influence him to drink, please." Will said.

Anne held up her hands in surrender. "All right, I won't. I can totally have fun sober."

"Good." Will replied. He stood up. "Well, it was nice talking to you, but, I am going to visit my great-grandma. Later."

XXX

A little later, Sonny called Will to meet him outside a hotel room. He had already met with Paul about surveiling the docks that night. Paul thought Sonny's Parent Trap thing was a little weird, but brought him a pillow and comforter from housekeeping, anyway. Will walked down the hall and spotted Sonny sitting on a chair against a door, listening to music.

"Hey." Will greeted.

"Oh, hey." Sonny replied.

"What, uh, what's going on?" Will asked.

"Well, my mom is having a difficult time choosing between my dad and your dad." Sonny explained. "So, I called our dads over here, and I staged a crisis intervention."

Will just stared at his husband in shock. "Wait, so you lied to both our dads about why you called them and now you're keeping your parents and my dad hostage in there?!"

"Don't be so dramatic." Sonny said. "I'm just keeping them in there until a decision is made."

"Yeah. That would be kidnapping, sweetheart." Will said, raising an eyebrow. "Don't worry- I won't turn you in. I don't want our kids growing up without their other daddy. Plus, I'm sure Justin and Adrienne won't turn you in, either. They love you no matter what. And my dad? He wouldn't want to offend your mother or ruin his relationship with her." Sonny just glared at him. "Ok, I'm done. Did you at least find out why your dad waited until the last minute to try to get your mom back?"

Sonny sighed and slumped his shoulders. "I encouraged him to do it." Will stared at him in shock, then anger. "I'm so sorry."

"Why would you do that?" Will asked.

"I..." Sonny sighed and shook his head. "I want my parents back together."

"So you decided to wait until your mother's wedding day to encourage your dad to crash it?!" Will exclaimed.

"I didn't tell him to crash the wedding! I just told him to tell her before it's too late!" Sonny exclaimed in defense.

"What did you think he was going to do?!"

"I don't know! Write a letter?" Sonny shrugged.

"You had six months. [i]Six months[/i] to try to get your parents back together!" Will said angrily. "And why do you even [i]want[/i] your parents to get back together? Adrienne was really happy with my dad, who would never cheat on her and then rub it in her face and treat her like crap! And then you..." He shook his head and scoffed. "Disrespecting your mother and putting her on the spot like this? After all the lectures you gave me for the way I treat [i]my[/i] mother?! You are just...! Ugh!" Will turned around. "I can't even look at you right now."

"Seriously, Will? You are the [i]last[/i] person to lecture someone about this." Sonny retorted. "Do the words EJ DiMera ring a bell?"

"Oh, that is [i]not[/i] the same thing, and you know it!" Will whirled around and pointed a finger at Sonny. "My mom didn't [i]want[/i] to marry EJ. I was protecting her. [i]You[/i] on the other hand..."

"I just want both my parents to be happy." Sonny stated simply.

"To hell with everyone else, right?" Will asked.

"Don't put words in my mouth." Sonny snapped. "I [i]do[/i] care about Lucas- and you."

"Okay..." Will took a deep breath and rubbed his eyes. "Let's look back on the last year of your parents' marriage. Your mom was miserable. Your dad-"

"Choose your next words [i]very[/i] carefully." Sonny said in a voice barely above a whisper.

"Your dad was inattentive, and not the best husband or father." Will replied. "I care about your mom, too. I could see that she was happier than she's ever been when she was with my dad. I understand you being loyal to your dad. What I [i]don't[/i] understand is why you would want your mom always waiting for the other shoe to drop with Justin. As for them being divorced...what would that change, exactly? You're not a kid anymore. There's no custody arrangement to worry about. You spend holidays with both sides of your family, anyway; and your parents aren't in some everlasting competition."

Sonny was struck by that. He had a point. He turned around and blinked away tears. What was he thinking? This whole thing was a terrible idea. "I just think that...kids shouldn't have to deal with divorced parents no matter how old they are." He turned back around. "Why do you think I didn't divorce you before I left for Paris? I didn't want Ari to grow up in a broken home. Now, you've more than made up for your mistakes, and I'm glad. But my dad should be given that chance, too."

Will sighed and shook his head. "Well, I guess I don't need to worry about you divorcing me, then. If you're gonna go through all this to get your parents back together...if I- I'm not going to divorce you anytime soon, either, but for the sake of arguement, if I [i]did[/i] file for divorce, you wouldn't sign the papers, would you?"

"No." Sonny shook his head.

Will laughed softly. "Well, then it's a good thing I don't want a divorce." He wrapped his arms around Sonny's shoulders and pulled him close. Sonny chuckled and kissed Will and sighed. "I just hope...if Adrienne [i]does[/i] go back to your dad...that my dad doesn't relapse."

Sonny bit his lip. He forgot about that. "I'm sure he won't. He has a good support system."

Will nodded. "Yeah, he does." He dropped his arms and sighed. "However, if he [i]does[/i] relapse, I am holding you personally responsible." With that, he left.

Sonny threw his head back, sighed, and sank onto a chair.

XXX

Later that night; Will, Chad, Gabi, and their kids went to Horton Town Square to see the Christmas lights that have already been put up.

"So, how's Sonny's little hostage situation going?" Chad asked.

"So far, not good." Will replied.

"Um, Will, don't you think that Sonny is going a bit too far with this?" Gabi asked. "I mean, it's Adrienne's decision. She needs time."

"That's what I told him, but, he's not giving up." Will replied.

"Oh, well, on a lighter note, the displays at Hefferman's was pretty cool." Gabi said. "I mean, the lights and the animals and the santa moving- isn't that-"

"Yeah, it was." Will replied.

"Yep. Loved it." Chad replied, sitting on a bench. "This little guy slept through most of it, I think, but..."

"Oh." Gabi replied. She leaned down to Ari and started zipping up her coat. "Let me just zip this up a little, 'cause it's getting cold, and I don't want you getting sick." The zipper got stuck. "Oh. Oh, man."

"What?"

"The zipper just got caught in the scarf." Gabi said.

"Oh. Let me help you with that." Chad replied, leaning down. "You just need to pull the scarf away while jiggling the zipper."

Chad managed to free the zipper, and he and Gabi stared at each other, smiling. "Um, thanks. Now we got the zipper free."

"Yeah." They stood up, facing each other. "Oh. Thank you so much."

"Yeah, sure. No problem." Chad replied. "I gotta go change Thomas." He walked off.

Will folded his arms and tilted his head. "Hmm. I don't know how I feel about this."

"Feel about what? We're just friends." Gabi shrugged.

"It kinda looks like there's something more." Will replied.

Gabi scoffed. "Will, I'm with JJ. That's not gonna change."

"Okay." Will replied, shrugging. "Well...at least he's single this time."

"Oh, hush." Gabi rolled her eyes.

Chad came back with Thomas. "Hey, did you guys know that there are changing tables in men's bathrooms now? That's pretty awesome."

"Uh, where have you been these last ten years?" Will asked. Chad smiled like he was joking. "You're four."

"Nuh-uhhh. I'm four-and-a-half!" Chad joked. They laughed as they walked through the square.

"You know, we definitely need to come back during Christmas. I think there's gonna be more displays in a couple of weeks." Gabi said.

"Yeah, that'd be really nice." Chad said. "The kids'll love it. Anyway, I should get going."

"Yeah, us, too." Gabi said. "We should do this again."

"Yeah." Chad replied.

JJ walked up. "Hey, guys."

"Oh, hey." Chad greeted.

"How's it going?" JJ asked.

"Hey." Gabi greeted.

"I tried calling you. Your phone must be off." JJ said to Gabi.

"Oh, yeah, probably. But, we connected anyway, right?" Gabi replied.

"Right. I have a surprise for you later." JJ gave her an envelope.

Will's phone buzzed with a call from Sonny. "Excuse me, I have to take this." He walked a few feet before answering. "Hey, Sonny. How's your little plan working out? Has your mom decided yet? 'Cause if she hasn't, I have an idea that might make her decision making a little easier."

"Will...my mom passed out. She's in the nny said, sounding a little upset.


	79. Truce

After dropping Ari off with Emma, Will went straight to the hospital. Sonny, Justin, and Lucas were all in the waiting room. When he saw Will, Sonny stood up and fell into Will's arms.

"What happened? Is she okay?" Will asked.

Sonny sniffed. "It's all my fault. She passed out because I locked her in that room with Dad and Lucas."

"Oh...no, it's not. You didn't want that to happen." Will said comfortingly.

"Still." Sonny sighed. They pulled away. "I'm glad you came."

"Of course." Will said, smiling. "Do they know what happened?"

"No. They're still running tests." Sonny shook his head. They sat down. "I thought what I was doing was really smart. And that I was helping her. Instead, I-"

Kayla came out to meet them. The men stood up.

"Kayla, how is she?" Asked Lucas.

"Is she gonna be all right?" Justin asked.

"Is it something serious?" Sonny asked.

"Easy, guys." Kayla laughed softly. "I've ordered a blood workup. I'll do an assessment later when I get a chance to review her chart. You know, she might have just done too much and she's been under a lot of stress."

"Yeah, that was my fault. If I hadn't-"

"Sonny, this isn't your fault." Justin said. "I mean, the stress that she's been under wasn't just one thing."

"That's right." Kayla said. "Your dad's right. I mean, think of all the things she's been doing lately."

"Way too much if you ask me." Steve commented.

"Can I see her now?" Lucas asked.

"Well, I don't think you should all go in there at once." Kayla said. She stammered. "So, Steve, why don't you go first?"

"Sounds good to me." Steve said.

"As for who's next..." Kayla looked around at the four men.

"Sonny should probably go." Lucas said, turning to Sonny.

"Yeah. Yeah. You go next." Justin said. "We'll wait, and just give Steve a few minutes, and we'll see how she's doing."

Sonny nodded, and they all sat down. "She's never gonna forgive me."

"Hey, if Sami Brady can forgive her son for writing that scathing article about her, Adrienne sure as hell can forgive hers for...well..." Will shook his head. "I'm sure she doesn't blame you."

Sonny took a deep breath. He kissed Will on the cheek. "Thanks for being here." He stood up and headed to the room. He walked in quietly as Steve and his mom were talking.

"No, no, Steve, do not go down that cancer road again." Adrienne said.

"Have you been feeling dizzy or nauseous?" Steve asked.

"No! Please stop playing doctor." Adrienne replied. She glanced at Sonny. "Both of you- come on."

Steve turned around and saw Sonny walking towards them. He got off the bed and Sonny took his place. "Mom, I was in the room with you when you collapsed. Do you remember? You scared me."

"Honey, I'm sorry, okay?" Adrienne said. "But think about everything that's been happening. Come on, the town was under siege, allying myself with Andre of all people, the twins were kidnapped, Hope got sentenced. I planned a wedding, I bought a newspaper, I mean, come on. There's just a million things here. All right? And then I was imprisioned with two crazy men."

Sonny swallowed, and sat up. "I'm really sorry I did that, okay? I honestly thought that would help you make your decision."

"Honey..." Adrienne caressed his cheek, then rubbed his arm. "I know you did that out of love, and it's okay. Your heart was in the right place...even though I wasn't sure where mine should be. Don't be sorry." She cleared her throat. "Um, will you please send your dad in here next?"

XX

Will sat next to Lucas. "Are you doing okay?"

Lucas took a deep breath. "Yeah. Adrienne's gonna be okay. She's gonna be okay, she's strong."

"Of course she is. She's been through tougher times than this." Justin replied. "She's built a home for five men, always kept us in line."

"Yeah, I'm sure it was perfect, until you screwed up." Lucas remarked.

"Dad." Will chided.

Sonny came out of the room, and Justin, Lucas, and Will stood up.

"Sonny, how's she doing?" Justin asked.

He cleared his throat. "Mom wants to see...one of you."

Justin raised his arms. "Okay, so...do we toss a coin, or...?"

Sonny chuckled softly. "Dad, she wants to see you, first."

"Oh. Okay." Justin headed to the room.

Lucas and Sonny headed to the coffee cart.

"I'm sorry." Sonny said to Lucas.

"For what?" Lucas asked.

"I know you wished Mom would have asked for you first." Sonny replied.

"No, that's fine. It's her call, you know?" Lucas replied. "She is gonna be okay. You know that, right?"

"Yeah. She was in there. She was joking around." Sonny replied.

Lucas chuckled. "Of course she was. It's what she does, man."

"She told me it wasn't my fault- locking her in the room." Sonny said. "She's blaming it on all those other things, but she was just trying to make me feel better."

"Sonny, your mom would never let anyone make her do something she doesn't want to do. Don't blame yourself, okay? She's gonna be fine. Just try not to worry so much."

"Thanks." Sonny replied. "Um...one more thing...before the ceremony...I went to my dad and encouraged him to tell Mom how he feels about her." Lucas looked stunned and a little angry. "I didn't tell him to stop the wedding. I thought he would like, write her a letter or something. I'm so sorry. I just wanted my parents together, but...that's probably not even gonna happen now. Just...take a swing at me. I deserve it."

Lucas sighed inwardly and shook his head. "I'm not gonna hit you. You want what every divorced kid wants: their parents back together. I think you're a little too old to be having those thoughts, but... I understand."

Sonny nodded. "Okay. Thanks. What is taking them so long?"

"I don't know." Lucas shook his head. "I just don't know. Listen, why don't you go back to the hotel room and grab some clothes for your mom? I'm sure she's gonna want to wear something other than her bridal gown when she's ready to leave."

"No." Justin sighed and stood up. "Forget it. I'll grab her clothes tomorrow. She's not going anywhere. She has to rest and just stay here until they figure out what's wrong."

"Tell you exactly what's wrong with her. She made it pretty clear that she's moved on from you and you chose not to listen." Lucas replied, putting a hand on his hip. Justin poured a cup of coffee. "You barged in and stressed her out!"

"Lucas, you've got to stop talking to me like-"

"Why don't you grow up? Why don't you grow up?" Lucas demanded. Sonny could feel a brawl coming on and stood between them and held out his arms. "Just move on, man! Let go! Let go!"

"Let go! Let go!" Justin repeated. "You know what I'm not letting go of, Lucas?"

"What?"

"The fact that you sucker punched me!"

"Sucker punched you!" Lucas exclaimed.

Will grabbed Lucas' shoulders. "Dad."

"I care about Adrienne." Lucas argued.

"Guys, guys!" Sonny yelled.

"You wanna go a couple of rounds?" Lucas asked. "Let's go right now."

"We're in a hospital." Sonny reminded them. He got inbetween them, but Justin pushed him aside, shocking Sonny. Will also got in between the two and put a calming hand on Lucas' chest. Sonny got inbetween again. "Dad! Dad! We are in a hospital."

"Just calm down." Will said to Lucas. "Look...do you want to go to an AA meeting? That always makes you feel better."

"Or an anger management meeting." Justin quipped.

"Anger management, really? I'm not the one who shoved my kid." Lucas raised an eyebrow.

"Hey, you started it!" Justin pointed at him. "I'm ready for you this time."

"Are you?" Lucas challenged.

"You can't sucker punch me." Justin said.

"Get out of my face!" Lucas demanded.

"Easy. Easy." Sonny said calmly. "Let it go."

"Sonny, stay out of this." Justin snapped.

"You should have told him that before he put us in that room together!" Lucas snapped. "Why do you think she's in the hospital?!"

"Hey! Dad, do not put this on Sonny." Will said coming to Sonny's defense. "You or Justin could have easily pushed past Sonny and left. You wanted to be there."

"Hey, whose side are you on?!" Lucas exclaimed.

"I'm not on anybody's side! I'm just stating a fact." Will replied.

"You know what, Lucas? You wanna know why she's in the hospital?" Justin asked. "Because you pressured her to marry you!"

"Me? You're the one who broke up the wedding!" Lucas argued. "If something happens to her, I'm holding you responsible!"

Will and Sonny glanced at each other. They got a sense of deja vu.

"You blame me for Adrienne collapsing?" Justin asked.

"Wouldn't have happened if you hadn't broken up our wedding like some crazy stalker!" Lucas yelled.

"Because you were rushing her to the altar." Justin reached over Sonny and shoved Lucas.

Sonny got in front of Justin and raised his hands. "Hey! No, you know what? Maybe you could have talked to her before the ceremony."

"Oh, no, no, no, see, that's how he rolls!" Lucas pushed past Will and Sonny and pointed at Justin. "He wanted to inflict maximum damage, 'cause he knows she chose me."

"So why aren't you married?" Justin threw an arm out.

"Dad, just knock it off." Sonny said.

"Sonny, whose side are you on?" Justin asked.

"I'm on Mom's side." Sonny snapped.

"Why don't you just leave her alone?" Lucas asked again. "Why don't you stop hurting her? Ever think of that?"

"Lucas, I'm not going anywhere!" Justin yelled.

"Both of you shut the hell up, or I will call security on your asses! I mean it!" Will glared at the two of them.

Marlena walked up to them and cleared her throat. "Everything all right here?"

"We're fine, Grandma." Will replied.

"Well, I'm just wondering why three grown men are acting like children." Marlena said.

Lucas pointed to Justin. "He acts like he owns her."

Justin pointed to Lucas. "He sucker punched me!"

"That's the defense you're going with, counselor?" Marlena asked.

"We're all just worried about Mom." Sonny said.

"And-and you picked a fight...what's going on with Adrienne?" She asked.

"We were in a room at the Salem Inn." Justin said.

"All of you?" Marlena asked.

"Well, not me." Will raised his hand.

"It's a very long story, but she was under a lot of pressure," Sonny explained. "I put her under a lot of pressure." Will squeezed Sonny's shoulder.

"We all did." Lucas said.

"She collapsed." Justin said. "Right in front of us."

"And you don't know what happened?"

"No. Kayla just went in with her, then took off without telling us anything." Justin explained.

Marlena nodded. "Okay. Let me see what I can find out. In the meantime, if you have any more testosterone-fueled events, I will call security on you. I don't know what's going on with Adrienne, but she doesn't need you idiots making it worse." She walked off.

Justin took a deep breath to calm himself down. After a minute, he turned to Sonny. "Hey, can I talk to you for a sec?" Sonny and Justin walked a few feet. "About before...I'm so sorry I shoved you. That's something I swore I'd never do. Especially after your mother told me how she was brought up."

"You were angry at Lucas." Sonny shrugged. "You weren't thinking straight."

"That's still no excuse." Justin said. "I promise I'll be more careful."

Sonny smiled. "I'll hold you to that." They hugged.

Marlena returned, and the four men stood up. "What'd Kayla say?"

"Are the results in yet?"

"I'm sorry, there are no news yet." Marlena replied.

An orderly wheeled Adrienne out of her room towards the men.

"Mom!" Sonny exclaimed.

"Look at you." Lucas said, smiling. "Nice wheels."

"Driver, can we just please stop for a second?" Adrienne asked.

"How you feeling?" Justin asked.

"Please tell me it wasn't you clowns making all that noise earlier." Adrienne said.

"No comment." Sonny said simply.

"We were just worried about you." Lucas assured her.

"It was always under control." Justin lied. "Right, Marlena?"

Will rolled his eyes. Sonny glared at him warningly.

"Oh, right, yes." Marlena replied. "Everything's as it should be now."

"So, what's going on?" Lucas asked.

"I can tell you what's going on." Adrienne replied. "They've turned me into a human pincushion, and now they wanna run more tests."

"I'll come with you." Lucas offered.

"Let me come with you." Justin said.

"No! I just..." Adrienne sighed. "Guys, please. I appreciate your concern. But I'll be fine, all right? The tests are gonna show that there's nothing wrong with me, that a good night's sleep won't fix. So, you should all just go home."

"Oh, well, you know, we can't let that happen." Sonny raised his eyebrows.

"So, how 'bout I go home?" Adrienne suggested.

"That's not happening, either." Justin said.

Marlena turned to Adrienne. "How 'bout I take you down to the lab for the rest of your tests?"

"How 'bout that sounds like a great idea." Adrienne said. "Gentlemen, try not to kill each other while I'm gone, please."

"We'll be right here." Lucas assured her.

"Yep." Justin nodded.

"Whenever you get back, we're gonna be here." Lucas said.

"Can we just-" Adrienne started to say. The orderly wheeled her off.

"We'll be right here." Lucas said.

"See you soon." Justin said. Marlena followed Adrienne and the orderly. Justin left in the opposite direction.

A few minutes later, Justin came back with sodas. He handed one to Sonny. "Sonny." Sonny took it and nodded gratefully. "Will?"

Will also took a soda. "Thanks."

Justin handed a soda to Lucas. "Peace offering."

"You shake it up?" Lucas snarked.

"It's safe." Justin assured him.

Lucas stood up and took the soda. "I was out of line earlier. I was frustrated, worried. I guess I shouldn't have punched you at the wedding."

"I had it coming." Justin shrugged. "I was there to take away your bride."

Lucas raised his eyebrows. "Not that you could."

"I don't see a ring on your finger." Justin noted.

"Well, that didn't last long." Will commented.

"Enough! Enough." Sonny said wearily. He stood up. "You guys gotta figure out a way to deal with it. No more fighting. Especially in front of Mom."

"I can agree with that." Lucas said.

"Me, too." Justin said.

"It's pointless, anyway." Sonny said, folding his arms. "Before Mom collapsed, she said she made her decision. You two need to promise that when she is back on her feet and reveals her decision, you'll respect it no matter what."

"That's fine. I promise." Lucas said.

"I will honor her decision, whatever it is." Justin said. He and Lucas shook hands.

"Good. We're on the same page." Sonny said. "We just want Mom to get better."

"Yeah."

They all sat down.

"Not sure if I believe this truce completely." Sonny said, looking between his father and father-in-law. "But it's good enough for now."

"We're going to do whatever we can to take care of Adrienne." Justin replied.

Marlena came back out and walked to them. The four men stood up.

"Marlena, how's she doing?" Lucas asked.

"Well, we need-" Marlena turned to see Kayla walking towards them. "Kayla."

Kayla didn't say anything. She walked towards Adrienne's room. Everyone followed her into Adrienne's room, but Adrienne was gone.


	80. Diagnosis

They searched all night for Adrienne. Will went home to tend to the twins, then left them with Emma before resuming the search. He and Sonny changed their clothes and headed to the Pub to meet up with Justin and Lucas. Sonny, Will, and Lucas sat at a table, and Justin called Steve. Sonny and Lucas kept checking their phones for texts or calls from Adrienne.

"Where the hell is she?" Justin asked, getting a little irritated. "We've looked at all the places I can think of. All the places we used to go to."

"Well that was a waste of time." Lucas commented, then took a sip of coffee.

"Oh, Lucas, thanks for your input." Justin said sarcastically. "I was curious about what your opinion was."

"I just meant she's not gonna go back to some place in her past." Lucas replied. "She's looking for something."

"Well, I'm gonna try her again." Sonny said. He stood up, walked a few paces, and called Adrienne. It went to voicemail. "Mom, it's me again. Will you please let us know where you are? At least let us know you're okay." He sighed and sat back down.

"Maybe she stayed over somewhere." Lucas suggested. "Victor's is out. Chad's?"

"No. Chad would have said something." Will shook his head. "Aunt Jennifer's?"

"Worth a shot." Lucas said, standing up. "Let's go."

"We'll think of other places just in case she's not there." Justin said.

"Got it." Lucas and Will took off.

XX

Lucas rang the doorbell and Jennifer answered. Lucas and Will stepped inside. "Lucas, Will, wait. Lucas!" He turned around. "I'm sorry. This isn't a good time."

"Jenn, this is important." Lucas said, sighing. "Adrienne passed out yesterday. We had to take her to the hospital."

"Wait, what? Is she okay?" Jennifer asked.

"I don't know. It doesn't look good." Lucas replied. "I could see the look on Kayla's face. She's concerned, she ordered tests, and before she could get the results, Adrienne took off and no one knows where she is."

"Oh, Lucas." Jennifer said sympathetically.

"Did she call you? Did she stop by here?" Lucas asked. "Did she get in touch with you?"

"No, no. I haven't talked to her since before the wedding." Jennifer said. "And-but I mean, she'll turn up. You'll find her."

"I don't know what to do." Lucas said. He walked into the living room and noticed two cups of coffee on the table. "Is somebody here?"

"Uh, oh. JJ stopped by this morning." Jennifer explained.

"JJ was looking for Adrienne all last night. If he stopped by this morn-" Lucas started to say, but realized something. "If he stopped by this morning, he would have told you about that."

"Well-"

Lucas touched the mug. "Oh, come on, Jen! This coffee is hot! Where is she?"

"What?"

"Don't give me that! You're hiding her, aren't you?" Lucas asked.

"What? Lucas-"

Lucas stormed out of the living room. "This is ridiculous."

"Wait, Lucas!" Jennifer rushed after him.

"Adrienne?" Lucas walked through the house. "Adrienne!"

"I'm really sorry about this." Will said to Jennifer. "But, Aunt Jenn, we promise we won't tell anyone that Adrienne's here. We'll just tell them she's fine."

"I understand that, and I promise you, she isn't here." Jennifer said honestly.

"Then whose mug of coffee was that?" Will asked. "If not JJ."

"Doug's." Jennifer replied. "I made coffee for him, but he must have forgotten, and he and Julie left."

"But, wouldn't Julie have reminded him?" Will asked.

"She must have forgooten, too." Jennifer shrugged.

Lucas came back. "She's upstairs, isn't she?"

"No. I swear to you." Jennifer answered honestly, blocking the staircase.

"Then why are you blocking the stairs like that?" Lucas demanded.

"Because I'm trying to keep you from tearing my house apart." Jennifer replied. "I mean, you said that she had a medical condition, so if she were here, I would have told you, right?"

"Yeah, right, yeah. I guess you would." Lucas said, calming down. "It's just that I'm really scared for her right now."

"I know, of course you are." Jennifer replied. "But let me help you find her."

"I don't know." Lucas said. "Justin and Sonny are doing everything they can. And I think Steve even said Paul's working on it."

"Okay. All right." Jennifer said.

"I just hate to think of her being alone right now." Lucas replied.

"I know." Jennifer replied. "Please let me know when you find her."

"Thanks." They left. Once they got to the car, Lucas asked "Did she tell you who that extra cup of coffee was for?"

"Yep. Doug." They climbed into the car and drove off. "She said she made some coffee for Doug, but he left before she could serve him some. She said he must have forgotten."

Lucas glanced at Will, noticing the hesitant tone of his voice. "You don't believe her?"

"I'm not sure." Will replied. "Gabi and Chad think that JJ and Aunt Jennifer are hiding something. Like they know something we don't."

"Well, Christmas is coming up. Maybe they have a Christmas surprise for all of us." Lucas guessed.

"Maybe." Will nodded. He received a text from Sonny.

[i]"Uncle Steve found my mom. We're heading to his house."[/i]

"Oh. Uncle Steve found Adrienne. They're on their way to Steve and Kayla's house." Will told Lucas.

Lucas sighed. "Thank God." He swerved the car around and sped towards the Johnson homestead.

XXX

Everyone gathered at Steve and Kayla's house.

"She didn't call. She just showed up at the Pub." Justin said.

"Dad."

"I know." Justin said. "She's back. That's all that matters."

"We're gonna take good care of her, Justin." Kayla promised. She walked over to Lucas. "You okay?"

"Yeah. Look, I think I should go." Lucas said. "I think this is just for family."

"No." Kayla said. "And it's too late anyway. I think she'll be glad you're here."

Just then, Steve and Adrienne walked through the front door. Sonny rushed to hug her.

"I'm sorry." Adrienne said into his shoulder.

Sonny pulled away. "You're back. That's all that matters."

Adrienne smiled and patted Sonny's cheek, then walked over to hug Justin. "I'm sorry." She pulled away, and went to hug Lucas. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

"It's okay." Lucas replied. "You needed time."

"We're just glad you're back." Justin said.

"Yeah. I'm back." Adrienne said. "Well...it's time for the $64,000 question, isn't it?" She walked over to Kayla. "What's wrong with me?"

Kayla put her hands on Adrienne's shoulders. "Wanna go in the other room and talk about this?"

"No. No." Adrienne shook her head. "Um...I had a lot of time to think, and... one thing I realized is that we're all in this together."

"That's right." Justin said.

Adrienne sighed and turned back to Kayla. "What are the test results?"

"I think you know." Kayla said. "You have breast cancer."

Everyone was shocked and saddened by this revelation. Adrienne nodded, and collapsed as she turned around. Kayla caught her before she hit the ground.

"Mom." Sonny rushed over to help hold her up.

"Sonny, you got her?" Kayla asked.

"Yeah. Come here, Mom. Come sit down." Sonny half-dragged, half carried Adrienne to the couch. "Come sit down, okay?"

Lucas bent down and gently lifted Adrienne's legs. "Put your feet up."

"I..." Adrienne's voice trailed off.

"Okay, okay."

"She's clammy." Lucas said. "She's clammy. What does that mean?"

"Mom, say something." Sonny said.

"Sweetheart, are you okay?" Justin asked, concerned.

"Adrienne, did you hear what I said?" Kayla asked.

"Yeah...I did." Adrienne nodded. "I have breast cancer."

[i]'I feel like I'm gonna be sick.'[/i] Sonny thought. Everyone was silent for a minute, then Sonny spoke. "So, what's next? Chemo? Radiation?"

"Well, I'm not sure yet. We need to run some tests to find out what we're dealing with before we can make any treatment plans." Kayla said, standing up.

"Well, what are we waiting for?" Justin asked. "How soon-"

"How soon can we get started?" Lucas asked, interrupting Justin.

"Well, I'd like to do it today." Kayla replied.

"Okay, how many tests are there?" Sonny asked.

"Well, it depends on what theses results tell us." Kayla said. "Adrienne, you know, I reserved you a room at the hospital."

"The room." Adrienne said knowingly. "Okay. How long will I be staying?"

"Just a day or two." Kayla said.

"I'll drive." Justin said.

"My car is behind yours." Lucas said.

"Well, I'm gonna go with whomever is taking Mom." Sonny said, standing up. "So, let's do it."

"You know, how about if uh, Steve takes her, and one of you could go pack her bag, and the other could maybe go buy her some books and magazines." Kayla suggested.

"I already packed a bag." Adrienne said. "For my honeymoon. Guess I won't be needing a swim suit."

"It's okay, baby." Steve said, walking towards her. "Come on, you ready to go?"

"Uh, yeah." Adrienne nodded. "Sure."

"You okay?" Kayla asked. Adrienne sniffed and nodded.

"I'll go warm up the car." Steve said, then left.

"Kayla..." Adrienne whispered.

Sonny walked over to Adrienne and put a hand on her shoulder. "I'll walk you out, Mom."

"See you over there." Kayla said as Adrienne and Sonny left. She went to grab her coat and purse.

"I should have followed up." Lucas said suddenly. Will squeezed his shoulder. "I should have made sure she was going to those screenings..."

"Lucas, she is a big girl." Kayla said. "She should have followed up on those screenings herself. Listen, this is what we can do for her: give her our love and support, and keep the peace with all of us, okay? I'll be in touch as soon as I know more. Stay here as long as you like." She headed to the door and stopped. "Oh, and uh, lock up when you leave, all right?" She left as Sonny walked in.

"You know what, I guess I'll get the bag." Lucas said. He left.

Justin and Sonny walked towards each other and hugged. "Hey, it's gonna be all right, Sonny. She's gonna be all right, son."

Justin left. Will walked over to his husband. "Hey...your dad's right, you know? Cancer isn't a death sentence. I know quite a few people who have been diagnosed years ago, and they're still standing." Sonny nodded and they hugged. "Wanna go somewhere? The Pub, maybe?"

"Yeah, that'd be fine."

XX

They headed to Horton Town Square and sat on the bench near the private area.

"You know...I really thought locking my mom in a hotel room so she can choose between our dads would really help her." Sonny lamented. "Instead, my idotic, juvenile, pathetic plan might have put her life at risk. Will, just... why? Why did I lock her in that room and make her decide between our dads? It was so stupid. If I hadn't done that-"

"Then the cancer might not have been detected as quickly." Will said. "So, you most likely helped your mom. You gotta stop beating yourself up, baby. Just be there for your mom. And lean on the people who love you. We're all here for you. You know that, right? And hey...they have made so much progress in curing cancers today. Just be positive."

Sonny swallowed back tears and nodded. He took a breath. "How am I supposed to tell my brothers?"

"I'm sure your dad will do that." Will said, rubbing Sonny's back. "Come here." Will pulled Sonny close and hugged him. Sonny cried softly against his husband's shoulder.


	81. The Purse, The Power, and The Microchips

Will and Sonny headed home and quietly ate dinner. They still didn't know what Adrienne's prognosis was. It was a waiting game at this point. They usually put the twins to bed together, but, since babies can sense tension, Sonny didn't want to take that chance, so that particular night, Will put both boys to bed. When he returned to his own bedroom, Sonny was already in pajamas, sitting on the bed with his laptop in his lap. Will sat next to him.

"Breast cancer research?" Will guessed. Sonny nodded. "How's that going?"

"Good. Um...I'm getting a bit more optimistic with each article I read." Sonny replied.

"Aw." Will hugged Sonny's arm and leaned against his shoulder. "I'm glad."

"Yeah." Sonny sighed and closed his laptop. "Don't worry: I'll stay positive. It is also Christmas, after all."

"Yeah!" Will replied.

"Um, speaking of which, we need to clear the air." Sonny replied. "Remember our little tradition of keeping things from each other every Christmas?"

Will chuckled. "All too well. We really need new traditions."

Sonny laughed. "Yeah. Well, I'm not keeping anything from you."

"Hmm. Your Christmas present is the only thing I'm keeping from you." Will winked. "And we're not keeping a secret from everyone else- well, except for EJ being alive."

"Yeah. Somehow, that seems more serious now with Deimos." Sonny said. "If he found out about that, then he'd use that against us somehow."

"True." Will nodded. "Oh- one other thing: this isn't necessarily a secret, since I was gonna tell you anyway, but, you had a lot on your plate, so I didn't want to bother you with it yet."

"Oh, well, I could use a distraction." Sonny replied, intrigued. "Shoot."

"Oh, okay." Will sat up. "So, Dad and I were over at Aunt Jennifer's this morning, hoping that your mom was hiding there."

Sonny nodded. "Go on."

"It turns out she wasn't, of course, but, there were two hot cups of coffee on the table and Jennifer blocked the stairway for some reason." Will said. "She's hiding something."

"Well, did she say who that cup of coffee was for?" Sonny asked.

"Well, first she said it was for JJ, but JJ was out all night looking for your mom. So, if he stopped by his house, he would have told Aunt Jennifer about your mom. She was pretty surprised when my dad told her." Will went on. "So, then she told us that the other cup was for Doug. She made it for him, but he apparently forgot about it and left with Julie."

"Hm. That is weird." Sonny nodded in agreement. "You know, Jennifer and JJ acted a little weird on Thanksgiving as well. It's like they know something we don't."

"Mm-hm." Will nodded. "Well, we don't really have much to go on. They probably have a special Christmas surprise for all of us."

"Maybe." Sonny smiled.

Will's cell phone rang. "Chad! Hey, what's up, buddy?"

"Hi. I hope I didn't call at a bad time." Chad replied.

"No, you didn't." Will assured him. "What's going on?"

"Well, I thought you should know about this." Chad sighed. "It turns out that my father was dying of colon cancer when your Aunt Hope shot him. He didn't tell anybody."

"Wait, really?" Will asked, surprised.

"Yeah. That's why he gave up on hunting your mom down and stealing back the fortune." Chad replied.

Will's left eye started to twitch. If Stefano was already dying, anyway, then he almost killed Hope for nothing! "Did Andre know about it?"

"He said he didn't." Chad replied. "Not sure I believe him, though."

"If he did...I am going to be so pissed." Will said through gritted teeth.

"Heh...good thing Hope was wearing a bullet-proof vest that night." Chad replied, remembering Andre forcing Will to kill his own aunt.

"Yeah. Really." Will said hotly.

"Dude, I'm sorry." Chad said honestly. "He did a good job at hiding it."

Will chuckled humorlessly. "I'll bet. Thanks for the info. Did you tell EJ?"

"Yep. He was shocked, but not surprised." Chad replied. "Hope killing our father kinda caused a rift between him and your mom."

"Yeah, but, that's over now." Will shrugged. "They realized that their relationship is complicated. I mean, my grandma killed your sister; your sister raped my uncle, then my aunt killed your dad, and your brother tried to force me to kill said aunt. They knew there would always be an ongoing war between our families. They've actually made a bet on which member of the Brady family Andre will kill next."

"Dude, that is morbid." Chad said. "Who did they bet on?"

Will laughed softly. "My mom thinks Andre might kill her next, and EJ thinks he might kill my Grandpa Roman next. He is the family patriarch, after all."

"Hmm." Chad said in thought. "How old is your great-grandma Caroline?"

"89. Why?"

"Okay...I'm not saying it's gonna be soon, but...I bet that if your great-grandma dies of natural causes, Andre will take advantage of the situation, and make it look like she was murdered." Chad theorized. "Then he'll frame either someone in the Brady family-"

"No one on this green earth is gonna believe one of Caroline Brady's own descendants murdered her in her bed." Will said simply. "Same goes for the Hortons."

"Okay, then the Kiriakises." Chad shrugged.

"Only if they have a death wish. Victor would disown, disenherit, and flay their asses within an inch of their life!" Will exclaimed. "Which is why it'd be perfect. But, wouldn't her autopsy say that-"

"Okay, I'm gonna stop this right here." Sonny grabbed Will's phone and put it against his ear. "Chad, please do not corrupt my husband, or put crazy ideas in his head."

"Well, since you asked so nicely..." Chad smirked. "Talk to you guys later."

"Bye." Sonny hung up and gave Will his phone back.

"Thank you." Will said.

"Now...what were you and Chad talking about before you plotted your great-grandma's demise?" Sonny asked, half-teasing.

Will groaned loudly and fell back. "Chad told me that Stefano had colon cancer that was untreatable, so he was already dying when Hope shot him. He goaded her into it."

Sonny scoffed and shook his head. "Unbelievable."

Will sighed and climbed off the bed. "I need a drink and some air, and when I get back, I'm gonna take a bubble bath. I don't care how late it is..." He left.

XXX

As Will walked towards the square, he accidentally ran into someone. "Oh! Crap, I'm so sorry." The person he ran into didn't look at him. She just sprinted off towards the docks. Will just stared after her. "O...kay..."

Later, Will bumped into Gabi at the coffee shop. "Hey, Gabi."

"Hey!" Gabi greeted. "So, Chad told me about his dad dying of cancer when Hope shot him."

"Heh. Yeah." Will sat down. "So, where's Ari tonight?"

"With your grandma Marlena." Gabi replied. "I had to run a few errands."

"Oh. Nice purse. Looks designer." Will commented.

"Oh, thanks. It's actually fake designer." Gabi replied. "I ran into Dario earlier, and he dropped a bag and a purse fell out. He told me it's my Christmas present, but I convinced him to give it to me early."

"Oh, God, please don't let our daughter learn from that example." Will groaned and threw his head back.

Gabi laughed. "Okay, I won't. Anyway, when I figured out that it's a fake, I tracked Dario down to the docks and confronted him about it. Then I heard a noise, and figured out that Dario was hiding a woman there. I could smell her shampoo. Actually, it kind of reminded me of the shampoo Abigail used- citrus."

Will remembered the strange woman he bumped into earlier. "Hmm."

"What?"

"I did bump into some strange woman earlier." Will said. "She headed to the docks as soon as I apologized for running into her...and her hair smelled like citrus, too."

Gabi gasped. "Dario's mystery woman! What did she look like? Did you get a good look?"

"No. It was too dark." Will shook his head. "But, I could tell she has blonde, wavy hair."

"Oh." Gabi nodded. She looked behind Will and noticed Doug and Julie across the square, heading towards them. She sighed and stood up. "And that's my cue."

"Gabi, come on." Will said.

"What? I'm not the one with the problem; Julie is." Gabi said. "I'll talk to you later."

"Okay, see you." Will said. He watched Gabi walk off, and turned around just as Doug and Julie approached him. "Hey, guys."

"Hi!" Doug greeted.

"Will, where's Ari tonight?" Julie asked.

"My grandma's babysitting her." Will replied. "So, how is Aunt Hope?"

"Oh, doing fine, considering." Julie replied. She and Doug sat down. "We actually visited her in prison today. She has a bodyguard now."

"Really?" Will raised an eyebrow. "How'd she manage that?"

"Apparently Deimos Kiriakis hired her." Julie replied.

Will was astounded. "Why?"

"According to Hope, it was to make amends for what he did to Bo." Julie replied.

"Hmm." Will nodded. "Well, at least she'll have an easier time in prison, right?"

"Yeah, we hope so." Doug replied.

"So, what else did you guys do today?" Will asked.

"Oh, well, we left early for the recreation center." Julie said. "I almost woke Jennifer up, but-"

"Wait, you left before Jennifer woke up?" Will asked. He remembered Jennifer telling him that she made coffee for Doug, but he left.

Julie nodded. "Mm-hm. Anyway, then we visited Hope, then came home to decorate the house for Christmas."

"Ooh, tell him about our non-burglary." Doug said.

"Non-burglary?" Will asked, curious.

"Oh, yeah. I heard a noise upstairs, and found the attic window open." Julie said. "Then Doug heard a thud outside. We didn't find anything- there was no sign of a break-in- but, we did find Abigail's old stuffed lamb outside in the snow. It must have been on the windowsill and fell off when I closed the window."

"Wow. Sounds exciting." Will smiled and nodded.

"It was." Doug nodded. "Well, it was nice talking to you, Will, but we gotta go."

"Oh, it was nice talking to you, too." Will smiled. They stood up. Will and Doug shook hands, and Julie hugged and kissed Will.

"Good night, darling." Julie said.

"See you, Will." Doug said. He and Julie walked off.

"Bye." Will said after them. He sighed. "Aunt Jennifer, you lied to me. Why?" He tried to piece everything together. The woman who smelled similar to Abigail was Dario's mystery woman...Julie heard something upstairs and the attic window was open...and Doug found Abigail's old stuffed lamb. Jennifer and JJ were acting weird on Thanksgiving, as if they were keeping something from everyone...that second cup of coffee...Jennifer blocking the stairway... Will gasped in realization. "Oh my God, that's it! I can't believe I didn't see this before!" He rushed off towards the parking lot and saw Jennifer sitting by the Horton tree and monument for Tom and Alice. Will smiled and walked over. "Aunt Jennifer."

Jennifer jumped slightly and smiled up at Will. "Will! Hi. You scared me."

"Sorry." Will sat. "So, I ran into Doug and Julie earlier, and they told me a funny story."

"Oh, yeah?"

"Yeah. They said they left the house early this morning before you woke up." Will replied. "You told me you made coffee for Doug before he left."

Jennifer sighed in defeat. "Look, I'm really sorry. It's just-"

Will held up a hand for silence. "You don't have to explain. I know."

Jennifer was surprised. "You do?"

"Yeah." Will nodded. "It's okay. I'm not mad."

"You're not?"

"No. I mean, it's kind of a weird situation." Will admitted.

Jennifer laughed softly. "You're telling me."

"I mean, hiding your secret girlfriend in your sister's boyfriend's house?" Will laughed and shook his head. "I mean, I've heard stranger, but, still."

"Wait, what?" Jennifer asked, a little confused.

"It's okay, Aunt Jennifer, you don't have to pretend with me." Will assured her. "I know about Dario's mystery woman."

"Dario's mystery woman?"

"Yeah. I accidentally bumped into her earlier, and her hair smells just like Abigail's did." Will replied. "I didn't get a good look at her, but I could tell she has wavy, blonde hair. She didn't say anything. She just sprinted to the docks. Later, Gabi told me she met with Dario on the docks, and she figured out he was hiding a woman there."

"Oh. Right." Jennifer said.

"Was that who you were hiding and why you were blocking the stairway when my dad and I came over?" Will asked.

"Yes. Yes, it was." Jennifer nodded. "Um, listen, she is not in this country legally, so, I would appreciate it if you kept quiet about it. Not even Doug and Julie know."

"Oh. Okay. Of course I'll keep quiet." Will replied. "How long are you planning on hiding her?"

"Not very long. Hopefully." Jennifer replied. "You know, you'd make an excellent investigative journalist."

"Thank you." Will smiled and stood up. "Well, good night, Aunt Jennifer."

"See you." Jennifer said. Once Will was out of earshot, she sighed heavily. "Oh, Will, you could not have been more wrong..."

XXX

Sonny was having a rough night. First, he tried to visit with his mom in the hospital, but she kicked him out; then he had an unsuccessful business meeting with Steve and Paul; and then to top it all off, he met with Brady who scolded him for investigating the Hernandez shipping business behind Deimos's back and implied that he put his brother in danger! Then Brady told Sonny to fire Paul and Steve. Sonny did just that, and Paul argued that there has to be something more to this whole investigation. Sonny was adamant.

Will walked through the square and saw his husband trudging towards the private area and jogged to catch up with him. "Sonny?" Sonny turned around and fell into Will's arms, hugging him like a lifeline. Will hugged back and rubbed his back. "Bad night?"

Sonny exhaled sharply. "You could say that."

"Wanna head home?" Will asked.

"I don't feel like going home right now." Sonny said.

"Okay. Wanna get some hot chocolates, then?" Will asked. Sonny nodded. They went to the cafe to get hot chocolates, then walked towards the bench in front of the huge Christmas tree. "Is your mom okay?"

"It's hard to tell." Sonny said. They sat on the bench. "Every time I'm around, she just wants me to leave."

"She probably doesn't want you to worry too much about her." Will assured him.

"Yeah, I know." Sonny nodded. "Anyway, the doctors are hoping they caught my mom's cancer in the early stages."

"When will they decide on what treatments to give her?" Will asked.

"They're running a few more tests tonight and tomorrow. Then they'll know." Sonny said.

"Well, that's probably why she doesn't want anyone around, then." Will said. "She doesn't have any answers to the questions you worrywarts keep asking her."

"'Cause you totally wouldn't do the same thing." Sonny rolled his eyes.

"Okay, yeah, I would have. Still." Will shrugged.

Sonny smiled for a minute and turned away. "You know, every Christmas, my mom would make us one thing by hand. She would say, uh, 'It's not the gift that matters, but the thought put into it'. This one year, she made me a pillow with my itnitials on it. And to think like, all these toys, games, and gadgets I've wanted all those years...that pillow is the only thing I still have. And I would never get rid of it." He sipped his hot chocolate, and the song God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen started playing over the loudspeakers.

"That is so sweet." Will smiled. "You know, when Abigail and Stephanie used to talk about your mom, I've always pictured this soft-spoken, refined lady."

Sonny laughed. "Boy, were you way off-base."

Will laughed, too. "Well, she's definitely a force to be reckoned with. Just like her son. She's lucky to have such a devoted family and friends. You know, they'll all be there for her through...whatever lies ahead. And like I said, we'll all be there for you, too."

Sonny smiled and looked at the tree behind them. Will looked, too. They noticed a huge mistletoe ornament. "Remember our kiss under the mistletoe our first Christmas?"

"Yeah...life was so much simpler then, wasn't it?" Will asked.

"Where did the idea of mistletoe come from, anyway?" Sonny asked.

Will shrugged. "Probably just made it up as an excuse to get a kiss."

Sonny chuckled and kissed Will. "Well, it wasn't a bad idea."

"So, is your mom the only reason you're in a bad mood?" Will asked.

"Actually, no." Sonny sighed. "Remember how I told you I hired Steve and Paul to investigate the docks behind Deimos's back?"

"Yes. Don't tell me he found out." Will said.

"No, he didn't. Thank God." Sonny shook his head. "They found out that Eduardo and Dario were helping smuggling in fake designer handbags and shoes. We didn't see anything wrong with that, but I know there's something more to it. Anyway, tonight, I told Brady this, and he totally chewed me out. He basically accused me of putting his brother's life at risk and told me to fire him and Steve, because if Deimos finds out, he'll fire me."

"You know, he could just be trying to keep you away from the line of fire." Will reasoned. "He was looking out for you. And by extension, his brother."

"I know, but...still." Sonny replied. "He didn't have to be so self-righteous. He even told me that Deimos isn't as bad as I think he is."

Will laughed. "You're gonna trust Brady's judgement over your own? Really?"

"Oh, hell no." Sonny shook his head. "I haven't trusted Brady's judgement since his second fling with Kristen."

Will exhaled. "Wow. So...are you going to fire Paul and Uncle Steve?"

"I already did." Sonny replied. "It doesn't matter now, anyway. There was nothing in the handbags, so, maybe it really is legit."

"Have you checked the lining?" Will asked.

Sonny's eyes widened, then he groaned and threw his head back. "No. And we put the purse that we stole back. So, I guess we're screwed."

"Not really." Will said. "Gabi has one of the bags."

Sonny looked at him. "What?"

"She caught Dario with one of the handbags, and he told her that it was her Christmas present, but she convinced him to give it to her early." Will replied. A light bulb went off in his head. "You know...I am going to pick up Ari tomorrow morning from her house. I could go a little early and get a good look into that purse. If it's something dangerous, I'll have Paul look into it."

Sonny smiled and laughed softly. "Come here." He pulled Will into a hug. "Have I told you lately how much I love you?"

"You could stand to mention it more." Will teased, chuckling.

XXX

The next morning, Will went to the Hernandez house a little early. Rafe answered the door.

"Hey, Will. You're a little early." Rafe replied. "Gabi's just getting Ari out of the tub."

"Oh. I must have gotten the time messed up. I'm sorry." Will lied.

"Hey, it's no problem. Come on in." Rafe stepped aside to let Will in. "I'll let her know you're here."

"Okay." Will looked around and spotted Gabi's purse hanging on a hook on the wall. 'Jackpot.'

Gabi walked into the kitchen. "Hey."

"Hi. Sorry. I thought you said 8:00, not 8:30." Will lied.

"It's okay. Just give us 20 minutes, and I'll have her ready for you." Gabi replied. She left.

Rafe walked through the kitchen, putting his coat on. He grabbed his keys and left. "Later, Will."

"Bye." Will waited until Rafe pulled out of the driveway before taking a deep breath. "Okay." He looked to make sure Gabi wasn't coming back, then grabbed her purse and emptied it out on the table. He felt the outside pocket and felt nothing there. He looked around to make sure no one was coming back, then felt the inside of the purse. On the bottom inseam, he felt something small, smooth, and square. Shivers ran up and down Will's spine as he scooped the contents of Gabi's purse back into the purse and hung it up. He pulled out his cell phone to call Sonny.

"Hey, did you get a chance to go through Gabi's purse?" Sonny asked.

"Yeah. You were right- there is something more to it." Will whispered loudly. "There was a microchip sewn into the lining."

"Great. Great work, babe!" Sonny exclaimed. "What could those microchips be used for, though?" Will was silent for a minute. "Will?"

"Well...microchips are a DiMera specialty." Will said. "They used microchips to mind control people."

Realization dawned on Sonny. "That makes sense. Deimos hired Dario and Eduardo to steal microchips from the DiMeras!"

"Okay, calm down. We don't know for sure they stole from the DiMeras." Will said. "Remember what happened last time someone thought the DiMeras did something?"

"Good point." Sonny said. "We need to find out who Dario and Eduardo stole from."

"That information might be on the microchip." Will pointed out. "Are you gonna tell your dad?"

"Not until we know more." Sonny replied. "You think you can get that microchip out without Gabi noticing?"

"Yeah. I'm still at her house. Gabi's still getting Ari ready, so, I'll have a few more minutes." Will replied.

"All right. Good luck. And thank you for doing this." Sonny said.

"You're welcome. Love you. Bye." Will hung up. He was about to grab Gabi's purse again when he heard Ari bounding through the hall.

"Daddydaddydaddy!" Ari cried excitedly.

"Hey!" Will crouched down and picked his daughter up and hugged her. "How's my favorite girl?"

"Good. How you?" Ari asked.

Will laughed. "I am great."

"We got done a little earlier than I thought we would." Gabi said as she walked into the kitchen. She put on her coat and grabbed her purse. They headed to the car and Gabi hugged her daughter good-bye. "Bye, baby. I'll see you on Monday."

"Bye, Mommy." Ari replied.

Will buckled Ari into her car seat, then climbed into the driver's seat. He backed out of the driveway and started down the street. "So, Ari, what do you want to do today?"

"Play at Daddy's house." Ari said.

"All right. That's where we're going." Will replied.

XX

Once Will got Ari settled in the playroom, he found Sonny in the hallway.

"Hey. Did you manage to get the chip?" Sonny asked.

Will sighed and leaned back against the wall. "No. Gabi and Ari finished getting ready early. I was too late."

Sonny exhaled sharply. "I'm just wondering what the hell is on that thing. Who are the Hernandez boys stealing from?"

"I don't know." Will shrugged. "Hey...let's not worry about the chip right now. Ari's here. Let's spend time with her."

Sonny smiled. "Don't have to tell me twice." They chuckled and headed to the playroom.

XXX

Later, Will caught Philip packing in his room. "Uncle Phil? Hey, you going somewhere?"

"Yeah, actually." Philip replied, closing and zipping his suitcase. "I'm moving."

"So close to Christmas?" Will asked, surprised.

Philip nodded. "I'm just tired of this family- Deimos, Brady, my dad, all of it. So, I'm heading east."

"Oh. Is Chloe going with you?" Will asked.

"No." Philip said, slightly crestfellen. "Uh, to put it simply: I was friendzoned by her."

"Ouch." Will said.

"Yeah." Philip wheeled his suitecase out of the room. "Hey...do me one favor? Make sure Sonny doesn't get caught in Deimos' crosshairs. And...to be honest, I think moving out would be the best thing to do. As long as Deimos lives here...you're not safe."

Will was puzzled. Where was this coming from? "Did something happen?"

Philip just shook his head. "It's nothing worth mentioning. Just...be careful."

"I will." Will promised. "Take care, Uncle Phil. I hope you find what you're looking for."

"Thanks." Philip and Will hugged. "You're a good nephew, Will." He walked off. Will waved and then sighed and leaned against the wall. So much drama within the Kiriakis family.

XXX

The next morning, Sonny got a call from someone at the docks that Paul was snooping around and was caught by Dario, who was about to beat the crap out of Paul. Dario ran to Deimos to tell him. Sonny came clean, and Deimos surprisingly was great about it and told Sonny to investigate for real.

Sonny caught up with Paul in the square. Paul turned around. "Look, I'm really sorry. I shouldn't have kept on investigating the Hernandez guys after you told me to stop."

"It's okay." Sonny said.

"But they're up to something." Paul continued. "At least Dario is. And I don't want that to come back to you or Will or your kids. I was trying to protect you guys."

"I appreciate that." Sonny replied.

"Well, I won't do anything else." Paul promised.

"Actually, I think you're right about Dario." Sonny said. "And Deimos agrees with me now. We want you to keep at it."

"Great." Paul said, relieved. "Who should I report to?"

"Me." Sonny replied. "And um..." He cleared his throat and folded his arms. "I really wish you had called me before you went to the docks."

"You would have talked me out of it." Paul shrugged.

"Yes. But not for the reason you think." Sonny explained. "Gabi has one of the handbags her dad and brother smuggled."

"What?" Paul asked, surprised.

"She caught Dario with one, and he told her it was her Christmas present." Sonny continued. "She convinced him to give it to her early. She told Will, who told me. Will suggested checking the lining of the purses to see if something was sewn in there."

Paul groaned and threw his head back. "Dammit. Why didn't we think of that?"

Sonny laughed softly. "It pays to be married to the spawn of Sami and Lucas."

Paul laughed. "So, we just need to check the lining of Gabi's purse without her finding out about it."

"Way ahead of you." Sonny replied. "Will went to Gabi's house a little early to pick up Ari for her visitation. He felt something small, square, and smooth sewn into the lining. He suggested it might be a microchip."

Paul nodded. "Okay. Good. That's progress. Now...why would the Hernandezes be smuggling microchips in purses?"

"Well, Will said that microchips are a DiMera specialty." Sonny shrugged. "But, we don't know for sure if it is a microchip and that they stole from the DiMeras."

"All right, well, I'll keep digging." Paul said.

"Great, thanks." Sonny replied. "But, Paul...tomorrow's Christmas Eve. Don't worry about work until after New Years'. Spend time with your family. You've earned it."

"Thanks. I definitely will." Paul said. He started walking off. "Merry Christmas!"

"Merry Christmas." Sonny replied and headed off.

XXX

Sonny headed home. He found Will and Ari heading to the home theater. "Hey, you two."

"Daddy! Wanna watch a movie with us?" Ari asked.

"What movie?" Sonny crouched down to her level.

"'Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer'." Ari said.

"Oh! Yeah, sure. I just need to talk to Da for a minute, if that's okay." Sonny replied.

"Why don't we get you settled in, and I'll start the movie?" Will suggested. He turned to Sonny and gave him the baby video monitor. "I just put the boys down. Give me a minute."

Ari and Will headed into the room. Sonny smiled fondly at the video monitor at his boys sleeping soundly. Leon's legs were crossed for some reason. Sonny shrugged and looked up to see Will leaving the room.

"Hey." Sonny said.

"Hi. What did you want to talk to me about?" Will asked.

Sonny sighed. "Deimos knows."

"About what?" Will asked.

"He knows about my hiring Paul and John to investigate the Hernandez shipments." Sonny answered. Will stared at him in horror. "Will, it's okay."

"How is it okay? Your days are numbered, now!" Will exclaimed quietly.

"Don't be so melodramatic." Sonny said. "Deimos is actually okay with Paul and John investigating the Hernandez shipments."

Will exhaled sharply. "So he says."

"Well, he was distracted about something when Dario told him- Dario caught Paul snooping around at the docks and he ran to tell Deimos." Sonny explained. "Something about Chloe going into labor, and she and Nicole are stranded at a hotel in Chicago during that huge snowstorm."

"Yikes." Will said. "But, after that blows over..."

"I'll keep both eyes open, don't worry." Sonny said. He wrapped his arms around Will's shoulders. "Hey...tomorrow is Christmas Eve. Let's focus on the holidays and be happy."

Will smiled. "Okay."


	82. Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas

Marlena hummed to herself as she set a platter of cookies on the table she set up in the living room. John snuck up behind her and held a mistletoe over their heads.

"Oh!" Marlena turned around and chuckled. She and John kissed. "Merry Christmas, darling."

"Merry Christmas." Marlena replied, smiling. She cast a glance at her iPad.

"Still waiting for Sami to call?" John guessed.

"Yeah." Marlena sighed. "I was hoping she would come visit with the children and her new husband I have yet to meet, but..." She shook her head.

"Did she say what his name was?"

"Ethan. She didn't say his last name." Marlena shrugged.

"Hmm." John nodded, looking dubious. "Very strange."

"Well, Will said he met him over FaceTime." Marlena replied. "He said he looks a little like Matt Bomer, the actor only with black hair, brown eyes, and a long nose. He's very good to Sami and the children."

"That's good." John said. "It's still very strange she won't introduce him to us, though."

"Maybe he was in witness protection when he met her." Marlena shrugged.

"True." John replied. "You know, I could look into him if you want."

"No." Marlena shook her head. "I don't want Sami to think we don't trust her or something. We hardly hear from her as it is."

John nodded again. "Okay. Fair enough."

The doorbell rang. Marlena opened the door to Will, Sonny, their kids, and Tate. "Oh! Hi! Come on in!"

"Hi, Grandma." Will greeted. They hugged. "Oh, I feel like I haven't seen you in forever."

"I know." Marlena said. She knelt down to her great-granddaughter. "Hi, Ari."

"Hi, Grandma." Ari greeted. "Do you have presents."

"Ari." Will scolded lightly.

Marlena laughed. "It's okay, Will. Now, what kind of grandma would I be if I didn't have presents? We'll open them after we eat. Sound good?"

"Fine." Ari said begrudingly.

Marlena turned to the twins. "Hi, babies. Hello."

Meanwhile, John picked up his grandson and said hello. He turned to Sonny. "Thanks for bringing him over."

"Sure. Brady is sorry he couldn't make it. It's just that Chloe and Nicole are stranded somewhere in Chicago during that huge snowstorm, and Chloe was about to go into labor."

"It's okay. I understand." John replied. "Have you and Will heard from Sami at all?"

"No, not yet." Sonny replied.

"Hm. You know, Marlena and I were curious about this Ethan that Sami's married to." John said. "Have you met him?"

"Yeah." Sonny nodded.

"What do you know about him?"

"Not much. Just that he and Sami have a lot in common." Sonny replied. The doorbell rang again.

Marlena opened the door to Claire and Paul. "Hey! Come on in."

"Hi, Grandma." Claire greeted. She and Paul greeted the kids and started playing with them.

Will and Sonny addressed John and Marlena. Sonny turned to Will. "Um, they wanna know about your mom and her mysterious husband."

"Oh. Well, he and my mom have a lot in common. Uh, he's really good to her and the kids." Will said.

"What's his last name?" Marlena asked.

"She didn't say." Will lied. "My mom let slip that he- Ethan- is in the witness protection program. A few years ago, four men broke into Ethan's house. One of the men shot the three other men in cold blood. Ethan and his girlfriend escaped and received FBI protection, but, somehow the killer managed to try to kill Ethan, but his girlfriend dived in between and took the bullet. He's been in WitSec ever since."

"Whoa." John breathed.

"Yeah. He hasn't told my mom his real name or where he's from." Will continued.

"Well, he and Sami do indeed have a couple things in common." Marlena said. "Sami was also in witness protection, and her husband died."

"That's why they bonded instantly." Will replied.

"And why Sami has kept her distance." Marlena surmised.

"Pretty much." Will said.

"All right, well, that's solves that mystery." John said. "Who's hungry?"

"I am." Paul replied.

"You don't need the calories!" Will exclaimed. Paul looked taken aback, and Will laughed. "I'm kidding, Paul. It's a quote from Ice Age 3."

"Oh!" Paul laughed. "Good one."

Sonny pulled Will aside and whispered. "Nice story. I almost believed you."

"Thanks. I feel bad for lying, but..." Will shrugged.

"Still. 'Ethan and his girlfriend witnessing a triple homicide'? You got that from Eyewitness, huh?" Sonny asked.

"Yep, I did." Will said. "I almost said 'Ethan and his boyfriend'."

Sonny laughed softly and hugged Will's shoulders.

XXX

Next up were the Johnsons. Adrienne wasn't ready to leave the hospital yet, so her family brought Christmas to her. They talked to Jo and Vern and Stephanie via FaceTime. Lucas wanted to stay with Adrienne in the hospital, but told Will and Sonny to go ahead to the Horton Tree Trimming.

Not many people were there. Jennifer, JJ, Maggie, Julie, Doug, Ciara, Claire, Shawn, Abe, Dr. Valerie Grant, Theo, and Lani were all talking and laughing.

"Hey, look who's here!" Doug turned to Will, Sonny, and their kids.

"Hi, everyone." Will greeted.

"Hey!" Jennifer greeted. "Where's your dad?"

"With Adrienne at the hospital. He's gonna try to make it later." Will said.

"Oh." Jennifer nodded. She knelt down. "Hi, Ari. I like your dress."

"Thank you Aunt Jenn." Ari replied. "Where's Thomas?"

"Oh, you know what? He is with his daddy right now." Jennifer replied. "He's not coming over tonight."

"Why not?" Ari asked.

Jennifer couldn't think of a good explanation, so she grabbed a cookie and offered it to Ari. "Want a cookie?"

"Sure!" Ari said, smiling.

Julie and Doug stood in front of the tree, facing everyone. "Everyone, if I could have your attention, please. As we place each person's ornament on the tree, I think we should take a minute and think about why they mean so much to us, why their presence in our lives- however long or short a time made us a better person just by their presence. Okay, let's start off with the two newest additions to the family. Will? Sonny?" Will and Sonny smiled and walked up to Doug and Julie who held out small boxes. Will pulled out a baby blue ornament with a red and green wave design at the top. The name "Leon" was spelled out in bold white letters. Sonny pulled out a gold ornament decorated with small, white snowflakes. The name "Devon Justin" was spelled out in red letters topped with snow. A penguin wearing a santa hat and a red scarf stood on each side of the name. Will and Sonny hung the twins' ornaments, then their own. Will helped Ari hang her ornament. Will then hung Lucas' and Alle's ornaments. Everyone hung their ornaments in silence.

Everyone talked a little. And laughed.

"You know, I can still hear Grandpa Tom's beautiful voice reading the Christmas story." Julie said. Everyone laughed. "Every year. Remember?" She started reciting it in a deep voice. "Three wise men..." Everyone laughed again, and Julie spoke normally. "Travelling to meet this baby boy laying in a manger. Some people believe that was God's greatest miracle, the birth of Jesus. Got me to thinking...thinking about the miracles we ask for, but never come. All the prayers that get unanswered. And I realized that's the test of our faith. 'Cause in faith, we know prayers are heard. Prayers are answered...in miracles that we don't expect in ways we can't even recognize."

"Hanging on for one more day," Doug put in. "'Cause we believe and we have faith that life is not random and that all of our struggles do matter. Our Christmas prayer for all of you is that God grants you the grace and the strength to hang on even when life is trying to make you let go, that you keep the faith, and that you remember all the things that we have to be grateful for. Because, man, there are just so many, so much. All of you in this room sit at the top of that gratitude list."

They all smiled and sang "O Come All Ye Faithful".

Maggie walked up to Will and Sonny. "You know, speaking of the Christmas story...I won't be able to make it to the kids' party at the hospital later. Someone has to take care of Victor." She laughed softly. "Will...I want you to read the Christmas story this year."

Will was suprised. "M-me? That's insane. There are several people who deserve a shot at that honor."

Maggie smiled and shook her head. "Will, come on. Don't be modest. I mean, in these last two years alone, you have experienced so many miracles. You know what these kids are going through. Plus...you're practically the only one in the family who actually likes to read." They chuckled.

"Okay. Sure! Why not?" Will smiled.

Maggie laughed. "All right! I'll text Kayla to let her know."

Julie walked up to them. "So, who's reading the Christmas story this year?"

"Will is." Maggie replied.

"Oh. Wow, when was the last time a male Horton read it?" Julie asked.

"I believe it was Nathan, seven years ago." Maggie answered.

"Wow, it's been that long?" Julie gasped. "My goodness."

XXX

The little family headed back home. Sonny's brothers called them on Skype. Alex and Sonny bet on a football game.

"...Well, in the spirit of the season, I won't say you're full of it, but I will say on February 6th, you are going to owe me a sizable amount of change." Sonny was saying.

"Whatever, dude. You know my address, right?" Alex asked.

"I do. I trust you know mine." Sonny replied.

"Yeah, yeah." Alex rolled his eyes. "Hey, we wanna meet our new nephews! Where are they?"

"Right here." Justin picked up the laptop and showed it to the baby twins, sleeping in their car seats.

"Awwww!" The adult twins cooed.

"Look at them. They're so peaceful." Alex commented.

"Yeah. Wait until they wake up." Sonny smiled.

"Good point. Well, we gotta go. Merry Christmas!" Alex said.

"Merry Christmas, boys. Talk to you soon." Justin said.

"Merry Christmas!" Sonny said.

Justin turned off Skype. "You know...it wouldn't be Christmas without you and your brothers trashing each other's teams, trading insults, making bets on the Super Bowl..."

"I don't know why they argue with me, 'cause I'm always right." Sonny smirked.

"Hell, I learned that before I even started dating him." Will smiled. They laughed.

"Good!" Sonny said. "Well, we gotta go. We're gonna be late for the Christmas party at the hospital."

"Yeah. I'll put the boys down and get Ari." Will left the living room with the twins. "Merry Christmas, you two."

Sonny kissed his mom. "Merry Christmas. See you in the morning. Enjoy the sugar plum fairies dancing in your head. Although, that was very strange for me as a kid. Very strange, Dad."

Justin just laughed and shook his head.

XX

Sonny, Will, and Ari met Gabi and Dario at the hospital. The Hernandez siblings were arguing about the necklace that Chad gave Gabi for Christmas.

"Ahem." Sonny cleared his throat.

Gabi whirled around and smiled as she greeted her daughter. "Hi, baby girl!" She hugged her. "Oh."

Sonny and Dario glared at each other. "Dario." Sonny greeted, civilly.

"Kiriakis." Dario nodded.

"Will!" Will exclaimed, trying to lighten up the moment.

Gabi showed Ari the lights on the Christmas tree. Then, she spotted Ari's friend Lucy. "Hey, why don't you go say hi to Lucy? She and her mom are right over there." She set Ari down. "Go ahead." Ari ran off. Gabi straightened up and addressed her brother. "Why don't you just- why don't you leave, since you're not into the Christmas spirit?"

"I don't care if it's Christmas. I don't like him snooping around my shipments." Dario snapped.

"You know what? I'm getting close to being sick of you." Gabi said. "It's Christmas. Stop, okay? Just stop."

"Okay. Fine. Whatever you say." Dario said.

"Thank you. And could you guys at least try to get along just for one night?" Gabi asked.

"It's fine by me." Sonny said. "He's the one that's mad."

"Yeah, I'm mad," Dario said. "because you're right. It's not the time or place."

Gabi smiled. "You have successfully avoided coal in your stocking. Thank you."

Sonny turned to Gabi. "I like your necklace. He said, changing the subject."

"Oh yeah, thanks." Gabi said. She turned to Dario. "Not a word."

"Looks like JJ went all out." Sonny said.

"Oh, it's not from JJ." Dario said. He turned to Gabi. "How do you think he's gonna feel when he sees you wearing that thing?"

"Oh, well, that's none of your damn business." Gabi said. "God. Okay, well, you guys are gonna find out eventually. JJ and I broke up."

"What?" Dario asked.

"I'm sorry." Sonny said.

"Yeah. I mean, it just didn't work out, I guess." Gabi said.

"You didn't have to break up with him, Gabi. This could have been a big misunderstanding." Dario insisted.

"Wow. Way to..." Gabi threw her hand up in dismay. "Way to get involved with my personal life."

"Gabi, you need to be careful about-"

"You know what? You need to be quiet, all right?" Gabi snapped, interrupting Dario. She turned to Sonny. "You're lucky you don't have all your brothers in the same time zone. Oh. Here come all the kiddos. It's a great time to stop talking, right? Hey, guys!"

Paul, dressed as an elf, danced a little as he lead the kids out to the waiting area. Will put a hand to his mouth to muffle his laughter. He pulled out his phone and took a picture of Paul. "Blackmail..."

"You look ridiculous." Sonny said to Paul, smiling.

"And a very merry Christmas to you, too." Paul replied simply.

Sonny snapped a photo of Paul on his phone. "Well, I am going to send this to all your former teammates, and it will confirm everything they think about gay people."

"Oh, but I was gonna use that photo as blackmail someday." Will said. Sonny and Paul just stared at him. "What?"

Paul laughed, ducked his head, and pinched the bridge of his nose. "I am volunteering at a party for sick kids. If I can make at least one of them smile, it'll be worth wearing this utterly demeaning outfit." He folded his arms. "And, you know, if you publish that picture, I'm gonna- I'm gonna take batting practice on your face."

Sonny raised an eyebrow. "Well, I've seen you at batting practice, so I feel super safe."

"Well, then I'll karate-chop your ass." Paul smirked.

Dario walked up. "Hey, elf man. Nice threads. You spying on Santa, now? You think he's trafficking in stolen toys?"

Sonny sighed. "Look, Dario, I hired him to investigate the merchandise, okay? He was doing his job. It's me you don't like."

"Guess what- I think I can manage thinking that your both creeps." Dario said.

Gabi stepped in again, this time carrying Ari. "Hey, listen. Why don't you just drop it. It's a party, okay?"

"Oh, it's a party. Is that why I'm having so much fun?" Dario asked.

Steve and Kayla, dressed as Santa (Steve wore a red eye patch) and Mrs. Claus, walked into the nurse's station. "Ho, ho, ho! Merry Christmas, everyone!"

"I didn't know Santa was a pirate!" Ari exclaimed. Everyone laughed.

"Oh, Arianna is so funny!" Steve exclaimed. "Ho, ho, ho! Hello, children."

"Santa!" The kids exclaimed.

As Steve greeted the kids, Dario pulled Gabi aside and gave her a real purse to replace her fake one. Sonny watched, suspicious. He reached behind him and tugged Paul's shirt. Paul turned around and saw Dario put the fake purse in his bag.

"All right, everyone! Gather around." Kayla said. "It's a tradition at this hospital to read the Christmas story from the bible. This year, the great-grandson of the founder of this hospital will read it. Will?"

"Thank you." Will sat on the chair and addressed the kids. "You guys are lucky. You are being cared for by the nicest hospital staff in this state. When I was your age, I was here, too. My little girl was also here earlier this year. A miracle happened to both of us, and a miracle will definitely happen to you guys. Now..." He held up the bible. "Who wants to hear the greatest story ever written?" The kids cheered. "All right." He opened up the bible to Luke 2. "'And there were in the same country, shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flocks by night. And lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round them, and they were sore afraid...'"

When Will was finished, the kids clapped and cheered, and took pictures with Santa. Sonny walked over to Gabi. "Hey, Will and I are gonna take Ari to see the Christmas tree in Horton Town Square."

"Good idea. She'll like that." Gabi smiled. "I am just gonna stay and help clean up. So, I'll meet up with you guys."

"Sounds good." Sonny nodded.

"So, how's your mom?" Gabi asked.

"Good. She's with my dad. We video chatted with my brothers." Sonny said. "That was fun."

"Oh, that sounds nice."

"Yeah. She's great." Sonny said, smiling. "I think she gets a little tired from all those treatments."

"Yeah."

"And when I'm around, she feels like she has to be same old Mom." Sonny said.

"Yeah. Yeah." Gabi nodded. "So you're doing the rounds of the Christmas parties. That's cool."

"Oh, yeah." Sonny chuckled. "The Horton Tree trimming, the Johnsons spend Christmas Eve in my mom's hospital room, then this. So, I'm just living large." Gabi chuckled. "Anyway, let's talk about you now. Did Dario actually buy you a purse that looked exactly like your old one?"

"Yeah. He didn't want me to have a fake purse." Gabi said.

"Oh, I see. So, what, Ari is just gonna play with the old one?" Sonny asked.

"Yeah. I actually don't know where he put the old one..." Gabi said.

"That's okay. It'll turn up." Sonny replied.

"Yeah, whatever." Gabi said. "I mean, I took everything out of mine, so, yeah."

"Okay. I'm gonna go get Ari ready to go." Sonny said. "I'll see you later."

"Okay."

Sonny walked over to Will. "Hey, I'll bring the car around."

"Okay."

Sonny started heading towards the elevator when he caught sight of Dario in an empty hospital room looking through the purse. Dario ripped out a microchip. Sonny hid behind a shelf as Dario walked out.

"Oh, I knew it. I just knew it!" Sonny muttered to himself and headed for the elevator.

XXX

Later, Will, Sonny, and Ari walked up to the tree. Sonny looked at an angel ornament, then looked at Ari. "You know, that angel kind of looks like you. The part of you that looks just like your da."

"Aww." Will said.

Paul walked up, now dressed in street clothes. "Hey, guys."

"Hi! I love how we keep running into you today." Will commented. He smiled. "Good thing I like you now." They chuckled.

"You know, we're kind of disappointed." Sonny said. "We were hoping you'd wear that elf costume the entire Christmas season."

Paul chuckled. "Well, I'm glad that you, uh, found that so amusing, that I could bring some joy into your dry, humdrum life."

Sonny shrugged. "Eh, you know, you don't know the half of it. You know, when Gabi gets here, we're gonna take this one home," He poked Ari. "and we're gonna put out some cookies and ice cream for Santa."

"That actually sounds like a lot of fun." Paul replied. "Well, I better get going." He leaned over to Ari. "Hey, Merry Christmas, sweetie. I hope you get everything you want." He glanced at Will and Sonny. "You guys, too." He walked off.

Gabi never showed, so Ari and her dads headed home. After Ari was fast asleep, Justin and Sonny played Santa by putting more presents under the tree and stuffing the stockings. Then, Will and Sonny headed over to St. Luke's for midnight mass.

"I asked Father Louis to include your mom and Aunt Hope in the prayer." Will whispered to Sonny.

Sonny smiled and squeezed Will's hand, and kissed his cheek. "I love you."

"I love you, too."


	83. Family Trees and Legacies

Ari woke up before the sun was up. She grinned and climbed out of her bed and ran to the window. She pulled herself up so she could look outside. It was raining, but, she didn't care. It was Christmas morning! She ran into her dads' bedroom and climbed on top of Will.

"Daddy! Wake up! It's Christmas!" Ari cried excitedly. She bounced on top of Will. "Dad, Dad, Dad, Dad..."

Sonny woke up, but didn't open his eyes. "Your daughter is awake."

"Mm. Before sunrise, she's your daughter." Will replied.

Sonny laughed softly and sat up. He yawned and stretched. "Oh, what time is it?" He looked at the clock. "6:03."

Will stretched and rubbed the sleep out of his eyes. "All right, we're up."

"Yay!" Ari cheered and clapped.

"Ari, people are still asleep, so we have to be quiet." Will said.

"Sorry." The three headed downstairs to the living room. Ari ran to the presents under the tree. "Are these all for me?"

Will laughed softly. "No. Some are for your daddies and your brothers, some for Uncle Brady, Uncle Victor, Deimos, Aunt Maggie, and Grandpa Justin."

"Oh." Ari nodded.

"Let's look in your stocking." Will suggested. He pulled Ari's stocking from the fireplace mantle.

Over the next couple hours, people started to wake up. They ate breakfast and opened presents.

"A Book Ends gift card for $50! Aunt Maggie, you shouldn't have." Will exclaimed.

"Oh, don't be silly." Maggie said.

"Monogrammed pocket squares." Sonny chuckled. "Will, you are too much sometimes." They kiss.

"Hey, Deimos, you open one now." Victor said.

"Well, all right. This is from Victor." Deimos opened a gift from Victor which was a lump of coal. Brady, Will, Justin, and Sonny all exclaimed. Deimos rolled his eyes. "Very funny, brother. Very funny."

"I thought so." Victor said.

Claire and Ciara stopped by with a few presents. "Hey, everyone. Merry Christmas!"

"Merry Christmas!" Brady said. "I was wondering if youi two were gonna come. I don't know how much time Granddad has left."

"I'll bury you all and dance on your graves!" Victor snapped.

"...So frail." Sonny deadpanned.

"Anyway!" Justin stood up. "It's time for Uncle Vic's Christmas present." He turned to Sonny and Brady. "Boys?"

Sonny and Brady stood up, and pulled a long and thin present and carried it over to Victor, who unwwrapped it. It was a big, metal wall plate with a big tree stenciled on there. At the top read "Kiriakis Family Tree" with Yurgos Kiriakis (Victor's father) at the top.

Victor smiled and chuckled. "This is very nice."

"We all chipped in." Sonny said, smiling. "We even included Daniel and his kids, 'cause he was like a son to you."

"Well...thank you." Victor said, smiling.

Ciara and Claire started playing with the twins. Ciara picked Leon up, and his legs clapped together like a pair of scissors. "Oh. Uh, wow. That was good. Uh, does he do that a lot?"

"Um, no." Will replied. He made a mental note to schedule an appointment with Leon's pediactrician.

"So, Will, are you gonna visit my mom and Uncle Eric in jail later?" Ciara asked.

"Yeah." Will nodded. "My grandma and grandpa are also gonna visit. That reminds me-" He turned to Brady. "Hey, Brady, we're gonna visit Uncle Eric later. Wanna come?"

Brady hesitated. "I'm not sure."

"Come on, Brady! It's Christmas! A time to forgive." Will said. "Aunt Maggie forgave Eric. Why can't you?"

Brady sighed. "Tell you what: I'll think about it."

"Okay, well..." Will shrugged.

XXX

Later, Will, Sonny, and their kids went to Brady's Pub. Joey helped Caroline walk downstairs. Caroline also had a cane. Will pulled out a chair for her to sit.

"Oh, thank you, dears." Caroline said. She turned to the twins' carriage and gasped. "Are these my great-great-grandsons? Hello. Hello. Oh, they are darling, Will."

Will chuckled. "Thanks. So, how are you, Grandma?"

Caroline sighed. "Oh, as well as someone my age can be. Managing the pub is getting to be a bit tiring."

"So, are you thinking of retiring?" Will asked.

"My heart doesn't want to, but my mind definitely does." Caroline admitted.

"So, who would manage the Pub after you retire?" Will asked.

"Well, I would like to keep it in the family, but...no one would be interested. Your grandfather, Aunt Kayla, and Shawn all have full-time jobs; Aunt Kim, your Uncle Rex, Aunt Cassie, Uncle Max, Uncle Frankie, Chelsea, Stephanie, your mother, and Andrew all live out of state, your Uncle Eric's in jail; Ciara, Claire, and Joey are all too young..." Caroline shrugged. "I guess that's what happens to most family establishments. They get passed on to complete strangers."

Will thought about that. He likes the idea of the pub staying in the family. He practically grew up in this place, and he has worked there before. Maybe managing his family's restaurant could be fun. Will shrugged. "I could manage the Pub."

Caroline was surprised by Will's response. She just smiled. "Will, it's okay. You don't have to feel obligated to step up. I don't mean to sound like I'm guilting you or..."

"You're not, I promise." Will insisted. "Managing this pub actually sounds fun. It can be my next great adventure. I don't need a college degree- you can train me. And Sonny has experience owning a restaraunt- and so do Adrienne and Aunt Maggie. They can give me pointers."

"Well, that would really be great." Caroline smiled and laughed. "But only if your whole heart and mind are into it. Management is a big responsibility. And on top of that, you have three kids."

Will nodded. "Well, you did okay with four kids and a restaurant, right?" Caroline nodded. "You could give me pointers for that, as well." They both laughed.

"All right. Well, talk it over with Sonny, and come on over tomorrow, and we'll talk more about it." Caroline said.

"I'll be here." Will replied.

"Wonderful! I'm really excited about this." Caroline said.

XXX

Later that night, after putting the kids to bed, Will and Sonny climbed into their own beds. Will told Sonny about maybe managing Brady's Pub.

"Okay, wait, let me get this straight." Sonny said. "The person who once called me a 'glorified bartender' wants to become...a glorified bartender?"

Will glared at Sonny. "That was three years ago. I'm all grown up now."

"Oh, okay. And how could I forget all those conversations we had about you wanting to own your own restaurant?" Sonny smirked.

"Way to be supportive, Sonny." Will rolled his eyes.

"I'm sorry. You're right." Sonny said sincerely. "I think managing your family's restaurant is honorable. But is it really what you want?"

"It is really what I want." Will said sincerely. "Grandma Caroline is getting along in her years, and I still feel like I haven't paid her back for saving my life last year. What better way to repay her by continuing her legacy? Plus, we could move in with her and we can help take care of her, or I could rent out the roms to Claire or Ciara, or both...and if Titan doesn't work out in the long run, you can help me manage the Pub. We'll be the next Caroline and Shawn Brady."

Sonny nodded and laughed softly. "Wanna know something funny? Uncle Vic once asked if I want to be Shawn Brady- someone who forgives and stays married to their cheater."

Will laughed softly. "Or we can be the Caroline and Victor that never was."

Sonny laughed, and lay down on Will's chest. "I wonder what Uncle Vic's reaction would be to that."

"So...you're saying you'll be supportive?" Will asked.

"Yes. I will support you all the way." Sonny said honestly. He kissed Will on the cheek. "Good-night, Caroline."

"Good night, Shawn- I mean, Victor." Will chuckled.


	84. New Year's Eve

"So, you're the new head honcho here, huh?"

Will and Kate sat at a table. Will had an instruction manual laid out in front of him. He grinned. "Yep!"

"You know, some of these pictures are a little dated." Kate said. "You could change that."

"I could, but I'm not going to." Will said. "This is my Grandma Caroline's legacy. I'm only making a few small changes, like taking Wanchai Ferry off the menu."

"Yeah, that's probably best." Kate said. "Congrats on your new career path. Are you ready for it?"

"Yeah. Mostly." Will sighed. "Were you ready when you took over Titan Publishing?"

"A little. But don't tell anyone." Kate winked. They laughed. "So, do I get a family discount now?"

"I thought about that, but, I'm related to so many people, plus there's the kitchen and wait staff, so, no. Sorry." Will shrugged.

Kate scoffed lightly. "Oh, fine. So, are you and Sonny gonna move in above the pub?"

"We're thinking about it." Will replied. "Sonny wants to keep a close eye on Deimos, since he and I are practically the only ones in that house who are still doubtful."

"As you should be." Kate raised an eyebrow. "I am a little surprised that Victor is all buddy-buddy with him now. Especially after Deimos got his son killed, and ran his other son out of town."

"I'm hoping that Victor's running a long con." Will folded his arms on the table.

"Me, too." Kate said. Her phone buzzed. "Oh. I have to take this." She stood up. "I'll talk to you later, and good luck on your newest endeaver."

"Thanks!" Will replied. "By the way, I think what you're doing with Adrienne is really nice. I'm proud of you."

"Aw, thanks, sweetie." They hugged.

XX

Later, Lucas stopped by the Pub. Will told him about his new job.

"Well, I have to say, I never expected you to run this joint." Lucas said. "I'm proud of you, son."

"Thanks, Dad." Will said.

"Have you told your mom yet?"

"I did. And she's proud of me and excited." Will replied. "How's Adrienne?"

"Doing well. Her treatment is working." Lucas nodded. "Justin and I called a truce."

"Well, it's about time." Will raised an eyebrow.

Anne walked up to them. "Hey, Hortons."

"Hey, Anne." Will greeted. He stood up. "I'll let you two catch up."

"Bye, Will." Lucas said as he walked off.

XX

Will decided to take a walk through the park. He walked to Abigail's memorial that Chad set up and stopped dead in his tracks. His eyes widened in shock as he saw his very much alive cousin. "Abigail?"

"Hey, Will." Abigail greeted.

Will stared and walked slowly to her. He pulled Abigail in a hug. "Oh my God, you're alive? How is that possible?"

"Long story short, I uh...I didn't want to burden anyone with my mental illness, so I faked my death." Abigail explained.

Will just blinked. "But...you wouldn't have been. We would have helped you."

"I know." Abigail shook her head.

Will remembered Jennifer and JJ hiding something and then running into a blonde woman by the docks. "Wait...were you Dario's mystery woman?"

"What? No!" Abigail shook her head. "I just ran into him at the docks and he fouind out I was alive."

"So...how long have your mom and JJ known?" Will asked.

"Since a couple weeks before Thanksgiving." Abigail admitted. "Chad didn't find out until Christmas Eve."

"But...why? Why wouldn't you have told your husband you were alive?" Will asked.

"I already told you: I didn't want to burden him. But when I came back, he...well, I thought he moved on." Abigail said. "It took me a while to realize he hadn't."

"You know, even if Chad had moved on, I think your family would have wanted to know you were alive." Will sighed angrily and turned around.

"I know. And I'm sorry." Abigail said. "But...the important thing is, I'm not dead. So, let's move on."

Will scoffed and shook his head. "You know, I tried to make a deal with Andre to get you back."

"What?"

"I thought Andre faked your death and had you captive somewhere." Will explained, turning around. "I tried to trade my baby for you."

Abigail was taken aback. He really did that? "I...I don't know what to say."

"Yeah. Andre was surprised by that, too." Will nodded. "He asked me why I would trade someone who would look up to me, worship me, respect me, and love me for someone who is the complete opposite and is selfish and inconsiderate."

Abigail was a little stung by that. "What was your answer?"

"I can't even remember now." Will shook his head. "Actually, I'm asking myself the same question now. Thank God Andre didn't take that deal." He stormed off angrilly.

"Will!" Abigail called out. She sighed.

XX

Sonny walked into his bedroom where Will was trying to fix his alarm clock, muttering angrilly to himself. "Bad day?"

"You know, two years ago, I would have said 'No, the complete opposite, actually'." Will replied, slamming the alarm clock on the nightstand. He stood up. "Abigail's alive."

Sonny stared in shock. "What?"

"Oh, yeah. She faked her death, 'cause she didn't want to burden anyone with her mental illness." Will said. "Then she said she thought everyone moved on, so she decided to stay dead, but people found out she's alive, anyway."

It took a minute for Sonny to process. "Wow, I...I can't believe she did that."

"Yeah. Neither can I." Will replied, still angry. "You know, I sided with her after she slept with my mother's fiance. I almost traded my baby for her! God! Andre was right. Why would I do stuff for someone so selfish instead of people who actually care about me?!"

Sonny walked forward and put his hands on Will's shoulders. "Okay, calm down. Take a deep breath. First of all, Abigail does care about you-"

"Really? Is that why she blamed me for her name being in that stupid article? Why she wasn't there for me during that drama with Nick and Gabi? Why she faked her death? Because she cares about me and everyone else?" Will asked. Sonny was about to say something, but Will held up a finger. "No. You know what? I'm over it. I am never doing anything nice for her again if she's only going to be selfish and ungrateful!"

"You don't mean that." Sonny said softly. Will just looked away. "Will, come on. She's our cousin. Didn't you say you'd never give up on your family no matter how horrible they are to you?"

"I'm not giving up on her. I'm just never going to try to help her ever again." Will said.

Sonny sighed and sat next to Will. "Okay, ignoring everything, aren't you glad she's alive?"

Will exhaled slowly. "Yes. I just wish she wasn't so..."

"Selfish?" Sonny guessed.

"Yeah."

"I'm sorry." Sonny said sincerely. He rubbed his back.

"Remind me to apologize to my mother." Will said. "I'm starting to understand how she felt when I betrayed her."

Sonny chuckled. "I will definitely do that."

XX

On New Year's Eve, Sonny and Will left the kids with the nanny, and headed over to Jennifer's. They walked into the living room where JJ was snoozing.

"Hey, hey, hey! Happy New Year!" Sonny exclaimed, waking JJ up. He looked around.

"Hey." JJ replied.

Sonny threw his arms out. "I thought you guys would be out celebrating!"

"No, I'm here." JJ said dully.

"Just you? Where's Abigail?" Sonny asked.

JJ looked surprised. Will noticed. "I ran into Abigail in the park earlier. She told me everything, and I told Sonny."

"It's incredible news. I can't wait to give her a hug." Sonny smiled, and folded his arms.

Will side-glared at Sonny. 'Traitor.'

"She's at the DiMera's." JJ replied.

"Right. Of course. She's ringing in 2017 with her husband, her little boy. Chad must be so happy she's back." Sonny said.

"Would you be?" Will asked, before he could stop himself. JJ and Sonny looked at him, shocked. "Sorry."

"Okay, it sounds like you're not happy." JJ said raising an eyebrow.

"I am happy she's alive. I am." Will insisted. "I just wish she hadn't lied to everyone."

"Not fun being lied to, is it?" JJ asked.

"All right, break it up, you two." Sonny said, holding up his hands.

JJ exhaled sharply. "Anyway, I think you would have to ask Chad about that."

Sonny was confused about that. "So, you're just sitting here? Staring into space."

"Yeah-yeah. Exactly." JJ said.

"Wait, I get it. You're having a pity party." Sonny grinned.

"It's a 'I have nothing better to do on New Year's Eve party.'" JJ replied.

"Well, neither do we!" Sonny exclaimed. "Let's be losers together."

"How are you always in such a good mood?" JJ asked, a little annoyed.

"I'm not. I mean, I'm..." Sonny sat down. "I- it's just, it's almost 2017. My personal and professional lives are going great. Abigail's alive and well. I mean, what can get better than that?"

"Maybe you should give that speech to Chad." JJ suggested.

"I mean, how is he not happy she's back?" Sonny asked.

"You mean besides the fact that she lied to him?" Will asked, raising an eyebrow.

JJ just stared at Will in shock. "Wow. Who are you and what have you done to my cousin? I would have thought you'd be as happy as Sonny, if not more."

"I told you, I am happy." Will reminded him. "It's the lying part I'm mad about."

Sonny sighed quietly. "Will feels like Abigail let him down after everything he's done for her."

"Well, you and Chad should bond, then. 'Cause he probably feels the exact same way." JJ replied. "And Chad has already moved on with someone else."

"Yeah, they weren't serious yet." Sonny said. Will smacked him warningly.

"'They'- what do mean 'they'?" JJ asked.

"Just- I mean who- the person he was moving on with." Sonny lied.

"You know about Chad and Gabi?" JJ asked.

"Chad and Gabi?" Sonny asked in mock surprise.

"Don't even try to play that on me." JJ snapped. "I can see it on your face. You knew Chad was trying to take away my girlfriend."

"Chad is my best friend." Sonny explained. "And I- we-" Sonny gestured to Will and himself. "share a daughter with Gabi. So, I can't say what one may or may not have told me about the other."

"That's helpful." JJ said sarcastically, looking away. "I'm not even mad at Chad. I understand why he'd fall for Gabi. I mean, the guy was alone, and Gabi is incredible. We both know that. But he needs to leave her alone and focus on his wife."

"So, what are you gonna do?" Sonny asked.

"I'm gonna win Gabi back." JJ said.

"Okay. How?" Sonny asked.

"I haven't figured it out yet." JJ said.

Sonny stood up and clapped his hands. "I love this. A romantic mission on New Year's Eve. You need a plan. And lucky for you, we're here to help."

Will shrugged. "I have dated Gabi before. I could give you some pointers."

"Okay, I'll take it." JJ said, smiling.

"But first, we need to know what's keeping you and Gabi apart." Sonny said. "It's not just Chad, is it?"

"Gabi didn't tell you?" JJ asked. "I-I screwed up. Big time."

Sonny sighed and threw his head back. "JJ, not again."

"This time was different." JJ insisted. "I was in Miami looking for Abigail. I was in a bad place- got drunk. And I ended up in bed with some woman."

"Some woman?" Sonny asked.

"I don't even remember it." JJ said. "I woke up the next morning and realized what I'd done."

"Gabi found out?" Sonny asked.

"I told her." JJ said. "I had to be honest with her, and we almost got past it, but then she found out I knew that Abigail was alive, and I just didn't tell her."

"So, it was just one too many secrets?" Sonny asked.

"Yeah."

"But we agree, moving forward, you're gonna be completely honest?" Will asked.

"Completely." JJ said.

"'Cause, uh, I might have a little intel." Will said, smiling.

"About Gabi?" JJ asked.

Will nodded. "She texted me earlier and she's gonna be at Club TBD at midnight."

"Midnight?" JJ stood up. "And why are you telling me this now? Let's go. Why are we sitting around here? Come on." JJ left the room and the husbands followed.

XX

Will, Sonny, and JJ entered Club TBD.

"I love what Eduardo and Dario have done to this place." Will said. "You know, this actually looks more Sonny-ish than the original one."

Sonny scoffed playfully. "Oh, thanks!"

They spotted Derrick, Paul, and Lani and headed over. "Hey, guys!"

"Hi!" Paul greeted. "Come join us."

"Are you sure? 'Cause we can just go over to the bar 'cause Gabi's gonna be here pretty soon." JJ said.

"No, no, no. We'd love for you to stay." Paul insisted, standing up.

"Great." JJ said. "Well, Lani, I'm surprised. that you don't have a date tonight. You're usually knocking them away with your nightstick."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Lani asked, slightly offended. "That I'm with a lot of guys?"

"No, I didn't-I didn't say that." JJ said.

"'Cause that's what it sounded like to me." Lani said, standing up.

"I was just trying to pay you a compliment." JJ said.

"You know what? Don't bother." Lani said curtly. She walked off.

JJ looked puzzled, then turned to Sonny. "Did I do something wrong?"

"I was just about to ask you the same thing." Will said, raising an eyebrow.

Sonny nudged Will. "No, I mean, it didn't seem that bad to me. You definitely pissed her off somehow."

"We got along when we were partners." JJ said. "But that's the second or third time she's been cold to me."

"Why don't you go over there and just ask her what you did." Sonny suggested. "Go on. You have enough drama in your life."

JJ nodded and walked away. The two couples decided to spend the rest of the night with each other. Sonny and Will sat a few tables down from Paul and Derrick.

"They look happy." Sonny commented. "I'm glad they found each other."

"Yeah, me too." Will replied. He rested his chin on his hand and smiled. "Remember our last New Year's Eve here?"

Sonny laughed softly. "How could I forget? T was overwhelmed, so Sami and EJ rushed in to help. I lead the countdown, you wore a funny hat, and we kissed. You know, despite all the drama beforehand, that was a magical night."

"Indeed, it was." Will nodded in agreement. He was silent for a minute before speaking again. "You know, I've been thinking about Abigail's situation. And...honestly, if I was in her situation, I would have run away, too. I wouldn't have faked my death, I just would have left you or my dad a note saying not to follow me."

"So, basically, you'd do the same thing I did." Sonny said.

"Yeah. But, I'm also wondering...in Chad's position...would you have been just as angry as he is?" Will wanted to know.

"I think I would be too relieved you're alive to care that you lied." Sonny shrugged.

Will smiled, touched. "That also leads me to wonder if Abigail would have been just as angry as I was, or just as cheerful as you are."

Sonny nodded, then sighed. "2016 has been a crazy year."

"Yeah."

Sonny raised his glass. "Let's make 2017 our year."

"You know, the last time you said that, 2016 happened." Will said. He raised his own glass. "So, how about instead, we try to make 2017 a little happier."

"Sounds good." Sonny replied. They clinked glasses and downed their drinks.

"All right, everybody, it's time for the countdown!" Dario announced.

"Ten! Nine! Eight! Seven! Six! Five! Four! Three! Two! One!"

Everyone cheered as confetti exploded from the confetti cannons. Will and Sonny smiled at each other, and kissed.

"Happy New Year." Sonny whispered.

"Happy New Year."


	85. More Worries

When Will and Sonny woke up, it was snowing lightly. They blinked their eyes open and smiled at each other.

"Well, we made it to the new year unscathed." Sonny said.

"For the most part." Will kissed Sonny's forehead, sat up, stretched, and groaned. "I just hope we don't have any more tragedies. God knows we've had enough over the last couple years."

"Me, too."

Will's cell phone rang. "Hi, Aunt Kayla."

"Hey, Will. I hope I didn't wake you." Kayla replied.

"No, you didn't." Will replied. "What's up?"

Kayla sighed quietly. "Um, Joey's ex-girlfriend had a miscarriage. They lost the baby."

"Wow, that was fast." Will said before he could stop himself.

"Excuse me?"

"I-I'm sorry. That came out wrong." Will apologized. "I was just telling Sonny that hopefully we won't have any more family tragedies, so..."

"I see." Kayla replied.

"I really am sorry to hear about the miscarriage. Is there anything I can do?" Will asked.

"No. Thank you for asking." Kayla replied. "Joey's gonna need a few days off work, though."

"Oh. Okay. I understand." Will said. "Please give Joey my condolences."

"I will. Thanks, hon." Kayla said.

"You're welcome. Bye." Will hung up and sighed.

"Joey and his ex lost their baby?" Sonny asked. Will nodded. "Oh, wow. That's too bad."

"Yeah." Will sighed. "Well, let me rephrase my earlier statement: I hope nothing else happens."

Sonny chuckled. "So, what do you want to do today? I haven't seen Abigail yet."

"Hmm. Well, I think it's high time Abigail met her new cousins." Will smiled.

XXX

Will, Sonny, and their kids all headed to the DiMera mansion after they got ready. Abigail and Chad were waiting for them in the living room.

"Abigail!" Ari exclaimed as she ran to her.

Abigail knelt down and hugged her goddaughter. "Hey! Oh...I missed you so much."

"How come you went away, Abigail?" Ari asked.

"Um, well, I just needed some time alone, that's all." Abigail explained. She glanced up at Will, who nodded in approval. "But, I am back for good. And I missed you."

Ari nodded and smiled. "I'm glad you're back."

"Me, too." Will spoke up, to Abigail's surprise. Abigail stood up and walked over to Will. "I gave your situation a lot of thought, and...though I wouldn't have done exactly what you did, I understand why you did it. And I forgive you."

Abigail smiled and they hugged. "Thank you. And I promise I will never do something like this again."

Will chuckled and pulled away. "You better not."

Sonny pulled Abigail into a hug. "I missed you, cuz. Welcome back."

"Aw, thanks, Sonny." They pulled apart. "So, what's this I hear about you working for Titan now?"

Sonny chuckled. "Yep. I caved and joined the family biz. Mostly to keep an eye on my Uncle Deimos."

Abigail nodded and turned to Will. "And you- you're the new manager for the Pub?"

"I am." Will smiled and nodded.

"Oh. Wow- Victor and Caroline: the next generation." They laughed. Abigail turned to the twins in their carriage. "Are these my new cousins?"

"Yes. This is DJ and Leon." Will introduced. "Wanna hold them?"

"Sure!" Will carefully picked DJ up and put him in Abigail's arms. "Here you go. Meet your cousin Abigail, buddy."

"Hi, DJ." Abigail greeted. "You and your brother are lucky. You have Will Horton and Sonny Kiriakis as daddies."

"They are." Ari chimed in, smiling. They laughed.

Abigail carefully set DJ down and picked up Leon. "Hi, Leon. Hi. It's nice to meet you." Abigail looked up at Will. "Do they have middle names?"

"Well, DJ stands for Devon Justin, but we just call him DJ." Will explained. "We named Leon Leon Lucas Horton. DJ's last name is Kiriakis to keep both Sonny's and my family names going."

Abigail nodded and smiled. "Effective."

"Well, now that you're back, you and Chad should double-date with Will and me sometime." Sonny suggested.

"I'd like that." Abigail said.

XXX

The next day, Will and Sonny took Leon to the doctor. They ran tests and asked questions. Finally, the doctor came back with the test results and some papers.

"What's the good word, Doc?" Will asked.

"Well, Leon has mild cerebral palsy." Dr. Schaffer said. "He will need some equipment to help him crawl, then walk. His speech may or may not be impaired- we'll work on that in a year or two."

Will took a deep breath. "Wow. Um...what's his life expectancy?"

"We caught it early enough, and thanks to modern technology and therapy, I believe Leon will live a long, prosperous life." Dr. Schaffer replied. Both Sonny and Will sighed in relief, then smiled. Dr. Schaffer pulled out some papers and handed them to Will. "I have here a list of suggested Cerebral Palsy specialists and physical therapists. There are actually a few in Chicago."

Sonny nodded and skimmed the list. "Well, we can definitely afford special care."

"Great! Make sure to schedule biyearly checkups, and if anything changes, we'll go from there." Dr. Schaffer said, standing up.

"Okay. Thank you, Dr. Schaffer." Will said.

"You're welcome."

XX

"Well, that confirms what I already knew." Will said as they walked down the hall towards the elevator.

"Yeah, but, at least with all the modern technology and research, things will be easier for Leon." Sonny said.

"Yeah...but...I'm just worried about when he starts school. He'll be picked on." Will replied.

"Hey, come on. He's a Kiriakis. He'll be tough." Sonny said optimistically.

"Claire and Ciara are Kiriakises, too." Will said pointedly.

Sonny understood what Will was talking about. "Oh, yeah. Well, Leon will have DJ, Ari, Tate, and Thomas to back him up."

"True." Will nodded.

XXX

Later, Will met up with Marlena in Horton Town Square. "Hey, Grandma."

"Hi!" Marlena greeted. They sat down. "So, how are the boys? Leon's appointment was this morning, right?"

"Yeah." Will cleared his throat. "We found out that Leon has cerebral palsy. It's a mild case, so he'll be fine. He'll live a good and long life."

"Oh. Well, it's good that he'll live a long and happy life." Marlena said. "You know, I know a few therapists who specialize in cerebral palsy."

"Oh. Thanks. Leon's doctor actually gave me and Sonny a list of doctors we can contact." Will pulled the list out of his pocket.

Marlena scanned the list. "Oh. I recognize one of the names: Dr. Alicia Simms. She's very good at what she does and she's had tons of experience with kids with cerebral palsy."

"All right. Dr. Simms it is, then." Will nodded. They chuckled. "Thanks, Grandma. You know, I can bring the boys by later if you'd like."

"I would like that." Marlena replied. "However, Paul, Steve, Rafe, and I are all going to Prague later."

"Oh. Why Prague?" Will asked.

Marlena looked around to make sure no one was listening. "This needs to stay between us until we have all the facts. Stefano might be alive. Someone spotted a man who looks like Stefano in a cafe in Prague. So, we're going there to identify him."

"How is that possible? Aunt Hope shot him dead last year." Will said.

Marlena shrugged. "Well, your mother did say once that anything is possible when it comes to the DiMeras. Speaking of, she and the children aren't in Prague, are they?"

"No. They live in Norway, now." Will replied. "But, if Stefano is indeed alive, I need to know so I can warn Mom."

"I think that's a good idea. She probably won't listen to me." Marlena said.

"Okay, well...good luck, have a safe trip, and keep me posted." Will said. They hugged.

"I will."

XXX

Later, Sonny and Will met at the Pub for dinner.

"So, how's management treating you?" Sonny asked.

"I'm getting the hang of it." Will replied. He took a sip of his drink. "I still text Aunt Kayla at least three times a day with questions and tips, but, I'm getting the hang of it."

"Good. That's good." Sonny nodded.

"Also, guess what." Will leaned closer and looked around to make sure no one was listening. "No one can know about this yet, but Stefano might still be alive."

Sonny was surprised. "Get out. But Hope shot Stefano dead."

"I know. Well, they really didn't have much to go on. They only have this grainy picture of a man who looks a lot like Stefano." Will replied. "He was spotted in Prague. Grandma Marlena, Uncle Steve, Paul, and Rafe are all heading there to check it out."

A grin slowly formed on Sonny's face. "'Czech' it out?"

Will was confused for a few seconds, then shook his head. "Five years, and your jokes are still lame."

"Hey, I'm trying!" Sonny exclaimed, defensively. Will chuckled. "Have you told your mom yet?"

"No. Not until we know more." Will replied. "I did text her and told her that Grandma's going to Prague for vacation. She told me thanks for the warning, and she'll steer clear."

"Well, that's not a total lie." Sonny shrugged. "So, changing the subject- I told Deimos about the microchip I saw Dario carve out of Gabi's old purse."

"What was his reaction?"

"He was intrigued and impressed." Sonny replied. "I have a feeling he's gonna steal it now."

"So...if I'm right about the microchips originally belonging to Andre...and if you're right about Deimos stealing the microchip himself...this could start another DiMera/Kiriakis feud." Will stated.

Sonny exhaled. "Well, I'll do everything I can to prevent that."

"I know you will." Will said. "And hopefully, no one will end up shot or kidnapped this time."

XXX

Later, Kayla stopped by to train Will a little more. After their latest training session, Shawn and Ciara showed up to visit Caroline. After they came down, the foursome just hung out. They told Will and Kayla that Hope checked herself out of the prison infirmary after she got stabbed and had surgery.

"Well, Rafe was not happy mom checked herself out of the infirmary." Shawn said.

"Why did she do that?" Ciara asked.

Shawn shrugged. "I don't know. She must've had a good reason."

Kayla gave her niece and nephew coffees. "Well, at least Steve and Rafe have made contact with the agent that identified Stefano."

Ciara leaned back and looked up. "Oh, God, please, let it work out."

They turned when they heard the door open. "Oh, Lieutenant Raines, sorry, we're just- we're just closing up."

Raines ignored that, and walked up to Will. "Will Horton?"

"Yes." Will said.

Raines pulled out a paper and gave it to Will. "I have a warrant to search these premises."

Will scoffed and scanned the page. "Why?"

"I've been informed by prison officials that hope Brady escaped." Raines explained.

"What?" Ciara exclaimed in surprise. "My mom wouldn't do that."

"Are you saying you didn't already know?" Raines asked.

"Does it look like we already knew?" Shawn asked, raising an eyebrow.

"You decided not to take matters into your own hands after she got stabbed in prison?" Raines asked, surprised.

"No. But maybe we should have." Ciara snapped.

Kayla turned to Ciara. "Ciara, take it easy."

"They're not doing anything to help her." Ciara said.

Hopeing to prevent drama, Will spoke up. "We didn't know anything about this. And you can go ahead and search, but all you're gonna find here is some great clam chowder. Hope's not here."

Lieutenant Raines nodded and headed to the kitchen, then headed upstairs.

Ciara sighed and sat down. "I can't believe Mom would do that."

"Yeah, she's just recovering from being attacked." Kayla said.

"Maybe she thought that they were gonna get to her again." Shawn supplied.

"Oh, so great. Now all the cops in the whole state are gonna be looking for her." Kayla sighed and shook her head.

"Oh, my God. Poor Mom." Ciara muttered.

"Well, checked the whole place. There's no sign of her." Raines said, walking towards the group.

"It's not like she's a threat to the community." Will shrugged.

"She's a desperate convict." Raines said.

"Oh, come on, man! You worked with her." Shawn exclaimed, exasperated. "You know that she's not a danger to anyone."

Raines raised an eyebrow. "She's a danger to Stefano DiMera, that's for sure. The way I see it, she killed once. She can do it again. If you're counting on her getting special treatment, you can forget that."

"I don't think I heard anyone here ask for that." Kayla said.

"Well, if you hear from her, I expect you to call me immediately. And if you do anything to help her... you can expect to be charged with aiding and abetting a fugitive." Raines warned.

"Okay. We done here?" Shawn asked.

"No. The Bradys aren't writing the laws in this town anymore." With that, Raines left.

The group looked at each other in dismay. What just happened? Will sighed and sat down. So, not only do they have the looming DiMera/Kiriakis War 3.0, and Stefano quite possibly being alive to worry about, they have to worry about Hope escaping prison, too.


	86. The Orwell

The Pub was surprisingly slow today. Will stood behind the bar and surveyed the restaurant. He couldn't believe Brady's Pub is almost 25 years old. Brady's Pub was established in September of 1992- a couple months before Will was born. There has been a few small changes since it's opening: a table sat where a piano once sat and a storage room was added next to the kitchen. Above the pub was an apartment that used to have 3 rooms including the master bedroom, a living room, a kitchen, a bathroom, and a back patio. The upstairs had been rennovated to add two more bedrooms. The Pub was now half-empty, so Will decided to head home for a bit to care for the boys. He texted Gabi to bring Ari to the mansion, and almost ran into Sonny.

"Oh! Hey." Will greeted.

"Hey, how's my favorite glorified bartender?" Sonny teased.

Will rolled his eyes and glared at Sonny. "Haha. You're never gonna let me live that one down, are you?"

"Well, never say never." Sonny winked.

Will laughed and and shook his head. "Anyway, things are pretty slow here, so I have someone covering for me. I thought I'd head home and take the boys off Emma's hands."

"Oh. That sounds good." Sonny replied.

XXX

As soon as the men entered the mansion, they heard arguing.

"You really don't want to cross me." Andre was saying.

"Do you want me to physically remove you, you lowly son of a-"

Sonny rushed into the room, closed the door, and got between the two men. "Whoa, whoa, whoa, hey! What the hell is going on in here?"

"It appears André has overstayed his welcome." Deimos answered, glaring at Andre.

André nodded. "Yes, well, I would be long gone, if you'd just simply given what I requested."

Sonny looked at his uncle. "What is he talking about?"

"I have no idea, the man is delusional." Deimos lied.

"Oh, for god's sake!" André snapped impatiently. "I have been developing a technological device, certainly gonna become revolutionary. A prototype I made, which makes it my intellectual property."

Will couldn't help eavesdropping. It was like watching a huge accident that you can't help stopping and staring at.

"And what does that have to do with us?" Sonny asked André.

André gestured to Deimos. "Your uncle here stole it."

Deimos chuckled. "And you think that by barging in here, demanding its return, I would, what? Simply hand it back over to you? Perhaps gift wrap it for you, huh? A cute little bow."

"Well... I did make an offer, gave you an opportunity. It's the gentleman thing to do." André said. "Honor among thieves, and such. But since you have refused the opportunity... all bets are off. Before I had the shooting, burning of diabetic nerve pain-"

Deimos interrupted. "'All bets are off'? Really? Is that supposed to be some kind of a threat?"

"Oh, you'll find out soon enough." André said.

"Okay, okay, you know what, André? You've had your fun, so I can either escort you out of here, or call the police. What's it gonna be?" Sonny asked.

The front door opened, and Will turned to see Gabi entering with Ari. He walked over to them. "Hey. This isn't a good time."

"But you're the one who invited us over." Gabi said.

"I know. I wasn't home when I texted you." Will said. "When Sonny and I got here, André was here, and he and Deimos were fighting. They still are."

"Wait- André's here?" Gabi asked, puzzled.

Will nodded and then turned to Ari. "Hey, sweetheart. Sorry, daddies can't be with you right now. But, you know what? You're going to visit Grandma Caroline. Maybe she'll have some ice cream in the kitchen."

"Okay." Ari said, a little disappointed.

"I'll call Chad." Gabi said. They left.

Will sighed and went upstairs to get the boys ready to leave. Things were getting a little too intense. Chad arrived as Will carried the boys downstairs.

"Hey, Gabi called me and told me André's here." Chad said.

"Yeah, I know. Get him out of here, please." Will said.

"I will."

Will texted Sonny to let him know that he and the boys went to the Pub. Once Will arrived, he went upstairs and met with Gabi, Ari, and Caroline in the living room.

"Hey, it's the boys!" Caroline exclaimed.

"Hi, Grandma." Will greeted. He set the boys down in front of Caroline, who was sitting in her chair. He turned to Ari, who was playing with toys. "Hey, sweetheart. Did you get ice cream?"

"No. They were out." Ari said, disappointed.

"Aw, I'm sorry. I'll go to the grocery store this weekend." Will replied.

"Will, your babies are growing so fast. I barely recognize them." Caroline gushed.

Will chuckled. "I know. They seem to be growing by the minute." The boys started fussing. "Uh-oh. Time for a nap." He stood up and picked the boys up in their carseats. "Oh- Sonny will be here soon. He had to deal with some drama at home."

"What drama? Does it have to do with Deimos?" Caroline asked.

"I'll explain later." Will replied. He left to put the boys in the bathroom and turned the fan on. He closed the door quietly and his phone rang. It was Sonny. "Hey, how are things over there?"

"Well, Chad arrived to get André out of there." Sonny replied. "Thanks for calling him."

"Actually, Gabi called Chad." Will replied.

"Oh." Sonny nodded.

"So, what happened after Chad and André left?" Will asked.

"Well, I scolded Deimos for putting me in a position where I had no idea what was going on or what I was defending." Sonny cleared his throat. "And then Nicole showed up and they announced their engagement."

"Nicole and Deimos are engaged?" Will asked, surprised. "Wow. Wonder how long that will last."

Sonny laughed softly. "Yeah. Anyway, are the kids okay?"

"Yeah. We're all at the Pub. I put the boys down for a nap." Will replied.

"All right. Well, I am going back downstairs to see if the coast is clear yet. There's still some damage control Deimos and I need to deal with." Sonny said.

"Okay. Talk to you later, then." Will replied.

"All right, love you."

"I love you, too." Will hung up and went to the living room. Ari was watching a movie on Caroline's flatscreen and Caroline was knitting. Will sat on the couch. "Are you knitting?"

Caroline chuckled. "Yeah. At my age, there's really nothing else to do besides read, watch TV, and sleep; so I decided to take up knitting."

"Oh. What are you knitting?"

Caroline stared at her long, half-knitted project. "A...scarf-blanket?"

Will laughed softly. "Well, it looks good."

"Oh, thank you." Caroline replied. She yawned hugely. "Ooh. I think it's time for my nap." She set her knitting aside and Will helped her to her room.

Gabi got a text from Chad telling her thanks. She smiled and responded "No problemo." She glanced over at Will lingering by the doorway. He gestured for her to talk in the hall. Gabi checked on Ari, then stepped out in the hall.

"Hey, uh...thanks for calling Chad when you did." Will said.

"Sure." Gabi replied. "Um...what exactly was it about?"

Will sighed quietly. "I don't want you involved."

Gabi scoffed and shook her head. "If this is about the microchip technology thing that the DiMeras invented, I know all about it."

Will was surprised. "You do?"

"Yeah. Something about it being stolen." Gabi said. "I'm guessing Deimos stole it?"

"Most likely." Will nodded.

"I just wish they wouldn't argue so much with kids in the house." Gabi said.

"I know. I do too." Will replied, folding his arms. Then his phone rang. "Oh. It's Sonny. He's on his way here now."

"Okay. Um, I have to go, so I'll say good-bye to Ari." Gabi replied.

"Okay."

A few minutes later, Sonny arrived. He and Will kissed. "Hey."

"Hey. It's so quiet here." Sonny remarked.

Will giggled. "Well, that should be a welcome relief from Kiriakis mansion."

"It is." Sonny replied.

Ari padded up to them. "Daddy, I don't like this movie."

"Oh. Okay, then..." Sonny grunted playfully as he picked Ari up. "Why don't we go visit Grandma Adrienne?"

"Yeah!" Ari exclaimed.

"Haha. All right."

"I'm gonna stay here and watch the boys. You two have fun." Will kissed his husband and daughter goodbye.

XXX

Caroline woke up from her nap soon after that. Will asked her to take care of the boys while he worked in the restaurant. Lucas arrived and ordered lunch. Will brought out his order and sat down.

"Hey." Will greeted.

"Hey." Lucas replied. "I feel like I haven't seen you in a while. What's up?"

"Nothing much, other than the drama with Sonny's, Chad's, and Gabi's families over this microchip thing." Will said.

"Oh. You're staying out of it, right?" Lucas asked.

"For the most part." Will said. He sighed. "Although it's getting hard to stay out of it. Andre stormed the Kiriakis mansion and accused Deimos of stealing the microchips. Then, later, Deimos very loudly threatened to kill Andre over the phone. By then, we got the kids out of there, so they didn't hear anything. Thank God."

"Yeah." Lucas nodded. "It sounds like this war between the families is getting out of control again. Living at the mansion right now seems dangerous."

Will nodded. "I know. I was thinking about that. I didn't even want to move into that mansion in the first place because of Deimos, and since the Unholy Trinity's reign of terror is long over, I think it's time to move out. But..."

"But what?"

"I think Sonny wants to live there to keep an eye on Deimos. Make sure he's in line." Will said.

"But Sonny works for him. He can keep an eye on him at work, can't he?" Lucas asked.

"Good point."

"Also, Justin still lives there, right?" Will nodded. "Okay, well, Justin and Brady can keep an eye on him."

Will chuckled humorlessly. "Brady and Deimos are becoming friends."

"Oh. That figures." Lucas rolled his eyes.

"Yeah." Will cleared his throat. "If something else happens and someone gets hurt or something, then I will put my foot down."

"Good." Lucas smiled.

"So, how about you? Did you go with Adrienne to her chemo session?" Will asked.

"Uh, no. Justin did." Lucas replied. "But, I am going with her next time."

Will was confused for a minute. He knew Justin and Lucas called a truce, but... "Wait, are you and Justin taking turns going with Adrienne to her chemo?"

"Yeah." Lucas nodded. "I mean, I know it's a little weird, but Justin and I both love her. This way it'll be easier for her."

"So, are you still her fiance? Or boyfriend?" Will asked.

"We're just...focusing on her health right now." Lucas shook his head. "We're not really gonna put a label on our relationship yet."

"And...you're not worried that she'll pick Justin again?" Will asked.

Lucas exhaled sharply. "Maybe a little, but...they do have a history. A long one. I mean, it would be nice to be the chosen one every once in a while, but...I've accepted that I'll never be, so I might as well enjoy it while I can."

'Well, that's just sad.' Will thought. He nodded solemnly. "Okay. Well...you'll always have Anne, right?"

Lucas snorted and chuckled. "Yeah. You know, she wants a job at The Spectator."

"Really? Well, best of luck to her, then." Will said, smiling.

XXX

Later, Abigail and Gabi hunted Will down at the Pub, looking a little anxious.

"Hey, ladies. What can I do for you?" Will asked.

"I'm glad you asked that, dear cousin." Abigail said, grinning. "Can we talk in private?"

"Yeah, sure." Will lead them all upstairs to the living room. "So...what's up?"

"Well, we overheard Chad, Dario, and Sonny having a little meeting at Club TBD in hopes to end this war." Abigail explained. "At first, we thought everything was going well, but then it got worse. Dario doesn't trust either of them, Chad thinks Sonny just made it personal, and Sonny is just plain angry at both of them."

"Wow. This isn't good." Will said.

"I know. Which is why we came up with a plan." Gabi beamed. "Since the microchip is the reason our families are at war in the first place, we're going to destroy the microchip."

Will just stared at them for a minute, then laughed. "Funny. Now what's your real plan?"

"That is our real plan." Gabi replied. "No microchip, no war."

"It'll make things better." Abigail added.

"Actually, it would make things worse." Will said raising an eyebrow. "If you destroy it, then everyone's gonna blame each other, then that's when people get killed."

"Then we'll come clean." Abigail said. "We'll say 'Sorry, but this is the only way to end this war.'"

"Then they'll ask whose idea it was in the first place, and have them killed." Will said. "Whose idea was it, anyway?"

"Mine." Gabi raised her hand briefly.

"Oh. Well, Andre and Deimos will definitely have you killed, and your dad and brother will have Andre and/or Deimos killed, then Rafe will avenge all three of you and have Andre and Deimos killed, then Victor and/or Chad will have Rafe killed, then, knowing Aunt Hope's history, she will kill Victor and/or Chad." Will said.

"Why are you being so negative?" Abigail asked.

"I'm not. I'm being realistic!" Will exclaimed. "Look, I know you guys wanna help, but destroying the microchip isn't the way."

"Then you think of an idea, Will!" Abigail snapped.

Will folded his arms. "Hmm. The microchip belongs to Andre, right?"

"Pretty much." Abigail said.

"Okay, well...I know from personal experience that stealing from Andre has severe consequences. So...I think it would be better to just give the microchip back to Andre." Will replied. "Maybe Dario and Deimos could have whatever's on there recreated."

"Okay, I guess I can suggest to my dad and Dario that they recreate what's on that microchip." Gabi said.

Will nodded. "And I'll talk to Sonny."

"Great. I'll tell Chad, and we'll go from there." Abigail said.

"Perfect." Will grinned. "We'll report back to each other tonight."

"All right." Gabi said, smiling. "But, if it doesn't work, then we need a Plan C."

XXX

Later that afternoon, Will and the boys returned to the mansion. Will put them down for their afternoon nap and tracked down Sonny in their bedroom.

"Hey." Will greeted as he sat down on the settee in their room.

"Hi." Sonny leaned down, kissed Will, and sat next to him. "You're a sight for sore eyes."

"Aww."

"Sorry I have been in and out of this house all day. It's just this war is really getting out of hand." Sonny sighed.

"It's okay. Did you find out what's on those microchips?" Will asked.

"Yes. It's a program that can hack into any security camera, computer, and smart phone in the world." Sonny explained with a glint in his eye. "You can find anyone in the world within minutes!"

Chills ran up and down Will's spine. "You mean like my mom, EJ, and the kids?"

Sonny paused. "I didn't think about that. Well, that's all the more reason we should not give it back to Andre."

Will nodded. "You know, I was gonna suggest maybe recreating what's on there and just give the original back to Andre."

"You know, somehow, I doubt that would work." Sonny slumped his shoulders. "And if we could recreate it, Andre definitely can."

"True." Will replied. "Well, destroying it would make things worse."

"Yep." Sonny nodded.

"Should I...warn my mom and EJ that Andre created a global technology hacker and that Deimos has it?" Will asked.

"Well, we're still playing tug-of-war with it." Sonny said. "Yeah, give her a heads-up. I'll make sure we work extra hard that Andre does not get the Orwell- that's the name of the technology."

"Clever." Will commented. He pulled out his phone to text Sami. "Hey, Mom. So, Andre created this new technology that can hack into any security camera, computer, and smart phone in the world. Deimos had it stolen from him, so it's under Titan's possession now. I just wanted to give you a heads-up in case Andre is successful in either stealing it back or making a new one."

A few minutes later, Sami texted back. "Okay. Thanks for the heads-up. Keep me posted! Oh- and your Uncle Eric was released from prison the other day. The govenor gave him a pardon after he saved his daughter from killing herself."

Will chuckled and smiled. "Really? That's awesome! Where is he staying now?"

"No one knows. He's a bit of a recluse now for some reason." Sami replied. "But, hey, do me a favor: keep an eye out for him. If you see him, please try to convince him to come back to Salem."

"Of course." Will typed.

"Oh, and I heard you are the new manager of the Pub. Congrats! I'm proud of you." Sami replied.

"Thanks. Love you."

"Love you, too."

Will sighed. "So, my Uncle Eric's out of prison. He's been pardoned."

"Really? That's great! But how?" Sonny asked.

"He saved the govenor's daughter from killing herself apparently." Will said.

"Wow. That was really lucky." Sonny said. "Nicole's not gonna be too happy about that."

"Nope. I doubt Brady will be happy, either." Will sighed. "Same goes for Victor and Aunt Maggie..."


	87. The Safe

It was another busy night at the Pub. Will saw Jennifer and Adrienne talking about something, then Adrienne hurried off. After that, it slowed down. Then, Gabi and Abigail sat at a table and started what he thought was a deep conversation. The people at the table next to the women left, and Will took the opportunity and headed to the table to clear it off and eavesdrop.

"If we're gonna find that drive and stop this war, then we need to use our resources." Gabi was saying.

"Like what?"

"People that we're close to. People that trust us." Gabi explained.

"Like Chad."

"You know, I ran into him. He looked happy." Gabi said.

"Yeah. Things are good." Abigail smiled. "Things are really good."

"I'm happy for the both of you. Really happy." Gabi said sincerely. "But, listen, let's make sure we focus on the job at hand."

"Yeah. Um...I don't think Chad knows anything about the Orwell drive. And even if he did, he won't share it with us. He's just too protective of us." Abigail said.

"Yeah. I don't think he has anything anyway." Gabi said. "Will?"

Abigail scoffed lightly. "We already talked to him, and he shot us down. He'll just tell us to stay out of it."

"Oh, yeah." Gabi said. "Well, we could talk to Sonny."

"Perfect." Abigail said.

"He's coming to here a little later."

"Even more perfect. So, just keep Sonny for as long as possible, and don't mention that we know anything about the Orwell." Abigail said.

Will was about to say something when one of the waiters signaled for him to come back to the kitchen. Will sighed inwardly and carried the tray off to the kitchen.

"What's wrong?" Will asked.

"Uh, a customer ordered clam chowder, but we are completely out of it, so he ordered broccoli cheese soup, but we're out of that, too." The waiter said. "I don't know what to say without pissing him off."

"Just tell him we are out of that, too; then offer to either reimburse them or give them a gift card." Will replied.

"Okay, thanks."

"Yep." Will carried the tray into the kitchen, then returned to the restaurant. By then, Sonny had arrived. Ari went to get crayons and Abigail left to make a phone call.

"...If something's going on, you need to tell me for Arianna's sake." Gabi said.

"Will and I will not let anything happen to her." Sonny assured her.

"Yes. Like you did when Andre kidnapped her, right?" Gabi asked.

Will put a hand on the back of Gabi's chair. "You know, Gabi, if you're trying to get my husband to talk to you about this Salem Standoff, you're not doing a very good job."

Gabi jumped, startled at Will's voice. "Yeah, well, I just don't want our daughter in any more danger, so I'm just making sure you're being careful."

"We are." Will assured her. "Anyway, it's not as dangerous as you think."

"Then what's the big deal?" Gabi asked.

"I can't tell you." Sonny said. "What I can tell you is that we have everything under control."

"Okay, fine." Gabi said. Ari came back with her crayons and paper.

"Da!" Ari exclaimed.

Will smiled and knelt down. "Hey, sweetheart! Getting a head start on your Valentine's Day cards?"

"Yeah!" Ari exclaimed.

Sonny's phone rang. Gabi smiled. "Sounds important."

Sonny cleared his throat. "It is. I gotta go." He stood up and reached for his keys, but couldn't find them. "Uh, I can't find my keys."

Abigail suddenly appeared next to Sonny. "Oh! Here they are. They were under your feet."

"Oh. Thanks." Sonny took the keys, and kissed both Will and Ari. "I'll call you later." He leaned down to Ari. "Be good to your Mommy and Da." With that, he left.

Will cleared his throat. "I need to go check on the boys- they're upstairs."

"Okay."

XX

When Will came back downstairs, Abigail was gone and Gabi was getting ready to leave. "Oh, hey! Perfect timing. I have to go, but can Ari stay with you?"

"Uh, yeah. I'll just clock out early. Give me a few minutes." Will headed to the back to clock out and came back.

"Okay, sweetheart, Mommy needs to go somewhere." Gabi hugged and kissed Ari. "Be good."

"Okay, Mommy."

Gabi turned to Will. "Thanks. See ya."

Will knelt down. "Sweetheart, why don't we go upstairs and visit Great-Great-Grandma Caroline before she goes to bed?"

"Okay."

They headed upstairs where Caroline was watching TV. "Hey, Grandma."

"Hello, Will. Hello, Ari! What's that you got there?" Caroline turned off her TV and turned her attention to Ari.

"I started my Valentine's Day cards." Ari stated.

"Oh, they look lovely so far." Caroline commented. Ari started working on them at the coffee table. Caroline turned to Will. "I put the boys down in their cribs."

"Oh." He glanced at the clock. "Oh. I didn't realize it's their bedtime."

"It's okay." Caroline said.

"Well...I don't want to wake them up and spend two hours trying to get them to sleep again, so...would it be okay if we all spend the night here?" Will asked.

"Of course." Caroline replied.

"Great. I'll just call Sonny and let him know." He left the room to call Sonny.

"Hey, I was just about to call you." Sonny said. "I ran out of gas, and when I pulled out of the station, my car broke down."

"Oh. Do you need me to come get you?"

"No. Triple-A is already on their way. I'm fine." Sonny replied.

"Okay. Oh- the boys fell asleep at the Pub, and I don't want to wake them up, so we're gonna spend the night here." Will said.

"Okay. I'll head over to the Pub, then." Sonny nodded.

"Oh, are you sure?" Will asked.

Sonny chuckled softly. "Yeah, I'm sure. Someone's gotta make you guys breakfast."

Will gasped playfully. "Hey! You sure you haven't lost your touch? When was the last time you made breakfast?"

"It hasn't been that long." Sonny rolled his eyes.

"Okay. I'll see you soon." Will said.

"Love you."

"Love you, too." Will hung up and went back to the living room. Ari was telling Caroline about her day. Will sat on the couch and listened.

"...Then I walked into the living room where Daddy was having a meeting. He had to put a black box in a safe thing in the wall." Ari was saying. "Then my Grandma Adrienne came over, then Daddy took me here. I had hot chocolate with my mommy and Aunt Abigail. They wanted to know about the black box, too."

Will tried not to look too horrified. He thought they were going to let this go! He thought back to earlier...he could have sworn Sonny left his keys on the table...then Abigail suddenly left for a few minutes, then Sonny couldn't find his keys, then Abigail appeared out of nowhere with Sonny's keys.

"Sounds like a fun day." Caroline said. She studied her great-grandson's expression. "Will?"

"Uh, I'm sorry. I just realized I need to make another phone call right now immediately." Will left the room and pulled out his phone and called Gabi. It went straight to voicemail. "Gabi, you better not be doing what I think you're doing. I'm serious- stay away from the mansion, or I am going for full custody of Ari. I mean it!" He hung up and sighed. Okay, he didn't really mean that. He just had to get Gabi to back off before she's in any more danger. He next called Abigail.

"Hey, Will, I can't really talk right now." Abigail said.

"Why?"

"I'm at the hospital." Abigail answered.

"Is it Chad?"

"No. It's Andre." Abigail sighed. "He was poisoned earlier in the Square."

"Deimos." Will guessed.

"Yeah. Anyway, I'll call you later."

"Wait! Have you heard from Gabi in the last half-hour?" Will asked.

Abigail hesitated. "Um, no I haven't."

"Oh. Okay, well, as long as she didn't break into the Kiriakis mansion to steal the device from the safe." Will said.

"Uh, why would she do that?" Abigail asked innocently.

"Abigail, don't play innocent. I know." Will said sharply. "I know you two are planning on breaking into the mansion to get that device and destroy it! I heard you!"

Abigail sighed. "Okay, look, I know this plan was kind of flawed, but, seriously, what else were we supposed to do?"

"You mean besides stay out of it?" Will raised an eyebrow.

Abigail just huffed. "Will, I have to go. Chad's done talking to Andre's doctor. I'll call you later."

"Okay. Fine." Will replied. "I hope Andre dies. Bye!" He hung up and sighed angrily.

"What was that about?" Will jumped slightly and turned to see Caroline.

"Andre was poisoned tonight. I have a feeling Deimos is responsible." Will replied.

"Boy, this war is escalating quickly, isn't it?" Caroline asked, shaking her head slowly. "Is it safe living at that mansion?"

"For now." Will replied. "But if something else happens, I will put my foot down, and move my family out of the mansion, and...well, here, if that's okay."

"Oh, darling, of course it's okay." Caroline chuckled.

XX

After Ari went to bed, Sonny finally showed up. "Hey, how'd everything go tonight?"

"Fine." Will replied. "Andre was poisoned, and I just found out that Dario was beaten within an inch of his life. They're both okay, though."

Sonny froze, then growled in frustration. "Dammit, I thought I made it clear to Deimos..."

"Well, I guess some are just lost causes." Will shrugged.

"Yeah." Sonny's phone rang. "Deimos. ...Paul?"

"Hi. I need your help with something." Paul said.

Sonny sighed in irritation. "I'm mid-battle, Paul."

"Sonny, I know my timing couldn't be worse, and I'm really sorry, but I don't care about your little pissing contest with the DiMeras and the Hernandezes right now." Paul said. He sighed.

"Wow. Want some fries with that salt?" Sonny asked.

"I'll settle for last-minute invites for an exclusive masquerade ball in Prague." Paul said.

"I'm sorry, what?" Sonny asked, slightly taken aback.

"We have a plan to trap Stefano." Paul explained. "We're gonna lure him by using Marlena as bait."

Will was listening, and needless to say, he was surprised. "You're using my grandmother as bait? Are you trying to get her killed?"

"Will, I don't like this plan, either, but, it's kind of the only one we got." Paul replied. "I'll keep a close eye on her, I promise."

Will sighed heavily and looked away. Sonny glanced at him, then returned to his phone. "All right. Give me one hour to get invites."

"Thank you, Sonny. I really appreciate it." Paul said earnestly.

"You're welcome. Bye."

It took Sonny less than an hour to convince the host of the masquerade to grant him six last-minute invites. However, the condition was that he has to attend as well.

Will still didn't like this idea, but if it saves Hope from prison, it's worth it, right? He stood up. "Okay, I think I saw an eyemask in the storage closet. It must have been part of someone's Halloween costume. I'll go grab it, you schedule your flight."

Sonny stared after Will in surprise. He expected at least some sort of argument from him. Hmm. Guess he's growing up.

XX

Will dug out a mask from the closet. "Ah! Struck gold." He stood up and ran into Sonny on the way to the living room.

"Hey. So, my flight leaves in three hours. I just need to go home and pack."

"Okay. Let me just tell Grandma." Will said. He walked into the living room where Caroline was knitting. "Hey, Grandma, I need to take Sonny home and pack for an emergency trip, then I need to drop Sonny off at the airport. Are you okay to keep an ear out for the kids for a few more hours?"

"Yes, of course." Caroline said. "What emergency trip?"

"I'll fill you in tomorrow." Will promised. He stood up. "Thanks. Love you."

"Love you, too." Caroline replied. "Be careful out there."

XX

As Will and Sonny pulled up to the gate of the mansion, they saw JJ pull away. "Was that JJ?"

"Yeah. Wonder what's going on." Sonny said. They parked near the door and jumped out.

Will pulled out his phone to call JJ as he walked into the house. "Hey, I saw you pull away from the mansion. Is everything okay?"

"Yeah. Abigail told me about the Orwell technology that the three families are fighting over." JJ said. "I came over to the mansion with a warrant, looking for Deimos. He wasn't there. Has Sonny heard from him in the last couple hours?"

"No. They had a meeting earlier about the Orwell. Something about a key being delivered tonight." Will replied.

JJ was quiet for a minute. "Lani and I already knew that. We searched the docks, but someone else got there first."

Will huffed softly. "I'm guessing you know Andre and Dario were attacked tonight."

"I do. I already interviewed Andre. He's stonewalling, but I think he knows who did this."

"Deimos." Will guessed.

"Yep. If he shows up, will you give me a call?" JJ asked.

"Sure."

"Oh, yeah- I also found Gabi's necklace on the floor of your living room." JJ said. Will's heart skipped several beats. "I don't know if she dropped it when she came to pick up Ari, or...?"

"Ari's not at the mansion." Will said, finally.

"What?"

"Ari's at the Pub with my grandma and the boys. They've been there all evening." Will replied. He sighed and sank down on the bottom stair. "JJ, I have to tell you something."

"What?"

"Abigail and Gabi had planned on breaking into the mansion to try and destroy the Orwell." Will admitted. "I tried to talk them out of it, but they didn't listen, obviously."

JJ sighed deeply. "Unbelievable. Abigail also thinks Chad may have gone to the mansion as well. Is Sonny with you? We can use him to track down Deimos."

"He is, but, he's packing for a trip." Will said. "The Prague Squad have a plan to trap Stefano, but they need last minute invites to this masquerade ball. Sonny was able to get invitations, but he has to attend as a condition."

"Oh. Well, this could be convienient to Deimos. Sonny won't be around to stop him from doing anything." JJ quipped.

"Yeah, good point." Will replied. Sonny walked down the stairs holding a suitcase. Will stood up and walked to the front door and opened it for Sonny. "JJ, I gotta go. I'll tell Sonny what you just told me. I'll tell him to call you if he knows anything."

"Okay, thanks. Bye."

"What's going on?" Sonny asked as Will pulled out onto the street.

Will sighed inwardly. "Gabi and Abigail made a plan to break into the mansion and into the safe to destroy the Orwell drive."

"What?!" Sonny exclaimed.

"I tried to talk them out of it."

"Wait- you knew and you didn't tell me?" Sonny asked, a little miffed.

"Because I thought I already talked them down." Will explained. "Obviously, I didn't."

Sonny exhaled sharply. "I'm just wondering how they knew the Orwell was there in the first place."

Will hesitated before answering. "Ari told them."

Sonny scoffed and leaned back. He wasn't mad at Ari. After all, she didn't know better. "I should have told her to keep that a secret. Maybe this wouldn't have happened."

"Well, hopefully Gabi's okay." Will replied. "Hopefully Deimos didn't kidnap her and/or Chad."

"Yeah. Hmm..." Getting an idea, Sonny pulled out his phone to call Deimos.

"I'm busy. What is it?" Deimos answered.

"Oh. Sorry to bother you, Uncle. I just wanted you to know that I'm going out of town for a few days. I can work on Titan stuff on my laptop." Sonny said.

"Where are you going?"

"Prague. The people looking for Stefano plan on trapping him at a masquerade ball, but it's invitation-only, and as a condition for getting last minute invites, I have to attend." Sonny explained.

"Okay. Let me know if they catch that old bastard. Maybe we can use that against Andre and Chad." Deimos said.

"All right. Thank you for being so understanding." Sonny replied.

"Yeah, well...I can sympathize with being jailed for a murder I didn't commit." Deimos said.

"Is that the only reason?" Sonny teased lightly.

"What other reason could there be?!" Deimos snapped.

"Okay, okay, calm down. I was just kidding." Sonny said. "I'll talk to you later."

"All right. Bye."

"Yeah, he totally kidnapped Gabi and/or Chad." Sonny said as he put his phone in his back pocket. "He was stonewalling me." Sonny groaned. "Yet another day where two things happen at the same time."

"We have to tell JJ. He and Lani can just look for Chad and Gabi. I can snoop around the mansion for clues." Will suggested. "JJ already searched the mansion. It would look suspicious if he searched it again."

"It might be dangerous." Sonny warned.

"I know. But if it helps find Gabi and quite possibly Chad, then it's worth it." Will said. They have arrived at the airport. Will popped the trunk, and both he and Sonny got out. Sonny got his suitcase, and then hugged Will. "Be careful and good luck."

"I will. You be careful, too." Sonny replied. "Hopefully, we'll all be back before Valentine's Day."

"Yeah. Aunt Kayla and Uncle Steve's wedding, and I will plan something special just for us later." Will said, smiling.

"Hm. Can't wait." Sonny smiled and kissed Will. "I love you. I'll call every night I'm gone."

"You better!" Will said good-naturedly. He watched Sonny disappear through the doors, then got into his car and drove off. His phone rang. "Hey, Abigail. Have you heard from Chad since he left the hospital?"

"No. He and Gabi have been kidnapped by Deimos." Abigail replied.


	88. Making Prague-ress

Paul stared at the ball flyer and shook his head slowly. This was their last shot at getting Stefano. Someone knocked on his door. He sighed in frustration. Freaking impatient...! "Rafe, I told you I would tell you if I scored the tickets as soon as I heard back from..." He opened the door to Sonny. "Sonny! Hi."

"Hi!" Sonny held up the tickets. "As you requested: five tickets to 'Un Ballo du Maschera'. These are what you wanted, right?"

"Well, yeah. But, I figured you'd ring up a business contact and like, call in a favor. I didn't expect door-to-door delivery." Paul replied.

"Because it's an exclusive event, I couldn't transfer the tickets to someone else's name, so I figured I'd pick them up myself." Sonny said. "I was able to get them, but as a condition, I would have to also have an invitation for myself. So, basically, if I don't go, you guys can't, either."

"Guess that makes sense." Paul said. "Will doesn't mind?"

"No. He understands that this is the only way to clear Hope's name." Sonny shrugged.

"Okay, great!" Paul chuckled. "Everyone's at this outdoor cafe, planning. So, let's go."

XX

They went to a cafe called Cafe Dvorak. Marlena, Rafe, Steve, and Kayla were sitting at a table.

"Oh! Sonny! What a surprise!" Marlena exclaimed.

"Dude, what brings you all the way out here?" Steve asked.

Paul held up the tickets. "Sonny's the one I called about getting us tickets to the ball."

"Oh ho!" Rafe chuckled, relieved.

"You couldn't have gotten them messengered?" Steve asked.

"Nice to see you too, Uncle Steve." Sonny smirked.

"Well, that's beyond the call of duty." Kayla commented.

"Well, we owe you big time." Rafe said.

"I'm happy to help." Sonny said. "Especially if it means clearing Hope's name."

"Well, that's why we're all here." Rafe said.

"So...we got the tickets." Marlena said. "All we need to do now is get dressed and go to the ball."

"So, Sonny, you headed back to the airport now?" Steve asked.

"No, Sonny's gonna be joining us." Paul said.

"My name is on the tickets, so, all of you will be my guests." Sonny explained, sitting down.

"That's a bit risky, isn't it?" Kayla asked. "I mean, you're already at war with the DiMeras as it is."

"Yeah, I don't think you guys understand. If Sonny doesn't go, we can't, either." Paul said.

"I'm willing to take that risk." Sonny replied.

"Okay." Steve said. "As long as you understand we're running a tight ship here. Welcome aboard."

"Hey, Sonny, are Will and the children here, too?" Marlena asked.

"No, they're back home." Sonny replied.

"And Will was okay with you doing this?" Marlena asked.

"Yeah." Sonny nodded. "He understands that it's the only way to get Hope out of jail."

"Oh. Okay, then." Marlena nodded.

They went over the plan with Sonny.

"So, you got this?" Paul asked.

"Yeah, I got it." Sonny nodded.

"Okay, great." Rafe said. "Let's get everything ready. We're planning on meeting in the ballroom a little early so we can set up and get into position."

"That's a good idea." Paul said.

"Okay, now, just to reiterate, I'll be keeping an eye on the west entrance." Rafe said. "That's the one by the check-in table."

"Kayla and I are taking the east side." Steve spoke up. "We're gonna cover those doors. There'll be a service door there which will be unlocked."

"Sonny's gonna come with me, and we'll monitor the north end near the kitchen." Paul said.

"Okay. Just don't get distracted." Rafe said. "Stefano should have to get past at least one of us on his way in or out of the room."

"Will we know him if he tries?" Sonny asked. "I mean, won't he be wearing a mask, too?"

"Mm. Well, that's where Marlena comes in." Rafe answered. "'Cause once Stefano sees her-mask or no mask- he's not gonna be able to resist revealing himself."

"Can't wait." Marlena deadpanned.

"Marlena, just know that you'll be completely protected." Steve assured her. "In addition to our detail, Shane has confirmed that the ISA will have agents stationed all around the exterior perimeter."

"And in addition to a private channel we'll have for our group, Steve and I will also be hooked in with the ISA." Rafe said.

"All right. All bases are covered." Steve said.

"Well, we're ready for anything." Rafe said.

XXX

Later, Paul and Sonny got ready and decided to take a walk.

"You know, this is actually kind of fun." Sonny said. "This James Bond experience."

"Well, it might not last long if we fail." Paul said.

"Hey, come on. Don't think like that." Sonny said. "I believe in you and everyone else. We're taking Stefano completely by surprise."

"I hope so." Paul said.

Sonny nodded. "Well, one endearing thing about this mission: it's in this beautiful city."

"Yeah. Prague is a magical place." Paul agreed. "You've been here before, right?"

"Yeah. Will and I came here when we left Salem." Sonny nodded. He chuckled. "You should have seen it. He was like a little kid going to Disneyland for the first time. He wanted to go everywhere and eat everywhere..."

Paul laughed. "I can imagine."

"Mm-hm. We're planning on taking the kids here when they're in high school." Sonny said.

"That'll be fun." Paul said, smiling. "I think I'll bring Derrick here someday."

"How are you two doing?"

"Great, actually." Paul replied. "You know, I didn't think I'd fall in love again after you, but...heh."

"I'm glad you're happy with Derrick." Sonny said sincerely. "Is he okay with this whole thing?"

"He's a little skeptical, but, I assured him that everything will be fine." Paul said.

Steve tracked them down. "Hey, guys, we're getting ready now. Let's go."

XXX

Getting into position was easy. The Masquerade is at a public cathedral. Everyone wore masks and regular suits and gowns. Sonny was having a little too much fun much to Paul's slight annoyance.

"Sonny, don't get me wrong- I am glad that stick is finally out of your ass." Paul said. Sonny glared at Paul, slightly offended. "But, you know this isn't a game, right? We're trying to catch a criminal here."

"I know, I know. I'm sorry." Sonny said. "But I can't help it." He sighed. "I kind of wish Will was here, too. This is the kind of thing he'd enjoy."

"Ah, well...next time." Paul smirked.

"Oh! Hey, can you take a picture of me so I can send it to Will?" Sonny asked, pulling out his phone.

"Oh, sure." Paul pulled up Sonny's camera as Sonny made a pose. Paul chuckled and snapped a picture, and sent it to Will and captioned it "Sonny Kiriakis, AKA Iron Eagle".

"Did you send it?" Sonny asked. He looked at the text and gasped and glared at Paul. "You jerk!" He swatted Paul playfully, causing him to laugh.

"Oh, come on! It's cute!" Paul said.

Then they saw the doorman point to Sonny. "Did you see that?"

"Yeah. He pointed right at you." Paul said. A man who resembled Stefano just left the room. Marlena wanted to go after him, but everyone kept telling her not to, but she did anyway. Now they lost all contact with her. Paul slowly started to panic. He remembered last year when his mother got attacked and he couldn't protect her, and now... "Oh my God...oh my God. I can't breathe. I can't breathe, Sonny! Oh, God!"

Sonny grabbed Paul's face. "Hey, hey, hey, hey! Paul, it's going to be fine. We'll find her."

"Oh, you don't know that. She could be in the trunk of a car by now." Paul said worriedly.

"You don't know that." Sonny said. "Now calm down."

Sonny's mic chirp. "Sonny, do you copy?"

"Yes, Uncle Steve, I'm here." Sonny replied.

"We found Marlena. She ran into Austin, and spilled her drink on him. She's fine." Steve said.

Sonny exhaled sharply. "Well, that was anticlimatic. Okay, thanks, Uncle Steve."

"What's going on?" Paul asked.

"We found Marlena. Austin showed up and startled her, she spilled her drink on him, so they went to the bathroom to clean up." Sonny explained.

"Oh, thank God!" Paul exhaled sharply and slid to the floor. "Whew!"

Sonny grinned and laughed softly. "You are going to be the overprotective and overly worried parent, aren't you?"

Paul laughed sarcastically and stood up. "Yeah, probably..."

Stefano finally showed up and headed straight to Marlena. Then the lights went out. When they came back on, Stefano was gone. Rafe and Steve ran after him. The group talked for a minute, then Rafe came back into the room.

"Rafe, what's going on?" Marlena asked.

"We got him. We finally got Stefano." Rafe announced. They all cheered in relief.

XXX

A few hours later, Sonny took a few minutes to call his husband.

"Hey, how's it going over there?" Will asked.

"Great!" Sonny smiled broadly. "We finally captured Stefano."

"Seriously?"

"Yeah. He's in jail right now."

"Oh, thank God! Now Hope will be freed." Will said. "Good thing you were able to get tickets."

Sonny nodded. "I am going to get on a plane back to Salem within the next couple of days."

"Hm. I thought you wanted to explore all your old haunts first?" Will asked.

Sonny chuckled. "I do, but, you know, my mom needs me- though she won't admit it, and I miss my hubby and kids."

"Aw." Will chuckled. "We miss you, too. But, it's a good thing that you did."

"Oh, yeah. I have wanted to see my former boyfriend, the former athlete in action." Sonny smiled. "Who knew he'd become a PI and partnering with his biological dad? He made a difference. I just wish I could say the same."

Will was confused about that. "Why would you think you're not making a difference with people?"

Sonny sighed deeply. "You know I hired Paul to investigate the Hernandezes. It turned out to be something way bigger than knockout leather goods."

"Is that all you can say? Do you wish you left well enough alone?" Will asked.

Sonny snorted in derision. "Well, kind of. If I had, then we wouldn't have found out about that stupid Orwell device, then we wouldn't be in this three-way war."

"You can't blame yourself for that." Will said.

"But I do. And now...now Andre and Dario were hospitalized and Chad and Gabi are probably kidnapped." Sonny went on.

"Well, now that I think about it, I haven't heard from either of them all morning." Will said. "Have you heard from Deimos?"

"No." Sonny replied. "See what you can find out. I don't want to call Deimos again until I have proof."

"Got it." Will said. "And hey...try not to beat yourself up. Everything will be fine."

Sonny smiled. "Thanks. Love you."

"I love you, too." Will hung up. His phone rang again. It was Ari's preschool teacher. "Hey, April."

"Hi, Will. Have you heard from Gabi in the last hour?" April asked.

"Uh, no I haven't. Why?"

"Well, I thought she was supposed to pick your daughter up from preschool. She never showed." April said.

Will exhaled sharply and rubbed his eyes. "Is Ari okay?"

"She's fine. I gave her some lunch."

"Okay, thanks. I'll pick her up. Would you mind telling her?" Will asked.

"I will. See you soon."

"Thanks, bye." Will hung up and sighed. He took his apron off and turned to someone. "Jake, will you cover for me, please? I have an emergency."

XX

Will drove to the house the preschool was at, and sped to the front door. April answered and let Will in.

"Ari, your dad's here." April walked to a couch where Ari sat.

"Da!" Ari exclaimed. She ran to Will.

"Hi, sweetheart." Will grunted playfully as he picked her up and hugged her. "Oh. I'm sorry Mommy couldn't come get you."

"Where is she?" Ari asked.

"She had things she needed to do. But she's sorry she couldn't come to get you." Will lied. "Come on. Let's go to the Pub and visit Grandma Caroline."

XXX

They arrived at the apartment above the Pub. The boys were napping, and Caroline wasn't feeling well.

"Oh, I hope you feel better in time for Aunt Kayla's and Uncle Steve's wedding." Will said.

"So do I." Caroline replied.

Will sighed quietly and texted his dad to come babysit the kids. "I need to run some errands, but Lucas is gonna come here to watch the kids. You get some rest."

"Oh, all right."

XXX

Once Lucas showed up, Will gave him the cliffnotes version of what's going on and ran out to look for Deimos. He ran into Kate in the Square.

"Grandma! Hey!" Will greeted.

Kate whirled around and smiled in relief. "Hey, sweetie. I'm glad I ran into you."

"What's up?"

"Deimos kidnapped Chad and Gabi." Kate announced.

Will was shocked, but not surprised. "How do you know?"

"Deimos showed me, Eduardo, and Andre proof. He showed us a picture of them." Kate said. "Deimos said they have 48 hours to give him the key to the Orwell, or they die."

Will's heart thudded. "How long has it been?"

"Eighteen hours." Kate cleared her throat. "Eduardo and Andre don't have the key, so...we need another strategy. Has Sonny spoken to Deimos in the last couple days?"

"Not since before he left town." Will said. "Actually, Sonny and I had a sneaking suspicion that Deimos kidnapped Chad and Gabi."

"And you didn't do anything?!" Kate exclaimed.

"We weren't sure." Will explained. "Anyway, Sonny called Deimos, but he stonewalled him."

Kate exhaled sharply. "Okay, can Sonny get through to Deimos? Can he reason with him?"

"He might be able to." Will pulled out his phone. "Hold on. I'll call him." He turned around. Sonny answered on the second ring.

"Hey, babe. Everything okay?" Sonny answered.

Will exhaled sharply. "Not really. We were right: Deimos did kidnap Chad and Gabi. He's using them as leverage to get the key back from Andre and Eduardo, but they have no idea what the key is. They don't have it."

"What?!" Sonny exclaimed. He sighed in frustration. "All right. I'll catch the first flight back home, and I'll call Deimos as soon as we hang up. I can't believe this. Who the hell does he think he is?"

'Glad you're just as mad as you were when you found out Gabi was involved in Melanie's kidnapping.' Will thought. "Are you gonna tell Rafe? Gabi is his sister."

"No. I know Deimos. He doesn't react well to police presence." Sonny replied.

"He's gonna be pissed that we kept this a secret." Will pointed out.

"I know. Oh, by the way, Stefano escaped."

Will scoffed. "Seriously? Well, you at least got proof he's alive, right?"

"Yep, we did, fortunately." Sonny replied. "I'll call you back in a few minutes."

"All right, bye." Will hung up and turned to Kate. "Sonny's gonna call Deimos. He'll call back in a few minutes."

"Okay, good." Kate nodded.

"Oh- um...there's something else you should know: Stefano's alive." Will revealed.

"Hm. You'll excuse me if I don't feign surprise." Kate said. "Was he sighted, or...?"

"He was. And caught, but he escaped." Will replied.

Kate scoffed and shook her head. "Somehow I'm being overwhelmed by waves of nostalgia."

Will nodded. "Yeah well Sonny said that the police and Interpol are out there looking for him right now."

Kate folded her arms. "Well I suppose they have to go through the motions but it's never worked before, I don't know why it would work now?"

Will rolled his eyes. "Oh ye of little faith."

Kate just smiled and shook her head. "You know Stefano is like malaria, he comes and goes on his own terms."

"There is some good news." Will said. "You should contact Austin. Sonny thinks he found a trace of your money."

Kate laughed softly. "It's every mother's dream to have a forensic accountant as a son."

Will laughed softly, then sobered up. "I'm worried."

"I know." Kate said sympathetically. "I am, too."

"Ari can't lose her mom. She almost lost me and Sonny three or four times each within the last two years, and she almost lost her mom last year. Grandma, what am I gonna say to my little girl if Gabi...?"

"Hey, come here." Kate pulled Will into a hug. "We will not let that happen. We're gonna find her and Chad."

Will exhaled. "I hope so." They pulled apart. His phone beeped with a text message from Sonny. "That was Sonny. He said that he tried calling Deimos, but he got his voicemail. Apparently, kidnappers need to screen their calls."

Kate chuckled and had an odd expression on her face. "Well, I suppose that's to be expected. Maybe he'll have better luck when he's home."

"Yeah. Well, anyway, I need to head back to the Pub. I was gonna confront Deimos, but I don't think I'll be as successful as Sonny hopefully will be." Will said. "Later, Grandma."

"Bye." Kate watched her grandson walk off, and turned around to see Eduardo and Andre walk up to her. "So Sonny is going to call us as soon as he talks to Deimos."

Eduardo nodded. "That's good."

Kate then turned to Andre. "Andre, there's more. Stefano is alive. They found him but then they lost him."

Andre sighed deeply. "What a surprise."

"Also Austin found some leads on the money." Kate said.

"At least that's good news." Andre nodded.

Eduardo turned to Andre in disbelief. "Isn't it good news that your father's alive?"

"Let's just say it's a mixed blessing." Andre replied.

Kate's phone rang. "Sorry this is Austin." She walked off.

Andre turned to Eduardo and whispered. "I've been thinking. Kate's idea about recruiting Sonny's help..."

"You like that idea, right?" Eduardo asked.

Andre nodded. "Yeah I was just wondering if she realise what a great idea it really is."

Eduardo was confused. "What do you mean?"

"I mean what if when Sonny comes home we detain him just like Deimos detained Chad and Gabi. We use him as a bargaining chip." Andre suggested.

Eduardo shook his head. "You really think Kate would be okay with that? Not to mention Abigail- Sonny's cousin. Never mind his husband."

Andre shrugged. "Well they don't have to know. Besides it's not as if we're going to hurt him unless of course if he hurts Chad."

"Or Gabriella." Eduardo put in.

"Yeah." Andre said almost dismissively. "An eye for an eye if you know what I mean."

Eduardo looked over at Kate talking on her cell. "Actually I kind of like that idea."

Andre grinned. "I thought you might."

"I guess I'll start making arrangements." Eduardo said. "The Winterthorne Academy offered an elective in hostage taking."

"Just don't hurt Sonny...yet." Andre advised.

XXX

Will arrived back at the Pub. Things were going smoothly, so he headed back upstairs and checked on Lucas and the kids, then called Sonny. He did promise himself that the next time something bad happens, he's putting his foot down. Well...it's down.

"Hey, I was just about to call you." Sonny replied. "I was able to get on the midnight flight out of Prague, nonstop. What time is it in Salem?"

"It is almost 2:30 PM here." Will replied.

"Okay, so I should be landing at the airport tomorrow morning at 9:00 AM." Sonny replied.

"Perfect!" Will said. "Listen, Sonny, I wanna talk to you about something."

"Okay. Sounds important." Sonny said.

"I can't live in the mansion anymore." Will said. "I'm too worried about our safety, and I'm worried that Deimos will become completely unhinged and put the kids in danger. I know you want to stay there and keep an eye on Deimos, but you can still go there and to work..."

"Oh, can I?" Sonny asked, half-joking.

"I'm just...I'm sorry, but, Chad and Gabi being kidnapped from the mansion by Deimos is the last straw for me." Will said. "The kids and I are moving into the apartment above the pub with or without you, and that's final."

Sonny was silent for a minute. He had a point. "Okay."

Will was a little surprised. "'Okay'?"

"Yeah. I mean, you have a good point." Sonny said. "And, um...maybe it would be easier and better to live above the pub since you work there and I'm working full-time now."

Will was relieved this didn't start another argument. "Good. I'm glad. Um...I will hire a U-Haul for all our stuff, and we'll move in tomorrow."

"Great. I'll see you in the morning, and when I get home, I'm gonna talk to that kidnap-happy uncle of mine." Sonny declared. "He's gonna pay for what he did."


	89. A Rush Of Blood To The Head

Just as he finished up dinner, Will's phone rang with a FaceTime message from Sonny. "Hey!"

"Hi. So, bad news. My flight was delayed due to engine trouble, so, I actually won't be home til 1:00 pm." Sonny said.

Will exhaled sharply. "Okay. Were you at least able to get a hold of Deimos?"

"No, but I am going straight from the airport to the mansion." Sonny replied. "Which also means I'll miss Aunt Kayla's and Uncle Steve's wedding."

Will nodded in disappointment. "Well, at least we'll have a little bit of Valentine's Day together."

"Yeah. Hey, is Ari there?"

"Yeah, hold on." Will turned towards the living room. "Hey, Ari, come here. Daddy wants to talk to you."

Ari bounded over to Will, who put her in his lap. "Hi, Daddy!"

"Hey, sweetheart." Sonny greeted, smiling.

"When are you coming home, Daddy?" Ari asked.

"Soon." Sonny said. "But, I have a present for you. Something to look forward to."

Ari gasped happily. "What is it?"

"It's a surprise." Sonny grinned. Ari pouted and Sonny laughed. "Don't worry. I'll be home soon enough."

"Okay." Ari said grudgingly. "Bye, Daddy! Love you!"

"Aww, I love you, too!" Sonny said. "Good night."

Ari hopped down and ran back to her toys. Will turned his attention to his husband and rested his chin in his hand. "So, what is this surprise?"

Sonny grinned and held up a wooden box with "Arianna Grace" engraved on it. "It's a music box. It's kind of a traditional Czech toy."

"Oh, she'll love that." Will replied.

"I thought so." Sonny disappeared from view for a minute, then turned back to the camera. "And I didn't forget about you. I had something arranged for you just in case I didn't make it home in time for Valentine's Day."

"Well, I can't wait. I can't wait to see you even more." Will said. "I can't stand waking up next to an empty pillow."

Sonny chuckled. "Well, next time, I'll bring you along with me."

"You better." Will said firmly. "So, I'll pick you up tomorrow and we'll head straight to the mansion."

"Sounds good. I love you."

"I love you, too. Good night." Will said.

"Goodnight. Iron Eagle out!" Sonny smirked. Will laughed.

XXX

The next day, Will closed the Pub around lunchtime to get ready for Steve and Kayla's wedding. Someone delivered a boquet of ten roses with little notes attached to the stems to the Pub with a note.

[i]"Hey, just in case I don't make it in time. Here are ten things I love about you.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Forever yours,

Sonny"[/i]

Will smiled fondly and read the notes.

[i]"Your smile"

"Your laugh"

"Your unwavering loyalty to the people you care about"

"Your passion"

"Your kindness and caring nature"

"You're smart"

"You're funny"

"You're a good cook"

"You're the best father a husband could ask for"

"You've become someone I can lean and depend on"[/i]

Will's eyes welled up with tears of emotion. He put the roses in a vase, and the notes in the drawer of his nightstand. Later, Will went downstairs to greet Marlena.

"Hi! Happy Valentine's Day." Marlena said.

"You, too." Will replied. "Sonny told me about the Stefano drama over in Prague. How was it otherwise?"

"It was beautiful. The food was great. The weather- not so much." Marlena replied.

"Ah." Will nodded. "Where's John? Is he still in New Orleans?"

"Yes, he is. But, he sent me a boquet of chocolate roses to make up for it." Marlena said.

"Oh, that's sweet." Will laughed at his pun. "Sonny sent me a boquet of real roses with little notes attached to each stem."

"Oh! That's romantic." Marlena replied. "So, how are things here? I heard that Chad and Gabi are missing?"

"Yeah. We think Deimos kidnapped them as leverage against Eduardo and Andre." Will sighed.

"Leverage for what?" Marlena asked.

"Deimos thinks Eduardo and Andre stole something from him." Will admitted. "I can't say more than that."

"Oh...Arianna must be worried about her mother." Marlena said.

"She is. I told her that Gabi had to go away for a while." Will replied. "I don't know what I'm gonna tell her if she never comes back."

"No, no, don't think like that." Marlena said, squeezing Will's hand over the table. "They'll find her and Chad. Just be positive."

Will swallowed and nodded.

Kayla, Shane, and Steve arrived at the Pub and announced that Hope is now cleared of all charges. Kayla wanted to hold off the wedding until she is found; but everyone else protested.

Stephanie later showed up and reunited with her family. Then Carrie came over,

"Have you met Will's kids yet?" Stephanie asked Carrie as they headed up to the apartment above the pub.

"Not yet. But I've seen pictures and we video chatted." Carrie replied. She knocked on the door, and Will answered.

"Oh my God! Aunt Carrie, Stephanie!" Will exclaimed, happily. He hugged the two.

"Hey, cuz!" Stephanie greeted. "How are you? I hear you've taken over the pub. Congrats."

"Oh, thanks."

"Carrying on the family legacy. I'm so proud of you!" Carrie exclaimed. Will laughed softly.

"So, Will, where are Sonny and the kids?" Stephanie wanted to know.

"Sonny is on his way home from Europe, and then he needs to take care of some family drama." Will replied. "So, he won't make it to the wedding."

Stephanie huffed. "I was kind od looking forward to seeing him before I leave town."

"I know." Will replied. They headed into the living room where Ari was playing. "Ari, look who's here!"

Ari turned around and smiled at Carrie and Stephanie. She stood up and ran to Carrie. "Aunt Carrie!"

Carrie bent down to pick Ari up. "Hey! Oh, look at you! You're so big!"

"Is Noah and Uncle Austin here, too?" Ari asked.

"Uncle Austin is, but Noah is not." Carrie replied. She turned to Wil. "Uncle Austin is catching up with your grandma. He'll be here soon."

"Okay." They heard the boys fussing. Will went to get the boys in their carseats and brought them to the living room. Stephanie and Carrie gushed over the boys, and Austin showed up. "Hey, Uncle Austin!" Will and Austin hugged.

"Hey, buddy boy. Good to see you again." Austin said, hugging Will.

"How's Grandma?" Will asked.

"Good. Um...she and Andre aren't dating, are they?" Austin asked apprehensicely.

"Oh, God I hope not." Will shuddered. "Especially after what he did to me last year."

"Oh, yeah." Austin nodded. "Well, hopefully he won't do that again."

They socialized some more, then Lucas came over to watch the kids while everyone else went to the wedding.

xxx

The wedding was beautiful. Claire caught the bouquet and gave it to her great-grandparents. Sonny never showed up. Will and Adrienne walked through the Square.

"Where could Sonny be? He missed the entire wedding!" Adrienne exclaimed. "He hasn't responded to any of my texts."

"He said he had some business to take care of. I'll go see if I can find him. I'm sure he's okay." Will said. He walked off towards an alleyway. He heard voices and stopped dead in his tracks. Two thugs apprehended Sonny. The blond thug had Sonny in a headlock.

"You're coming with us." The blond thug said. "You really don't want to give us any trouble."

"I know you're not working for Deimos." Sonny choked out. "Just tell Andre and Eduardo I wanna talk to them."

"I don't think they wanna talk, kid." The brunet said.

Will's heart thudded as he thought up a plan. He quietly walked over to an empty crate lid, slowly picked it up, ran at the brunet and bashed him on the head. The man stumbled, then punched Will and threw him against the wall.

"No! Will!" Sonny cried as the blond thug dragged him off.


	90. Karma

Adrienne walked by an alley and spotted a pair of legs lying on the ground snd went to investigate. Will lay leaning against the wall, unconscious. She ran over and knelt next to Will and started shaking him. "Will. Will!" She pulled her hand away from Will's head which was bleeding from the side. Will stirred and muttered incoherently. "Will, you're bleeding. You're hurt. Ok, don't move. I will get help."

"Sonny...Sonny. Where's Sonny?" Will blinked and looked around.

"What? What happened?" Adrienne asked, putting pressure on his wound.

"Some guys were..." Will pushed Adrienne's hand away. "Never mind me. They took Sonny."

"What are you talking about? Took Sonny where?" Adrienne asked, her voice shaking slightly.

"I tried to stop them." Will said, his voice also shaking. "They were dragging him, and I hit one of the thugs, but he hit me harder. The last thing I heard was Sonny yelling for me, then...lights out."

"Who would do something like this?" Adrienne shrieked. "You know what? It doesn't matter. I'm calling the police."

"Wait, no!" Will gently grabbed Adrienne's hand as she reached for her phone.

Adrienne huffed at her son-in-law's response. Then she realized... "This is about this war. Getting the cops involved would make things worse for Sonny." Will stared at her in surprise. "What, you think I didn't know?"

"How much?" Asked Will.

"Deimos kidnapped Chad and Gabi." Adrienne answered. "This war is over some stupid technology that's worth a lot of money. Is there more?"

"That's what I know, too." Will said.

"Except now, they've kidnapped Sonny. Damn it!"

"It has to be retaliation. Either the Hernandez or DiMera famllies want to trade Sonny for one of their own." Will said. "God, everything just keeps getting worse. What the hell can we do?"

"I'm not sure. Let me call Justin. He'll know what to do." Adrienne said. She called Justin but it went straight to voicemail. "Justin's usually pretty good at getting back to me. Oh my God, he's in court. Nicole's hearing."

"Well, we can't wait." Will said.

"No, we can't." Adrienne agreed. She helped Will up. " Okay, I am going to drop you off at the hospital, then I am going to talk to Deimos."

"No way. Sonny needs our help." Will said. "I'm fine. We'll go talk to hom together...now."

"Yeah, now." Adrienne helped him to her car. Will was impressed with Adrienne's composure. He thought she'd be freaking out by now.

xx

Adrienne knocked on the door to the mansion. Deimos answered and Adrienne and Will walked in. "Good. We need to see you."

"Not now. This is a bad time." Deimos sighed in irritation.

Adrienne whirled around. "Yes, now! What have you done with Chad and Gabi?"

"I'm sure I don't know what you're talking about." Deimos replied, casually.

"We know you kidnapped them." Will said. "Where are they?"

"Hold on. Chad and Gabi were kidnapped?" Brady asked, shocked.

"Seriously? Are you two really gonna pretend you don't know what's going on?" Adrienne exclaimed. "Everyone knows including the police!"

"You kidnapped them so whichever family has the key can give it back." Will said.

"Wait a minute. What do you know about that?" Deimos asked.

"Deimos, would you stop? We know!" Adrienne exclaimed.

"Yeah, we know everything." Will jumped in. "Just like we know you kidnapped Chad and Gabi."

"And now one of those families has taken my son." Adrienne said. "You kidnapped two kids to get your precious key back, now they've taken Sonny, so you are gonna let Chad and Gabi go now!"

They all went into the living room. Deimos spoke. "Al right, just calm down. What makes you think that Sonny was kidnapped?"

"I was there. I saw it happen." Will said firmly. "I tried to stop it, but they knocked me unconscious."

"How long ago was this?" Brady asked.

"About an hour." Will answered.

"What makes you think it wasn't a robbery...?"

"Stop patronizing us!" Adrienne interrupted.

"We know about the war." Will reminded him. "This family, the Hernandezes, and the DiMeras all fighting for the Orwell."

"Except no one can make it work." Adrienne added.

"Again, how in the world do you know that?" Deimos asked.

"I'm not here to explain myself to you. I'm here to save my son." Adrienne said. "There's a missing key element. Without that, you have nothing."

"Oh that's right! We caught you listening outside one of our meetings!" Deimos said. "You claimed you were looking for an earring."

"Don't change the subject!" Adrienne snapped.

"What is this- you trying to manufactor an article for the Spectator? Is that what this is about?" Deimos asked. "Tell you what- why don't you and Jennifer sell that rag to Titan? I'll give you a fair price."

"Okay, first of all, how dare you insinuate that Adrienne would use her own son to get a story?" Will snapped angrilly. "Second of all, what the hell is the matter with you?! Your nephew was jumped, kidnapped! He's in some real danger. Do you even care about him at all?"

Brady turned to Deimos, who didn't lok the least bit concerned. "This is serious. He's right- this is Sonny's life we are talking about here. You need to come clean: did you kidnap Chad and Gabi?"

Deimos ignored the question. "All right, let's just take a breath here. First of all, this family has a lot of enemies, right? Which is to say any one of them could have attacked Sonny."

"Don't give me that bull." Adrienne said shaking her head.

Deimos continued. "And since we have no proof that Sonny was kidnapped- no phone calls, no ransom demands- I think it's safe to assume that any attack on Sonny has nothing to do with any of the rumors you keep hearing about our technology."

That did it. Adrienne snapped. She grabbed the front of Deimos's shirt and started shaking him. "You son of a bitch! I want my son back! I want my son back now!"

"Adrienne, calm down." Brady said as he pulled her back.

Will stepped in front of her and held his arms out. "Please, you're sick."

"Screw my cancer! I will not calm down until this son of a bitch fixes what he did!" Adrienne yelled. She pointed an accusing finger at Deimos. "Listen, I don't care about you, your business, or your stupid technology. I just want my son back, so you need to make it happen right now!"

Meanwhile, Will sent a quick text to Kate. [i]"Sonny's been kidnapped by Andre and Eduardo as leverage against Deimos, and he's not doing anything. If you have something on him, I need to know what it is, NOW!"

"Will, I'm sorry about Sonny, but, the thing is, Deimos has something on me, too."

"I will get rid of any evidence of whatever he has on you. I PROMISE. Whatever you did, I will look the other way. I won't even bring it up, and I won't tell anyone. Just please help me out here!"

"All right, fine. Deimos smuggled antiquities from all over Europe. He keeps them in a hidden door in his bedroom closet. I'll send you a picture."[/i]

Will exhaled slowly and replied "Thank you", then turned back around. Brady was still holding Adrienne back.

"I will kill you! I'll kill you!" Adrienne was shouting. "I swear to God, I will kill you!"

Will stepped in front of Adrienne again. "Okay, okay, Brady, get her out of here. Now."

Brady nodded and half-dragged, half-carried Adrienne out of the living room. Will took a deep breath and turned to Deimos, who was nonplussed.

"Look, Will, I am sorry, but like I said, Sonny can take care of himself." Deimos shrugged.

"Save it." Will said. He folded his arms. "I'm gonna go out on a limb here and assume that you won't do anything to save my husband. Here's what's gonna happen: you're gonna go along with whatever Andre and Eduardo tell you to do."

"Or what? You've got nothing on me." Deimos said.

"You mean besides the smuggled antiquities you have hidden in your closet?" Will asked. Deimos's eyes widened in horror as Will showed him a picture of the antiquities on his phone. "When Sonny and I first moved in here, I did a little snooping. I found some strange artifacts in your closet. Talk about skeletons! Now...you are going to do everything in your power to save Sonny, or I will send this to the police, Interpol, the FBI, ISA, you name it. Got it?"

Deimos folded his arms. "Fine. But you should know that Victor also smuggled some of those antiquities."

"I don't care. Sonny is your nephew. Do right by him for once." Will said.

Adrienne and Brady came back into the living room. Adrienne glared at Deimos. "You lying, selfish, uncaring, soulless son of a bitch."

"You know what, I've had enough name-calling for one day." Deimos snapped. "I have a business to run."

Just then, Justin and Nicole entered the room. "Deimos!"

Deimos turned to Nicole and smiled. "Nicole, hi. Where's Holly?"

"Not with me, obviously, thanks to you and that incredibly stupid move!" Nicole shrieked. "Bribing a Judge?! She took her away from me."

Deimos was shocked. "Wait, what?!"

"That's right. You ruined any chance I had of getting my baby back." Nicole glared at him.

"Are you saying that the Judge...?"

"Gave Chloe custody." Nicole finished.

"How is that possible?!" Deimos yelled.

"So I'm not the only mother you've ripped a child away from today, huh!" Adrienne spoke up.

Justin did a double-take. "What are you talking about?"

"Deimos allegedly had Chad and Gabi kidnapped because of his stupid Orwell project and now his enemies have retaliated by taking our son." Adrienne explained.

"Oh my God. Is this true? [i]Is this true?![/i]" Justin glared at Deimos.

"I'll let you guys deal with him." Will said, and left the room. Once he exited the house, he sighed and called Lucas. "Hey, Dad, I'm gonna be gone longer than I thought. It's a long story, but Sonny's been kidnapped by either Eduardo or Andre or both, and...but it's being handled. Hopefully he'll be found before the day's over."

XX

Will's first stop was at Club TBD. He didn't want to do this, but he was desperate. He walked into Eduardo's office. Eduardo was just finishing up a phone call.

"I'm just gonna cut to the chase." Will said before Eduardo could talk. "I know you have my husband."

"I'm sorry, what? I don't know what you're talking about-"

"Save it." Will said. "I am going to find him. And if he has so much a scratch on him, I will sue Gabi for full custody of Ari. I can't have my daughter around you."

Eduardo shot up and glared at Will. "You are not taking my granddaughter away from me."

"Mm. Should have thought of that before you kidnapped my husband." Will said simply.

"Okay, but you understand why I did it, right?" Eduardo asked.

"Yes. Because you want to trade him for Gabi and Andre wants to trade him for Chad." Will said. "I'm still suing for full custody." He left and headed to the Salem PD.

XX

Will entered the interrogation room where JJ was working. JJ looks up in surprise. "Will, what happened? What's going on?"

"It's Sonny, he's been kidnapped." Will said.

"What?! When did this happen?" JJ asked in horror.

"Right after Uncle Steve and Aunt Kayla's wedding." Will explained. "We were meeting up when some thugs jumped us. I tried to fight them off but I couldn't."

"Why didn't you come to me then?" JJ asked, throwing his arms out.

"I wanted to but I was afraid to involve the police. Then I went to Deimos, and he's definitely not gonna do anything." Will sighed. "Now I really need your help. I just keeping thinking of our kids and with Gabi missing..."

"And now Sonny. Damn it! This situation is totally out of control." JJ sat down. "If Deimos has Gabi and Chad which is what I believe, the..."

"The DiMera's or the Hernandezes took Sonny." Will finished.

Abby walked in. "I'm pretty sure you're right on both counts. Let's figure out a way to get our loved ones back."

JJ turned to Will. "I had Abigail take a picture of Andre's call log."

"Andre told me that he's leveling the playing field...then he got a call from Eduardo." Abigail explained. "I thought maybe they kidnapped Nicole. But I tried calling Sonny and he hasn't answered...Will, you being here confirms my suspicion. I should have asked Andre a lot sooner. I'm so sorry."

"Hey, no, it's not your fault." Will said.

"I know you must be really worried." Abigail said.

"You must be, too." Will replied. "I'm gonna call Paul to see if he can look those numbers up, maybe go through security cameras."

"Okay." Abigail said.

XXX

A few minutes later, Will and JJ come back to the interrogation room.

"Good news." JJ said, smiling.

"What is it?" Abigail asked.

"Based on your photo of Andre's phone log, we traced several of his calls to a hotel room on the outskirts of town." JJ said.

Abigail smiled. "That's fantastic. Maybe that's where they're hiding Sonny."

"We're going to check it out now." Will said.

"Just be careful please. Keep me posted." Abigail said.

XXX

In a hotel room outside of town, Sonny sat bound and gagged in a chair, his back facing the window. He stared at his kidnapper, who was playing on his phone as he (Sonny) worked on untying the ropes. He knew why he was kidnapped. Deimos is not gonna care. He would have to rescue himself.

XXX

JJ and Will walked through the alley where the kidnapping happened.

"Still nothing on Gabi and Chad." JJ said.

"I know this is hard for you not being a part of that search." Will said.

"Lani and the rest of the Salem PD are out there looking for them. I need to focus on finding Sonny, okay?" JJ replied. "Now you got the address of that hotel Andre made those calls to?

Will nodded. "Yeah, at least I got that part right."

JJ sighed. "There's nothing you could have done to stop this."

"I should have seen those guys coming." Will ranted. "I should have known Sonny was in danger and I should have gotten him out of there."

"It was an ambush. You did your best." JJ insisted. "Look we'll find the guys who took Sonny and when we do, we'll be the guys leading the ambush."

Will nodded. "I hope it's not too late."

XXX

Sonny got himself loose, removed his gag, ran to his captor and punched him. "You son of a bitch!"

Sonny's kidnapper grabbed Sonny by the suit jacket and punched him in the gut, then in the face. Sonny collapsed to the floor, leaning against the chair. The kidnapper sat him back down on the chair, and gagged and bound him again. "Now..." The kidnapper leaned down and ran his hand slowly up Sonny's thigh. Sonny's stomach lurched. "From here on out, you're gonna be a good boy and sit right where you are..." He leaned towards his ear. "or I will do a lot more..." He caressed Sonny's cheek. "than kick your ass." He stroked Sonny's chest. "Understand?" Sonny nodded. "Good." He stood up and went to the bathroom. Sonny shuddered and took deep breaths.

XX

Will and JJ's plan was put into action. They tried to book one of the rooms next to 2116, which was the room Sonny was being held in, but someone booked the whole hallway. So, JJ swiped the key to room 2114. Luckily, that room was empty. Will went out the window onto a small garden ledge with a rail. He took a deep breath. "Okay. Here goes everything." He backed up, and ran and jumped as far as he could. His hands barely grabbed the railing outside the window of room 2116. He gasped in pain and panted. "Okay. Oh, God." He pulled himself up into the garden ledge and took a deep breath. Will peered into the room. The inside drapes were drawn, but he could see Sonny tied to a chair. Once the kidnapper stepped outside the room, Will snuck in through the window.

Sonny started and gasped slightly when he felt someone untie him. Will ungagged him. "Hey, it's going to be okay. I'm going to get you out of here, okay?"

"Will?" Sonny muttered.

"Yeah it's me. I came in through the window. How's that for an entrance? Is there more than one guy?" Will asked. Sonny shakes his head no. "Okay. Can you stand?" Sonny stood and pulled Will into a tight hug. Will grunted and hugged back. "Oh...it's okay. I'm here." Will pulled away. "Sonny, listen to me carefully. JJ is right outside distracting your kidnapper. Once he's inside and still distracted, you need to knock him out. Okay?"

Sonny swallowed and nodded. "Yeah."

"Okay. Go wait in the bathroom." Will said. He quietly walked to the wall by the door.

Sonny went into the bathroom and tore off a towel rack. Will heard the thug say "What the hell?" and the door opened. JJ and the thug walked in. "Where'd he go? This is on you." The thug slammed JJ against a table and took his gun. "Turn around."

JJ complied. "I wonder how your boss Andre would feel about you pointing your gun at a police detective. The guy keeps saying he wants legitimacy for his family. So tell me now that we're old friends, who'd you have tied up in here?"

The thug chuckled and starts to close the door, and Will pushes the door closed, glaring at the thug, livid. Sonny hits the guy from behind and continues hitting him.

"Sonny!" Will exclaimed. He pulled Sonny away and held him back. "Sonny, stop!"

"Sonny!" JJ admonished.

"How'd you like that, you son of a bitch?" Sonny yelled, still waving the broken off rack. "Get off me!"

Will turned around and let go of Sonny, who also turned around. Will grabbed Sonny's face. "Hey! Sonny, stop. Right now. It's over. He's down."

Sonny calmed down some and clutched the broken-off rack tightly. Will stood next to him.

JJ has the thug on his knees with his hands cuffed behind his back. "When a detective comes to the door you let him in. Now you and I are going for a ride down to the station and you can tell me all about what you did to my cousin here. Are you okay Sonny?"

"Yeah." Sonny said through gritted teeth.

JJ gestured to his face. "You need to go to the hospital and get checked out."

"I'll take him." Will said.

"I don't need to go to the hospital." Sonny protested.

"Why don't we let the doctors decide that?" Will asked.

JJ gets an alert. "They found Gabi and Chad. They're going to be alright."

Will sighed. "That's great. Then it's over."

"I hope so." JJ said.

Sonny keeps staring at the thug. Will noticed. "Hey...come on. We can give our statements later."

"Okay."

They walked to the elevator. Sonny still looked upset. "Hey, are you okay?"

"I'm fine." Sonny snapped.

XXX

As Sonny got checked out by the doctor, Will called Adrienne, Justin, and Abigail to let them know Sonny is safe. Sonny walked out, looking a little better.

"I told you, I'm fine." Sonny said.

Justin and Adrienne ran through the waiting area.

"Sonny! Oh my God!" Adrienne hugged her son, then noticed his face. "Sonny what happened, baby? What did they do to you?"

"Hey, it will all heal. Doctor said I could go home and rest." Sonny replied.

Adrienne smiled. "Good. We'll get you home, get you some soup from the Pub, we'll make it better."

Sonny shook his head. "It's okay. I have a bunch of paperwork to fill out."

"Let us do that. Go home and rest." Justin said, squeezing Sonny's shoulder.

"I'll make sure that he gets home safely." Will promised.

"Thank you, Will. For everything." Adrienne hugged Will and pecked him on the cheek. Justin and Adrienne went to fill out the forms.

Will turned to his husband. "Is there anything else you want to grab before you go home?"

"I'm not going home. I have work to do." Sonny said simply.

"Work, today?" Will asked, aghast.

"Yeah work. Do you see my face?" Sonny asked, angrily. He pointed to his bruised face. "Does Deimos look like this? Did he get the crap kicked out of him today? I am done with that man."

"What are you saying?"

"I'm taking over this family and I'm going to take my revenge my way." Sonny said with a determination Will has never seen before.


	91. That's Some Reward For Loyalty

Will looked shocked at his husband. He raised his hands to calm him. "Okay. Let's just get you home and in bed. Then we can talk about what to do next."

Sonny exhaled sharply. "That is the last thing I wanna do."

"I know. But knowing your mom, she's gonna make you rest one way or the other." Will grinned.

Justin walked up to them. "All right, the paperwork's already filled out. Your mom is on her way to the pub. And before you protest, I have three words for you..." He looked between the husbands. "uh, did I interrupt something?"

Sonny put on a fake smile. "No. And I'm not gonna protest. I just wanna go home and hold my babies all night."

Justin chuckled. "I know the feeling." He pulled Sonny into a hug. "I'm so glad you're okay. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have had you investigate the docks. That's what started this whole mess."

"You didn't know what would happen." Sonny said.

Justin sighed. "I'm just glad you're not hurt. M-more hurt."

"Me, too." Sonny replied. [i]'Seriously.'[/i]

"All right, let's get to the pub before your mom thinks you've been kidnapped again." Justin said.

"Too soon, Dad."

"Sorry."

XXX

Once they arrived at the apartment, Ari bounded towards Sonny. "Daddy!"

"Hey, sweetheart!" Sonny picked Ari up and hugged her. "Oh, I missed you so much."

"I missed you, too." Ari said. She looked around. "Is Mommy back yet?"

"Uh, why don't you go see the boys? I'll explain things to her." Will held out his arms. Sonny handed Ari over to Will and walked off. Will carried Ari to her room, sat her on her bed, and knelt down on the floor. "Ari, your mommy got lost and couldn't find her way home. After a while, she found her way, but she got sick. She's in the hospital."

"Is she...she's gonna get better, right?" Ari asked, voice trembling.

Will hugged her. "Of course she is. She just needs a good night's sleep. We'll go see her in the morning."

"Okay."

XX

"Are you still hungry or thirsty?" Adrienne just finished feeding Sonny soup.

Sonny smiled, leaned back on his pillows, and put a hand on his stomach. "I'm good. Thanks."

"You know, you really scared me today." Adrienne said, setting the empty bowl on the nightstand.

"I know. I'm sorry." Sonny said. "How, um, how did you find out?"

"I walked by the alley and I saw Will unconscious." Adrienne replied. "He told me. We didn't want to call the police, 'cause we were afraid it would make everything worse on you. Then I tried calling your dad, then I remembered he was in court with Nicole, and so Will and I confronted Deimos."

Sonny threw his head back and sighed. "Oh, Mom, I wish you hadn't done that. You have cancer. You need to think about your health."

"You of all people should understand that your child comes first over your well-being." Adrienne raised an eyebrow. Sonny closed his eyes and nodded.

"How did Deimos react? To my kidnapping?" Sonny asked. Adrienne hesitated. Sonny scoffed to himself and shook his head in dismay. "He didn't care, did he?"

Will walked in carrying ice packs. He heard that last bit. He didn't want to make Sonny feel worse, but, knowing him, he's not gonna stop until he gets answers. "I blackmailed him into helping us save you." He admitted. Sonny looked hurt, but not surprised. "The kids are asleep now. Everything okay?"

"Just fine." Sonny said tersely.

"Okay." Will climbed on the bed and gently pressed the ice packs along Sonny's face. Sonny winced. "Ooh. Okay, just hold that there. I need to lock up the Pub, and I'll be back."

Adrienne kissed Sonny on the top of his head. "Get some rest, baby. Good-night."

"'Night." Sonny said. Adrienne and Will left the room.

*Sonny sighed and laid back, staring at the ceiling. His mind travelled over everything he's gone through over the last two years.

[i]"We can't get your second club up and running. I'm sorry."

"Will Horton is Paul Narita's lover."

"I had no idea that the Edge of the Square was gonna cut into your profits the way it did. Believe me, it was never my intention."

Someone covered Sonny's mouth from behind and slowly jammed a knife in his back.

"Your father and I...we're getting divorced."

"You cheated on me- twice! ... Reason upon reason upon reason. How many more do I need?!"

Sonny looked back at Will and Ari and shut the door behind him without a word.

Sonny rushed over to Ben and pulled him off of Will. He started performing CPR. "Come on, Will. Come on! Don't leave me."

"Are you really okay with keeping EJ being alive secret from your family?"

"How could you dump all that stolen money on your son?!"

"You've been talking to Deimos, haven't you? After I specifically told you not to!"

"Andre knows we have the money. He wants it back."

"What- so you can use it to track Sami and the kids down and kill them?"

"What do you think I'm gonna do to you and your husband if you don't?"

"Marlena and Ari are missing."

"Both Gabi and Ari are sick with this strange virus."

"You want to make Deimos your successor? After everything he's done?"

"Let me get this straight: you sold our baby- my baby- to Andre?!"

"We are moving into the mansion. End of discussion!"

"Fine. End of marriage!"

"You have three hours to deliver the money, or your husband dies."

"DiMera now has control of all of Titan's shipping and holdings. So much for the power of friendship, right, Sonny?"

"My sons have been kidnapped!"

"Actually, he was really great about it. He wants me to continue investigating the docks."

"I have breast cancer."

"We have the Orwell."

"This war is getting out of control."

"You won't believe what Deimos did this time. ... Deimos and I have a decent enough relationship in order for me to talk him down."

"I know you're not working for Deimos. Tell Andre and Eduardo I wanna talk to them. I hate what Deimos did."

"Now, from here on out, you are gonna sit still like a good boy, or I will do a lot more than kick your ass."

"He didn't care, did he?"

"I blackmailed him into helping us save you."[/i]

Sonny clutched the bedsheets. His eyes were bloodshot and his teeth were clenched in anger. Deimos started this whole mess. Since he came to town, he's caused way too much trouble. He warmed up to Deimos. He's been loyal, he's defended him...and what does he get in return? No reward for loyalty, no "thank you". Instead, he's been kidnapped and beaten up, and Deimos doesn't care- he had to be blackmailed into it! He's had it.

Sonny's phone rang. Without looking, he grabbed his phone from his nightstand. He sat up and swallowed when he saw the caller ID. He tried hard to keep the anger from his voice. "Deimos."

"Sonny! Oh, it's good to hear your voice. I've been so worried." Deimos simpered.

"Have you?" Sonny asked dubiously.

"Yes. So, the Orwell has been destroyed." Deimos went on as though nothing had happened. "This war isn't over yet, though. We'll work on a game plan. Good-night!"

Sonny slowly pulled the phone away. It was as though nothing had happened. No apology for getting him kidnapped and beaten, no respect, no thanks, no nothing. Fury bubbled up inside Sonny. He clutched the phone and threw it across the room and put his head in his hands as Will walked into the room.

"Sonny?" Will climbed on the bed, sat next to Sonny, and started rubbing his back gently. "Hey...you okay? Wanna talk about it?"

Sonny took a deep breath and dropped his hands. "You know...I always give people second- third in your case- chances and give them the benefit of the doubt. Usually they come through. They're good people. I had my doubts about Eduardo and Deimos...and I folded for the sake of Gabi, Ari, and my family. I sold Club TBD to Eduardo. I was loyal to Deimos and I defended him a couple of times. And this is how they repay me?"

"I want them to pay dearly for what they did." Sonny continued. "But not by violence. I'm not gonna stoop to their level. They'll never see me coming."

Will sighed deeply. "Sonny...I know you want them to pay. I do, too. But, this is the second time your family almost got you killed. You have three children to think about. Your mother has cancer. None of us can afford to lose you."

"Okay, first of all: do not use my mother's cancer to get me to do something." Sonny frowned at him. "And second, I am not talking about doing anything dangerous or illegal. I'll make damn sure no one gets hurt. Not me, not you, and especially not our kids."

Will huffed and sat back. "I don't like this, Sonny. Just...please let the police handle this. Or your dad, Uncle Vic, and Brady."

"My dad is too focused on his job and my mom to do anything." Sonny snapped. "Victor abandoned his family to the dogs- he won't do anything. And Brady? Brady has developed a giant man crush on him, so he definitely won't do anything. And Deimos is gonna lie to the police. I know he will. I'm the only one who will do it."

Will blinked and shook his head. He was pretty sure this will end in disaster. "If there's the slightest hint of danger, you gotta promise me you'll stop your little revenge plan."

"I promise." Sonny said.

Will nodded and smiled. "Oh, one other thing: I threatened Eduardo. I told him that if you had so much as a little scratch on you that I would sue Gabi for full custody of Ari."

Sonny was surprised, then he scoffed. "Well, I got more than just a scratch, so...but aren't you worried about what that would do to your friendship with Gabi? And eventually your relationship with Ari?"

"Why should I? Eduardo sure as hell wasn't." Will said, a little bitter.

"Because you're a better man than he is." Sonny said.

Will exhaled slowly. "Yeah, well...my family comes first over friendship, so...I'm sorry if Gabi will be upset, but, that's just how it goes."

"Okay. I agree." Sonny said. "So, that takes care of Deimos and Eduardo. What about Andre?"

"I think his father's attempted murderer who framed him for said attempted murder walking free is enough punishment for now." Will said. "One task at a time."

"Agreed." Sonny said. They scooched down under their covers. Sonny lay his head on Will's chest and hugged his torso. Will wrapped one arm around Sonny's shoulders and gently played with Sonny's hair with his other hand. "Hey, Will, can you do me a favor?"

"Of course."

"Can you put me in a medically induced coma every February? Bad things keep happening to me in February." Sonny said.

Will laughed softly and hugged Sonny close. "Aww. You know, I would, but then you'd also have to go through months of physical therapy to recover."

"Yeah." Sonny muttered.

"Think you'll be able to sleep?" Will asked.

Sonny sighed. "I'm not sure. Every time I close my eyes, I see myself getting kidnapped, and..."

"Okay. Just focus on the sound of my voice, then." Will said. "I wish I was a better singer. I could sing you to sleep."

"So, you finally admit to being a terrible singer." Sonny teased lightly. They laughed.

"Yeah." Will said.

"You know, my mom used to sing me to sleep." Sonny said. "And my dad."

"What'd they sing?"

"Lullabies at first. When I got older, they sang songs like 'Not While I'm Around' from Sweeney Todd and 'I'll Stand By You' by the Pretenders." Sonny replied. "Did your parents ever sing?"

"Uh, my mom tried, but I got my singing non-talent from her." Will chuckled. "Eventually she said 'Your dad and I are here, and we'll keep the tigers away'."

"Oh, yeah, I remember you telling me about that." Sonny replied.

"Mm-hm. Now...imagine that we're on a warm beach with the kids." Will instructed. "The smell of the ocean. The sound of waves crashing on the shore mixed with the kids laughing and playing. You and I are on beach lounges sipping martinis." Sonny sighed in content and relaxed. Will felt Sonny's muscles relax and his breathing slowed. He kissed the top of Sonny's head. "Sweet dreams, my love. I'm here, and I'll keep the tigers away."


	92. Punishment

[i]Sonny was tied to a chair in the hotel room. His kidnapper was nowhere to be seen. Breathing heavily, he loosened the ropes and freed himself. He bolted for the door and threw it open. He stopped dead when he saw his kidnapper standing in the doorway. He gasped and backed up. The thug grabbed Sonny by the throat.

"I warned you, boy." The thug whispered. He threw Sonny onto the bed causing him to grunt. Sonny couldn't move. The thug straddled Sonny and ripped his shirt open.

"No. Please, don't." Sonny whimpered. "Please..."

The thug stroked his stomach and rubbed his nipples. Then he cupped Sonny's face in his hands and assaulted him with a kiss.[/i]

Will woke up to Sonny kicking him. He turned around, and Sonny was pinned to the sheets, his mouth wide open as though trying to breathe. Will sat up and shook Sonny gently. "Sonny. Sonny, wake up." Sonny's eyes popped open and he gasped. He sat up. "Hey...you had a nightmare." Will rubbed Sonny's stomach. "Was it about the kidnapping?" Sonny nodded. Will pulled him into a hug. "Don't worry. You're safe. The guy is in jail, where he'll stay for a long time." Sonny swallowed and nodded. "Nothing's gonna harm you, not while I'm around."

Sonny chuckled softly, then groaned. "I feel like such a wimp."

"Hey, come on. Even the toughest, most ruthless guy out there has nightmares." Will said.

Sonny nodded. "If you say so."

XXX

The next morning, they left the twins with Lucas and took Ari to the hospital to see Gabi. Eduardo was in the room with her.

"Oh! I guess someone beat me to the punch." Eduardo said. He caught sight of Sonny's face and immediately looked away.

"Ari!" Gabi exclaimed. Sonny put Ari down, and she ran to Gabi's side. Gabi picked her up and hugged her. "Oh. I missed you so much. I feel like I haven't seen you in ages."

"She was really excited to see you." Sonny said. "She barely ate any of her breakfast."

Gabi laughed softly. "Aw."

"Da told me you got losted and then you got sick." Ari said. "Are you feeling better, Mommy?"

"Much better." Gabi said. She glanced at Will and Sonny, who looked at each other knowingly.

Sonny turned to Ari. "Hey, sweetheart, why don't we go down to the cafeteria to get your mommy some breakfast?"

"Okay!" Ari jumped down, and ran to Sonny, who picked her up.

"What would you like?" Sonny asked Gabi.

"Mm. Well, it's too early for pizza and fries." Gabi chuckled. "So, I would have to go with hash browns and a veggie omlette."

"All right. Coffee? Milk?"

"Coffee, please." Gabi said.

"You got it." Sonny turned to Will. "Will?"

"I'm fine, thanks." Will said.

"All right. Be back in a few." Sonny left without another word.

"Uh- but..." Gabi was shocked. He didn't ask Eduardo if he wanted anything.

"Oh, did you want something else?" Will asked. "I can text him."

"N-no. I just thought he'd be polite enough to ask my dad if he wanted anything." Gabi said, a little miffed.

"It's okay." Eduardo said.

"Yeah, I don't think my husband wants anything to do with Eduardo at the moment." Will said. He turned to Eduardo. "Wanna tell her why? Or do you want me to?"

"Do we have to do this right now? Gabi is in a hospital bed." Eduardo snapped.

"You're right. I'm sorry." Will turned to Gabi. "Gabi, how are you feeling? On a scale of one to ten, how would you rate your pain?"

Gabi scoffed. "Uh, zero. The hypothermia didn't affect any of my organs, so I'm good to go, actually."

"Great. So, Eduardo. Wanna tell your daughter how her friend and one of the fathers of her daughter got those bruises on his face?" Will asked.

Gabi looked at Eduardo in confusion. "Dad, what's going on?" Eduardo looked away, slightly guilty. "Dad! What did you do?"

"Deimos kidnapped you. He wanted something from me- something I didn't have." Eduardo explained. "Please try to understand. I was desperate. I wanted you back. Sonny wasn't supposed to get hurt. That guard was out of line."

"Oh my God." Gabi gasped and her eyes welled up with tears. She felt hurt and angry. "How could you?! He's my friend! He is Ari's stepfather! He delivered Ari, he gave me and Ari a home and provided for us. He's forgiven me more times than I deserved. This is how you repay him?! By having him kidnapped and beaten?!"

"I told you- I never told that guard to hurt him." Eduardo said.

"It doesn't matter!" Will said angrily. "It still happened because you had him kidnapped! You wanna know the clincher? Trading Sonny for Gabi and Chad wouldn't have worked. Deimos couldn't care less about Sonny. He'll step over his dead body to get what he wants. I had to blackmail him to help save Sonny. A better option would be to kidnap Nicole, which would have been perfect, since her custody hearing for her daughter was yesterday!"

"Or just not kidnap anyone at all. Instead, freaking look for me and Chad!" Gabi stepped in.

Eduardo exhaled slowly. Deimos did seem pretty calm about his nephew's kidnapping. He didn't even threaten him or Andre.

"I warned you, Eduardo." Will said in a voice barely above a whisper. "I warned you what would happen if Sonny had so much as a scratch on him." He turned to Gabi. "Gabi, I'm sorry. But I cannot let Ari be a part of your family any longer. I'm going for full custody. I have to protect my daughter."

"What?!" Gabi exclaimed. "Can't we talk about this?"

"Well, unless you can come up with a perfectly legal and nonviolent solution." Will shrugged. He turned to Eduardo. "After all, I've seen how far you are willing to go to get your daughter back. How far are you willing to go to make sure your granddaughter stays in your daughter's life? I'll give you a few minutes." He left.

Gabi exhaled sharply and rubbed her eyes. "This can't be happening."

"I cannot believe he's doing this." Eduardo shook his head angrily.

It struck Gabi. It's not her Will is mad at, it's Eduardo. Eduardo's the problem here. So how can they...? A memory came to Gabi. Will and Sami were faced with the same problem just before Ari was born. She swallowed. Sami came up with a solution. A sacrifice. Would Eduardo do the same?

"You know, when I was in prison it killed me that I wouldn't get to see my little girl grow up." Gabi said. "My heart would fill with joy when she came to visit, and I'd die on the days she didn't. I can't bear the thought of walking down the street...seeing Ari, never being there while she grows up. Do you have any ideas? Short of kidnapping Will and having him beaten, anyway. Or killing him." Eduardo was silent. He just shrugged helplessly and shook his head. Gabi bowed her head in disappointment, then looked up. "I have one. An injunction. You will take an oath, you will sign anything, you will swear that you'll disappear from Ari's life. You don't visit, you don't call her, write to her, or send her presents. You'll be dead to her."

"What?" Eduardo asked, completely shocked.

"It's you Will has a problem with." Gabi explained. "No one, and I do mean no one is gonna keep me from my daughter. Not even you."

"All because of one little mistake?"

"That 'mistake' could have cost Sonny his life and ruined Will's, Ari's, and those two baby boys' lives forever!" Gabi argued.

"So you're choosing your friends over your own family, is that it?" Eduardo asked, glaring at her.

Gabi glared back. "No one is more important to me than my family. And my friends are my family. But if you're making me choose between them and you, you're making it very easy. Show me that you're better than this. Don't just do it for me, do it for Ari. Hell, do it for Rafe, Dario, Mami, even Kate. Sign an injunction."

Will came back into the room. "Is everything okay? Have you come up with a solution?"

Eduardo sighed in resignation. "Yes. I'll sign an injunction stating that I will be completely out of Arianna's life. No contact, no gifts, nothing."

"You won't try to weasel your way out of it?" Will asked.

"No. I won't." Eduardo promised.

Will smiled and nodded in satisfaction. "Okay. I'll have my lawyer draw up an injunction."

"So, we're good? Gabi gets joint custody?" Eduardo asked, to make sure.

"Gabi gets joint custody." Will confirmed.

The door opened, and Sonny and Ari walked in. Gabi smiled. "Look who's back! Is that for me?"

"Yeah." Ari held up the bag.

"Why thank you, sugar bear." Gabi took the bag. "Come on. Let's eat on the bed."

"Did it work?" Sonny whispered.

"Yeah, it did." Will whispered back. They turned to Eduardo, who approached them.

"Sonny, I'm sorry I did what I did. But I hope you understand why I did it." He said.

"I do. But it doesn't mean I'm okay with what you did." Sonny said.

"I know." Eduardo said. "Can I at least say goodbye to my granddaughter before I sign this injunction?"

"Of course." Will replied.

"Thank you." Eduardo walked over to Gabi and Ari, who were halfway through their breakfasts.

Gabi looked up at her father and nodded, knowingly. She climbed off the bed. "Mommy will be right back, sweetie." She walked over to Will and Sonny.

"Hey, sweetheart." Eduardo greeted.

"Hi, Abuelo." Ari greeted, smiling. "Are you coming with us to the pub, later?"

"No, I'm not." Eduardo said, sadly. "Actually...Abuelo has to say good-bye for a while."

"Why?"

"He has some things to do." Eduardo lied. "But, he loves you very much and will miss you every day."

"Can I come with you?" Ari asked.

"I'm afraid not, mi querida." Eduardo said.

"When will I see you again?"

"I'm not sure." Eduardo replied. He opened his arms to Ari. "Come here." They hugged. "Goodbye, my beautiful granddaughter."

"Bye." Ari replied.

Meanwhile, Gabi approached Will and Sonny. "I guess this is partly my fault. I shouldn't have broken into the mansion to steal the Orwell. None of this would have happened."

"You didn't know." Sonny said.

"Sonny, I'm sorry. You have every reason to hate me." Gabi said, almost tearfully.

"No, I don't." Sonny assured her. "I'm not gonna hold any of this against you."

Gabi nodded and they hugged. She turned to Will, looking angry. "By the way, this is the absolute last time you ever use our daughter to punish me or anyone in my family. Got that?"

"Gabi, I wasn't punishing anyone. I was protecting Ari." Will insisted. Gabi stared at him in disbelief. "Honest!"

"Okay." Gabi said, sounding doubtful. She walked over to Ari and Eduardo. Eduardo was about to say something, but Gabi interrupted. "Good-bye, Eduardo."

Eduardo nodded and walked away.

"Does Abuelo have to go?" Ari asked Gabi.

"I'm afraid so, sweetie." Gabi said. She hugged Ari. "You'll understand someday."

Eduardo walked out of the room and Will followed. Eduardo turned around. "Are you gonna tell her? When she's older?"

"No." Will answered, shaking his head. "She doesn't need to suffer any more than she has already."

Eduardo nodded and walked off. Sonny joined Will out in the hall. "Well, I guess I'll give him something. He agreed to the injunction."

"Yeah."

"Okay, be honest: was the injunction really only about protecting Ari, or getting back at Eduardo for having me kidnapped?" Sonny asked.

"Both. Fifty-fifty." Will admitted.

"Well, I'm glad you were honest, at least." Sonny replied.

XX

They ran into Abigail and Claire by the nurse's station. Abigail ran to hug Sonny.

"Oh, I'm so glad you're safe." Abigail said.

"Thanks partially to you, I hear." Sonny replied.

Abigail blushed. "I just did what anyone would do."

"Still...if you hadn't taken a picture of Andre's call log, who knows what would have happened." Sonny said, smiling.

"Good point." Abigail nodded. "I should have asked what Andre's plan was sooner. Maybe I could have prevented it."

"It would have happened, anyway." Sonny shrugged.

XXX

Justin walked through the living room. Deimos stood by the fireplace drinking. "You're lucky, Deimos."

"Lucky? Nicole lost custody and now she's mad at me!" Deimos exclaimed, turning around.

"I'm not talking about Nicole!" Justin yelled. "I don't care about that right now. What I care about is my son. He got kidnapped and beaten because of you!"

"You got him back, didn't you?" Deimos argued.

"Only because Will happened to witness it, and not only did he have to blackmail you into caring, he went to JJ, who told his sister to take a picture of Andre's call logs." Justin snapped. "Are you happy? Are you satisfied?"

"What exactly would I be happy about, Justin? The fact that the Orwell was destroyed, or that you lost Nicole's case?" Deimos asked.

Justin scoffed, turned around, and shook his head. Then he whirled back around and punched Deimos in the face. "If you ever put my son in danger again, I will make your life worse than a living hell. Understand?" He sighed and walked off, not noticing Victor walking in.

Deimos nursed his jaw and noticed his brother glaring at him. "What?"

"I did warn you to clean up this mess before it got worse." Victor said. "And now look what happened: Sonny was kidnapped and beaten to a pulp!"

"You know what, you are the last person who should lecture me on that." Deimos snapped, pointing at him. "Does the name Clyde Weston ring a bell?"

Victor glared at him. "If I didn't regret passing Titan to you before, I do now."

XXX

Eduardo sat in front of the screen at the jail. The kidnapper sat on the other side. Eduardo glared at him.

"What?" The kidnapper asked.

"What part of 'Don't hurt the boy' do you not understand?" Eduardo asked.

"He punched me and tried to escape." The kidnapper said.

"I. Don't. Care!" Eduardo said angrily. "When someone asks you to do something, do exactly as they tell you to do. You just cost me my granddaughter. My daughter won't even speak to me now! I hope your fellow inmates make you suffer for the next 20 years."

XXX

Eduardo walked through the square towards the cafe. He heard someone storming towards him and saw a very angry Adrienne approaching him. Adrienne slapped Eduardo across the face. Hard.

"You disgusting, pathetic son of a bitch!" Adrienne grabbed the front of Eduardo's shirt and started shaking him. "I oughta kill you for what you did to my son!"

Lucas spotted them and rushed over to pull Adrienne off. "Hey, hey, hey, Adrienne, calm down."

"I'm sorry." Eduardo said.

"No, you're not. Not yet." Adrienne seethed.

"Okay, come on. You're making a scene." Lucas stepped in front of Adrienne.

"I don't care. He needs to be punished for what he did!" Adrienne snapped.

"What? Signing an injunction stating I was to disappear from my granddaughter's life completely isn't punishment enough?" Eduardo asked.

"Not in the least." Adrienne replied.

Eduardo was surprised. "You do realize things could have turned out way worse, right? What would youi do then?"

"You don't want to find out." Adrienne said in a dangerous tone, then walked off.

Lucas shook his head and turned to Eduardo. "By the way, almost all of my mom's bed partners die soon after. One of them died on their wedding day. Just so you know." He walked off.

XXX

Later, Gabi sat on the bench in the private area working on her phone. Eduardo sat down next to her.

Gabi sighed and did not look at him. "I didn't tell Rafe. I didn't rat you out."

"Thank you." Eduardo said.

"I thought about it, and...I'd...probably do the same thing." Gabi said. "Hell, I went along with Andre kidnapping Melanie just because I wanted Chad. Your situation was more...desperate than selfish."

"I appreciate that." Eduardo said. He pulled out a small box. "I ordered this a few weeks ago. It's a bracelet for Arianna. I was gonna give it to her for her birthday, but..."

"The injunction." Gabi nodded. She pulled out her wallet.

"What are you doing?"

"Buying the bracelet from you." Gabi explained. "You did go through the trouble of ordering it. I'll give it to her."

"No, it's okay." Eduardo said. "Consider it an apology gift."

"Okay. Thank you." Gabi said.

"It's also more than just a bracelet." Eduardo explained. "If you press the little heart, it sends a distress signal to my phone. If it appears, then I'll send in an anonymous tip to the police to her location."

Gabi smiled and nodded. "That sounds awesome. Thank you."

"You're welcome." Eduardo said. He left.

XXX

Meanwhile, Sonny called Victor. "Uncle Vic. We need to talk about Deimos."


	93. Keep Calm And Destroy Deimos

Sonny met with Victor at Club TBD and convinced him to make him Deimos' "heir apparent". He and Will headed to the mansion so Sonny could confront Deimos and distract him while Will looks for evidence Deimos and Victor have on Kate.

"If you don't like how I run things, then pack up and go." Deimos said. "Believe me, you won't be missed."

"My Uncle Vic has worked way too hard to let you screw this up. You will resign." Sonny left and smiled to himself.

Will came downstairs, hugging his jacket closed. "So, how'd it go?"

"Fantastic. By this summer, Deimos' reign of terror will be over, and he'll either be on the run, dead, or in prison." Sonny said triumphantly. "What about you? Did you get the evidence against your grandma?"

"I hope so. I just grabbed everything that had her name on it." Will admitted. "I'll meet you at the private area in a half hour."

"Okay, see you."

XX

Kate opened the door to her house and let her grandson in. Will smiled and handed her a thick manila envelope.

"As promised. I hope this is the right one." Will said.

Kate smiled and turned around to go through the envelope. She nodded in satisfaction and turned back to Will. "Yep, this is it. Thank you. You didn't have to do this."

"I owed you one. Sonny's life was at stake." Will said.

"I'm glad he's okay. Really." Kate said sincerely.

"Thanks, Grandma." They hugged.

XXX

Will headed to the private area. Sonny was just talking with Paul and Steve. Will walked up just as Paul and Steve walked away.

"Oh, hey. I hired Paul and Steve to keep a very close watch on Deimos." Sonny explained. "One wrong move, and he's out." Will stared at him with hesitation. "What?"

"It's just...are you sure you want to make Deimos your enemy?" Will asked. "I did that before with EJ and Stefano, and it ruined my life."

"Okay, I won't make the same mistakes you did, then." Sonny shrugged. They sat down.

Will sighed and shook his head. He decided to change the subject before it turned into another argument. He pulled out a package. "I realized I haven't given you my Valentine's present."

Sonny smiled and unwrapped the package. "Oh, wow. A book of Federico Garcia Lorca's poems? I love it. Thank you."

"It's a get well soon present as well. After all, you bought gifts for me and Ari." Will said.

"You didn't have to return the favor. You saved my life, that says it all." Sonny said.

"We saved each other's lives." Will said, cupping Sonny's chin. Sonny smiled. "I did enjoy being the hero, every minute of it." They kissed. "You know I was serious about you getting into it with Deimos. It could be a big mistake. You could be killed."

Sonny shook his head. "No the big mistake was when my Uncle Vic handed things over to Deimos. I'm not going to sit around and watch Deimos ruin Titan."

Will looked skeptical. "Meaning...?"

"I'm taking control one way or another." Sonny replied with determination.

"And there's no way to get you to change your mind?" Will asked.

"Nope." Sonny shook his head. "You can threaten to divorce me and take the kids with you, you can actually divorce me and take the kids with you, you can blackmail me, but I'm still gonna do this."

Will sighed inwardly. "Okay. Can I at least give you some advice?"

"Sure."

"Don't be too vocal about your plans for Deimos." Will said, shaking his head. "Tipping your hand and letting everyone know your plans is how plans get ruined. Just be discreet. Work behind the scenes quietly. That's how my mom took over DiMera Enterprises, and it worked like a dream!"

Sonny smiled and nodded. "Thanks. I'll keep that in mind."

XXX

Will had to get back to work for a couple hours. Sonny walked through the pub and met with Brady. They hugged.

"Hey I haven't seen you in a while." Brady said.

"For a while there I didn't see anybody. Guess that's what happens when you're kidnapped." Sonny shrugged.

Brady sighed and shook his head. "I'm so sorry, man. I'm glad you're safe. I'm glad you're home. I was no help in that department." He scoffed in dismay. "Remember when I hired someone to shoot a DiMera if they come close to our family?"

"Yeah, the one time it would have been helpful..." Sonny shook his head. "Anyway, there wasn't much you could do. Then."

"What does that mean?"

"I could really use your help." Sonny said, leaning forward.

"Anything, name it."

"I want you to hear what I'm planning before you sign on."

Brady nodded. "I'll bite, what are you planning?"

"To take control of Titan away from Deimos." Sonny admitted.

Brady was surprised. "I want you to slow down. I want you to think about this."

"I have." Sonny said.

"Deimos is just as ruthless with his family members as he is with anybody else." Brady reminded him. "You can ask Granddad, you can ask Maggie about..."

"You're making my argument for me Brady. I can not stand by and watch as Deimos destroys this family, destroys Titan." Sonny said. "I'm not naïve. I know that Uncle Vic isn't an altar boy but he didn't issue death threats, kidnap and poison people."

"Except when he did." Brady said. "I'm living proof. And so is your husband, apparently."

"Then he should have been taken down but not by Deimos." Sonny said. "I do not want my last name synonymous with moral corruption. Do you really want Tate growing up in a family that's headed by a well dressed, well spoken animal? I sure as hell don't want my kids to."

"Sonny, Sonny, have you talked to Grandfather about this?" Brady asked.

"He's not ready to do anything, Brady." Sonny shook his head.

Brady raised an eyebrow. "But you are?"

"Yes."

"You're ready to take over?" Brady asked in disbelief.

Sonny nodded. "It was already agreed that I'm next on the list. I am not waiting for Deimos to step down. I want this now."

Brady was once again, shocked. "Yeah I can see that."

"And I know that you want to run Titan too." Sonny said, raising his hands. "I don't want you to think that I'm shoving you out of the way."

"I don't think that. I'm in agreement with you about Deimos." Brady said. "I do think he's out of control. Nicole lost her custody case because the guy decided to bribe a Judge."

Sonny nodded. "Again, you are making my argument for me."

"Maybe." Brady replied. "You see Grandfather put Deimos in charge which means what you're suggesting is an all out mutiny. You're not just going to be facing Deimos. Grandfather is not going to sit by idly and watch you challenge his decisions. You have to understand that."

Sonny sighed. "I know. This needs to be done, Brady."

"You don't think there's any other way to keep Deimos in his cage."

"Ask him nicely?" Sonny asked sarcastically. Brady scoffed. "We've got to get this guy and we've got to do it now, so are you on board with me or not? Are you in or are you out?"

Brady leaned back. "I need to think about it, Sonny. Alright?"

Sonny nodded. "Well you need to think fast."

Brady checked his phone. "I've got to go."

"Is something wrong?" Sonny asked.

"I haven't heard from Nicole in almost an hour and I don't like it. I think she might go to see Chloe, that's not good." Brady replied. He stood up. "We'll talk later, 'kay?"

"All right, see ya."

A few minutes later, Will came by with coffee. "Hey, you don't seem very happy. Still upset about Deimos?"

Sonny nodded and held the coffee cup in his hands. "I talked to Brady about taking him down and he said he has to think about it. What's there to think about? The man's got to go."

"Well maybe Brady needs to weigh his risks." Will suggested. "Locking horns with Deimos seems to be a dangerous thing to do. Remember Chad? Gabi?"

"Yes I remember. Why do you think I'm doing this, Will?" Sonny asked, frustrated.

"I don't want you to get hurt." Will said. "You have three kids to think about."

"I'm going to be okay." Sonny assured him. "I know what I'm doing."

Will scoffed. "Talk about role reversal. You're always the calm and steady one."

Sonny was growing impatient. "Do I need to remind you again of the things this man has done? To your Aunt Maggie, Uncle Bo, and Uncle Philip?"

Will shook his head. "No. Look I agree he's dangerous and he needs to go down. I'm just concerned about how you're going about dealing with him. Remember how I told you how my mom brought EJ down and took over DiMera?"

"You're using your mom as an example?" Sonny raised an eyebrow in disbelief.

"Yeah, I know. And I'm gonna have nightmares tonight, that's for sure." Will shuddered slightly. "Anyway, my point is...she was calm and rational throughout the entire process."

"Okay. I'm going to stay calm and I'm going to put Deimos away. Thank you for the advice." Sonny said.

Will slammed his hands down on the table. "Damn it Sonny, come on! You and Deimos are not evenly matched."

Sonny scoffed. "Well thank you for the vote of confidence."

"I'm just saying he's amoral, he's ruthless, he's cruel, he's violent." Will said.

"Which is why he needs to be stopped." Sonny argued.

"You are none of those things, which puts you at a complete disadvantage when dealing with that monster." Will argued back. "The second he finds out what you are up to he's going to come at you and it's not going to mean a damn thing that you're family."

"Trust me, I am fine." Sonny said. "We're all fine."

Gabi walked into the pub and saw Will and Sonny. "Hey, guys. Everything okay?"

"Evidently, we're fine." Will snarked and stood up.

"Don't get persnickity with me." Sonny admonished.

"Fine." Will smirked and walked off.

"Oh, you are so sleeping on the couch tonight!" Sonny snapped after his husband. He growled in frustration and turned to Gabi, who sat down. "Sorry. How are you? Don't you just hate being kidnapped?"

"I hate being in the middle of this family war." Gabi said. "We were the ones trying to stop it."

Sonny nodded. "And we were the ones used as hostages. Gabi, I am sick and tired of standing on the sidelines holding my breath and begging these grownups to play nice."

"Andre and Deimos started it all, I wouldn't necessarily use that term grownups." Gabi smirked.

"Maybe they shouldn't be calling the shots." Sonny said.

"What are you thinking about doing?" Gabi asked.

"Whatever it takes to end this war for good." Sonny explained his plan to take down Deimos.

Gabi was skeptical. "Sonny I don't know. I think maybe you're maybe taking on something bigger than you can handle. I don't know."

"I love how everyone has so much faith in me." Sonny rolled his eyes. "Everyone thinks I should just sit back with my hands folded ... am I too nice of a guy to fight back?"

"You are a nice guy. I love that you're a nice guy." Gabi said.

Sonny shook his head. "I don't want to talk about it. Let's talk about you."

XXX

Will walked through the square and sees JJ and Lani. He sighed. 'Forgive me, Sonny, but I'm doing this for your own good.' He put on a smile and walked up to them. "Hey guys."

"Hi." Lani greeted.

"Hey, Will." JJ greeted.

"I'm sorry for interrupting." Will said.

"Don't worry about it." Lani said. "Is something wrong?"

"Sit down." JJ said.

Will complied. "Look you and Sonny, you guys are pretty close, right?"

JJ shrugged. "I guess."

"I was just talking to him and he's worked up about Deimos." Will admitted.

"He's not the only one." Lani said.

"Are you guys any closer to arresting him?" Will asked.

JJ shook his head. "No."

"Sonny wants to take him down." Will admitted.

"Deimos?" JJ asked, eyebrow raised.

Will nodded. "Yeah, I tried talking him out of it but I got nowhere. Maybe you can try."

"Aren't you his husband?" Lani asked.

"Yep, and he won't listen to me." Will said.

JJ nodded. "Let me see what I can do."

"Great. Thanks."

"Sure, no problem."

XXX

Will went back to work at the pub. Anne walked in and sat at the bar. She sighed deeply.

"Mai Tai, please. Make it a double." Anne said.

"Coming right up." Will said. He started making the drink. "Bad night?"

"Well, more embarrassing than bad." Anne admitted. "I tried to make a move, and got rejected. Worst part: he's engaged to someone."

"Oh. You and Paul should hang. He did the same thing once." Will smirked. "Granted he didn't know, but still..."

Anne chuckled. "Yeah." She was quiet for a minute. "Can I ask you something?"

"Sure."

"Your dad...he's..." Anne hesitated, then groaned in dismay. "I can't believe I'm doing this."

"Asking me advice on how to get my dad to like you?" Will guessed.

"Basically, yeah."

Will laughed softly. "Let me guess: he's the engaged guy you made a move on."

"Yeah."

"Well, did you at least apologize?" Will asked. He set her drink in front of her.

"Yeah." Anne replied again and started slurping her drink. "Any sage advice?"

"Uh, well...just be yourself. He likes rom-coms and quiet conversations." Will said.

"Wait, you're pimping your dad to me?" Anne asked, surprised.

"I just think you two would make an interesting couple." Will said. "Maybe when Adrienne inevitably breaks his heart, you can be there to pick up the pieces."

"You don't like Adrienne." Anne guessed.

"No, I like her. It's just that...she and Justin kind of have a history and their son was just kidnapped- he's safe, by the way- and that kind of thing brings people together, you know?" Will replied.

"Good point." Anne nodded. She finished her drink.

"Tell you what: I'll put in a good word for you." Will said.

Anne was surprised. "Thank you." She cleared her throat and paid for the drink. "Keep the change. I'll see you when I see you."

"Thanks. See you."

A few minutes later, Lucas arrived and sat at the bar.

"Hey. You just missed Anne." Will said.

"Oh, hm." Lucas said dismissively. "You know, I'm really glad both you and Sonny are safe."

"Yeah, thanks."

"So, I'm thinking maybe avoid that alley from now on." Lucas said pointedly.

Will scoffed. "Yeah. Trust me- neither Sonny or I will be going down that alleyway for a long time."

"Good." Lucas said.

"Where's Adrienne tonight?"

"At home, resting. These last few days took a lot out of her." Lucas replied.

"I can imagine." Will said. He leaned forward. "You know, Sonny's kidnapping kind of brought Adrienne and Justin closer. I mean...aren't you afraid that Adrienne will go back to him?"

"Honestly? Yes."

"Then why put yourself through that? Why not end it before you get hurt?" Will asked.

"Where is all this coming from?" Lucas asked.

"I just don't want you to get hurt again." Will said. "I like Adrienne, but, Grandma's right- she always goes back to Justin. You should date someone who loves you and only you. Like...Anne. She seems to really like you."

Lucas sighed and shook his head. "Yeah. You know, she practically threw herself on me earlier tonight? It was like she was almost desperate, and I hate that."

"Really? Well, did she apologize?"

"Sort of." Lucas shrugged. "Anyway, I came to see the kids. Are they still awake?"

"No. I put them down a half hour ago." Will replied. "We got a big morning ahead of us."

"Oh, yeah- the Reading Challenge for kids at Horton Center." Lucas nodded.

"Yep! I'm taking the kids with me." Will nodded. "Support the family, right?"

"Right." Lucas nodded. "Well, I will see you later, then."

"See you."

A few minutes later, Roman walked in, smiling. He sat at the bar. "Hey, Will."

"Hey, Grandpa." Will greeted. "Do you want anything?"

"Yep. Irish Wisky. I'm celebrating." Roman said.

"What's the occasion?" Will asked as he picked out the bottle and a glass and set them on the counter.

"My retirement." Roman announced.

Will was suprised. "You're retiring?"

Roman nodded. "Yep. Turned in my badge and my gun this afternoon."

"Oh. Wow." Will laughed softly. "I guess this means I can't commit any more crimes, since you can't protect me anymore."

They both laughed. "Yeah."

"Well, this is huge. Are you gonna get a new job, or are you retiring from working ever?" Will asked.

"For now, I'm gonna go on vacation, find myself, you know? See where the wind takes me." Roman replied. "Maybe I'll go to Europe and hunt down your mother so I can meet that new husband of hers."

Will laughed and tried not to look nervous. "Well, good luck with that."


	94. Stolen Antiquities

The next morning, Will pushed the carriage through the square. He picked up a few books and sat at a table, turing the carriage towards him. "All right, boys, you ready to read?" The twins babbled. "I'll take that as a yes. All right..." He picked up a book. "Ooh, this one was one of my favorites when I was little." Will read the story and showed the pictures to the boys. By the end, Will read a total of ten books to the boys, who had eventually fallen asleep. He pushed the carriage over to Abigail, Chad, Gabi, Thomas, and Ari. "Hey, guys."

"Da! Look what I drew!" Ari exclaimed, waving her picture.

"Very nice, sweetheart!" Will replied.

"So, did you read to the boys?" Abigail asked.

"Yeah. Ten books." Will said.

"Wow." Chad said, amazed. He looked around. "Oh- looks like it's time for my speech. Excuse me."

"You know, I think it's great that DiMera Enterprises is sponsoring this event." Will said to Abigail. "It would definitely help rehabilitate it."

"That's the plan." Abigail nodded.

As Chad was getting close to finishing his speech, Ari started to run up to him, but Will rushed over and picked her up before she could get to him.

"Daaa!" Ari whined angrily. "I want Chad to read to me!"

Will mouthed "Sorry. Continue." to Chad and turned to Ari. "I know, sweetheart, but he's talking right now. Once they take his picture, you can run up there, okay?"

"Fine." Ari grumbled and folded her arms.

Everyone clapped as Chad finished. Will turned to Abigail. "Hey, get up there. It will look good for the family image."

"Yeah. Good idea." Abigail pushed Thomas' stroller up next to Chad, picked Thomas up, and Chad put his arm around Abigail's shoulders, and the photographer took a picture.

"And now, we'll announce the winners of this read-athon." Chad announced. One of the judges gave him an envelope. "In third place with a total of five books: Andrea Lewis!" Everyone clapped as a smiling woman in her early thirties walked up to receive her prize of five books. "In second place: Marissa Warner with eight books!" Marissa walked up to receive her prize. "And in first place: the great-grandson of the founder of Horton Center, and one of my best friends...Will Horton with ten books!"

Will turned to Gabi. "Hey, can you keep an eye on the boys for a sec?"

"Sure." Gabi put her hand on the stroller as Will walked up to Chad to receive his prize.

Will put Ari down, and she turned to Chad. "Chad, will you read to me?"

Chad chuckled. "Sure, Princess." He sat down and pulled Ari into his lap. "All right, which book do you want me to read?"

Will walked back to Gabi. "Hey, congrats on your win."

"Thanks!" Will smiled and put his books in the bag hanging from the stroller.

"So, uh...Sonny seems different since he's been kidnapped." Gabi said casually.

"Yes, well, everyone copes in different ways." Will said.

"You're making excuses for him?" Gabi raised her eyebrows.

"What? It's not like he's into drugs or alcohol." Will replied, a little defensive.

"I know but..." Gabi huffed. "He really, really hates Deimos and wants to bring him down no matter what. That's not the Sonny I know."

"The Sonny you thought you knew hadn't gone through as much as he has in the last two years." Will explained. "Now, he hasn't done anything dangerous or illegal, and he promised me that at the slightest hint of danger, he'll drop his revenge kick on Deimos."

"Okay. As long as he keeps that promise." Gabi shrugged.

"He will." Will said firmly. 'I hope.'

XXX

After putting the boys down in their cribs, Will sat on the couch and cracked open a book. Marlena knocked on the kitchen door. The kitchen door goes outside to a patio with a flight of stairs and a landing halfway down.

"Hey, Grandma." Will greeted. "Come on in."

They sat on the couch. "I'm glad that you and Sonny and Chad and Gabi are all safe."

"Thanks, me too." Will said. "That was quite an adventure. Jumping from one window ledge to another and sneaking into a hotel room to rescue my husband."

Marlena laughed. "You should hear about all the tight spots John rescued me from!"

Will laughed. "True." He sighed and looked away thoughtfully.

Marlena noticed. "What's wrong?"

"What?"

"You looked worried. Is it about Sonny?" Marlena asked.

Will sighed again. "Sonny snapped. He is hell-bent on getting revenge on Deimos for kidnapping our friends, then getting him kidnapped and beaten up, and Deimos had to be blackmailed in order to care."

"Who blackmailed him?" Marlena asked. Will stared at her expectantly. "You did? What could you possibly have on him?"

"You're better off not knowing." Will shook his head. "I'm worried about him, Grandma. He's not the same, always happy, always optimistic, fun man I fell in love with anymore. He's changed."

"Not surprising, given what he's been through in the last couple years." Marlena said.

"Well, yeah, but, I mean..." Will scoffed lightly. "You've been to hell and back several times over the last forty years, and yet you're still happy and sweet. How did you manage that?"

"Well, it helps being a psychologist." Marlena said. "I knew there are people who will be there for me, and I learned to let go of the past. Dwelling on traumatic experiences is a waste of time, and unproductive. The best revenge is to live your life happily."

Will smiled and nodded. "I'll try telling Sonny this, but what if he doesn't listen?"

"Then there's really nothing you can do." Marlena said. "Some things we just have to learn ourselves the hard way."

"Even if it puts us in danger?" Will asked.

"Hopefully it won't come to that." Marlena said.

"I just don't like him acting like a wannabe nonviolent mobster." Will vented. "I'm afraid this whole thing will blow up in his face and he'll do something damaging."

"You know, I seem to recall you doing that two years ago." Marlena said. "You were so depressed 'cause you felt like no one was on your side."

Will sighed inwardly and nodded. "And then Ben tried to kill me and I didn't fight back." He swallowed back a lump. The memory from that night slowly came back. "I thought 'this is it. This is how it ends. Me dying scared and alone. I deserved it after everything I've done', and I didn't even kill or hurt anyone seriously. I'm glad Sonny- and Grandma Caroline- saved me. That unrealistic and miraculous moment made me realize that I was at least good enough to get a second chance. Maybe the same thing will happen to Sonny. I don't wish any kind of danger upon him, though."

"Well, they do say you have to lose everything to find yourself." Marlena said.

Sonny walked into the apartment. "Hey, Marlena."

"Hi!" Marlena greeted.

"How's John?" Sonny asked.

"He's good. The ISA rehired him." Marlena announced.

"Really? I thought they were getting sick of him bailing out on assignments." Will said.

Marlena laughed. "I guess they're a little more forgiving, or they're a bit short-staffed."

"Well, I'm happy for him." Will said.

"Are the boys asleep?" Sonny asked. They heard fussing over the baby monitor.

"Oh. I'll tend to them, if that's okay." Marlena said.

"Yeah, that'd be great." Will said. Marlena nodded and headed for the nursery. "Thanks!"

"So, how was the read-athon?" Sonny asked.

"A huge success." Will replied. "I won first place."

"Really? Congrats! I'm so proud of you." Sonny smiled and kissed Will. "What'd you win?"

"Ten books for the kids." Will replied. He sobered up. "Hey, I wanted to talk to you about something."

"Okay. What's up?" Sonny sat down.

"About your revenge kick..." Will considered trying to talk him out of it, but figured it would make him even more determined, so he changed his mind. "After we bring Deimos down, can we be happy again? The best revenge is to live your life happily. Don't waste time dwelling on the past."

Sonny sighed quietly. "Will, believe me, I would not go after Deimos if someone else is. But the fact is, everyone- even Victor- seems to like him now for some reason. Everyone listens to him, and for some reason, they don't listen to me."

Will caressed his cheek. "I listen to you. And I know what it's like to have everyone on your case and no one on your side. We're in this together. I can't stop you from failing, but I promise to make it safe for you if you do."

Sonny smiled and pulled Will into a hug. "Thank you. I love you."

"I love you, too." Will pulled away. "On that note..." Will pulled up his phone. "I have a little present for you. It's what I blackmailed Deimos with."

"Show me."

"Okay, but first...a little disclaimer." Will said. "Deimos said that Victor is involved as well. I got this info from my Grandma Kate. Deimos had something on Kate, remember?"

"Okay, then we just need to make sure Victor and Kate are kept out of it." Sonny said.

Will smiled and nodded. He pulled up the pictures of the artifacts. "These are pictures of pictures of artifacts."

Sonny gasped. "Oh man, this is a gold mine. Deimos really stole these?"

"I guess so." Will said.

"All right. I'm gonna call Paul and have him investigate this." Sonny said.

XXX

A few hours later, Sonny came home grinning from ear to ear. Will was preparing dinner. "Someone looks happy."

"That's because someone is happy." Sonny replied. He bent down and walked towards the boys, who were in their carseats by the table. "Hiiiii. There you are, my two favorite boys. Hi!" He played with the boys for a minute, then sat down at the table and sighed deeply.

"So, I take it tailing Deimos was a success." Will guessed.

"Yes, it was." Sonny nodded and took a bite of his dinner. "Mm. This is good. You're getting better at this."

"Thanks. It's really not that hard to follow a recipe." Will replied.

"True." Sonny nodded. "Anyway, I hacked into Deimos' email account, but it didn't have anything incriminating. In fact it was the most boring email account I've ever seen."

"How many email accounts have you seen?" Will asked, raising an eyebrow.

Sonny became a little nervous. "Um...well, I...may have hacked into your email account while you were working for EJ."

Will was stunned. "You what?!"

"I wanted to make sure you weren't into anything dangerous or illegal!" Sonny exclaimed defensively. "I'm really sorry."

Will scoffed and shook his head. "Wow. I...just..." He sighed. "Okay."

"What?"

"I said 'okay'." Will said. "It was five years ago. Nothing I can do about it now."

"Okay. Cool." Sonny said, relieved. "Anyway, so, I guess Deimos is a bit old school, so I tracked him down at his house. He got a phone call, and from the sound of it, it was his antiquities dealer quitting on him."

"Really? I'll bet he didn't take it too well." Will said.

"Nope. He didn't. He threw a hissy fit and tore up the photos of the artifacts." Sonny replied, laughing.

Will laughed, too. "Man, he is not having a good month, is he?"

"Yeah, no kidding. First his bribery didn't work, then Nicole dumped him, then the Orwell was destroyed, then Nicole took off with Holly, and now his antiquities dealer quits." Sonny recounted. "This just got better."

Will nodded and a thought occured to him. "If we could find out who that antiquities dealer is..."

"We can convince him to turn state's evidence against Deimos." Sonny finished. "And leave my Uncle Vic out of it. I love it. You know, I can see why you and your mom love scheming so much. It's fun!" He giggled slightly.

Will laughed and shook his head. "Oh, by the way: if you ever hack into my email again, I will smash all your electronic devices."

"Okay, I won't." Sonny promised.


	95. Nothing Can Harm You

"Oh my God. He did what?"

Will and Kate sat at a booth at the Pub, eating dinner. Kate was telling him about Eduardo sending her gifts. His latest was a bracelet with the itnitials of all her children and grandchildren.

Kate laughed humorlessly. "I know. He's so pathetic and desperate."

"Mm-hm. So, did you throw it at him?" Will asked.

"No." Kate shook her head.

[i]Kate turned to leave, then a thought occurred to her. "Wait a minute. Are you trying to get me back because you genuinely want me, or is it to regain access to our granddaughter?"

"No." Eduardo said, surprised. "I honestly didn't think about that."

"Not even when you put Ari's and Will's itnitials on the bracelet?" Kate cocked her head slightly.

Eduardo huffed, slightly exasperated. "I just don't understand why no one understands that it wasn't personal, it was business! A game!"

Kate closed her eyes, nodded, then looked up at him. "That is exactly the wrong thing to say."

"Kate, come on. It was Andre's idea in the first place-"

"And you went along with it!" Kate snapped. "Don't send me any more gifts, or I will report you for stalking."[/i]

Will sighed and shook his head. "Well, I appreciate you being on my side."

"Honey, I'm always on your side." Kate said.

Will smiled. "So, does he think that Deimos kidnapping his daughter, and worked with the guy who kidnapped his ex-wife and granddaughter last year was a game, too?"

Kate snorted. "Yeah, really."

Sonny walked up to them, smiling. "Hey, guys."

"Hi." Kate greeted. "Well, I have to get back to work. I will see you two later."

"Bye, Grandma." Will said as she walked off. Sonny sat down, still smiling. "Let me guess: you got to the antiquities dealer?"

"I did, but not in the way I originally planned." Sonny explained. "He told me that Chad hired him, and if he mysteriously disappears, he set it up so that all evidence against Deimos will be sent to the ISA."

"Really?"

"Yes." Sonny replied. "This is the start of Deimos' downfall. I'm going over to Chad's to thank him. Wanna come?"

"Sure! Let's go."

XXX

Chad and Abigail were in the living room of their house. "You said you were okay with me taking over the artifacts trade."

"I know but the more that I think about it I'm just not convinced that it's a good idea." Abigail said. "What if you get caught by the authorities?"

"I'll be careful." Chad promised.

"But still this could be a curse. Deimos is not going to forget what you did. He's going to come after you again." Abigail pointed out.

"Then I'm going to be ready for him."

"But Chad, I almost lost you." Abigail said, near tears.

Chad rubbed her arms. "I'm not going anywhere okay." They heard the doorbell ring. "It's fine, Harold will send them away." They kiss, and Will and Sonny walked in.

"I hear you stole some valuable revenue from Titan." Sonny said.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Chad said innocently.

"Sure you do. But don't worry- I'm here to thank you." He smiled. Abigail and Will sat on the couch, and Chad and Sonny sat on chairs opposite each other. "This war between our families and the Hernandez clan stopped being funny when Deimos kidnapped you and Gabi."

"It was never funny." Abigail jumped in, shaking her head.

"Well, it's been a real wakeup call I can tell you that much." Sonny said. "My Uncle Vic retired from that end of the business and along comes Deimos."

"And he wants to keep that end of the business up and running." Chad guessed.

Sonny nodded. "The guy's a maniac. He is not fit to run this family."

"Why isn't Victor doing anything about him then?" Chad wanted to know.

"Because I don't think he has it in him anymore... but I do, and the artifacts trade that you did or did not steal could be the beginning of his downfall." Sonny said. "Deimos has gone too far and I think my Uncle Vic sees that which means his days are numbered and that's better for the both of us."

"Sonny I can't tell you how much I want you and Chad to be running your family's companies." Abigail said.

Sonny turned to Chad and Will. "What about you two, do you feel the same way?"

"I think it's one thing to want Deimos out and I think it's another thing to make it happen." Chad said.

"I want the two of you to end this war. I want to feel safe again." Abigail said.

"Me, too." Will said.

"Chad, we have a child and so do Will, Sonny, and Gabi." Abigail said. "Please can you guys think about doing this for them? I'm going to go see if Thomas is asleep." She leaves them alone.

"I don't even know what to say about what Deimos did to you and Gabi. 'I'm sorry' just doesn't cut it." Sonny said. They sat on the couch.

"I knew you were never a part of it." Chad assured him.

"I would never do anything to Arianna's mother and the guy that I hope is still my best friend." Sonny continued.

Chad smiled and nodded. "Had I had any idea what Andre and Eduardo were doing I would have put a stop to that."

"I know." They get up and hug. "You'll always be my best friend."

"This older generation in our families, I am sick and tired of their macho crap." Sonny said.

"I agree." Chad said.

"Abigail's right: we need to put a stop to this." Sonny said. "Our kids deserve better."

Will was proud of his husband for maintaining peace between him and Chad. But, something about the way he looked when they hugged kind of bugged him.

"Well, we will let you get back to your evening." Sonny said. "We'll talk later."

"All right. Good night." Chad said.

"Later, Chad." Will said as he followed Sonny. On the way back to the Pub, Justin called Sonny.

"Hey, have you spoken to your mom lately?" Justin asked.

"No. Why? Is everything okay?" Sonny asked.

"Yes, everything's fine. I just think she needs a bit of cheering up." Justin replied. "How are you, by the way?"

"I'm fine, don't worry." Sonny said pushing back the bad memories.

"Okay, if you say so." Justin said. "Call your mom."

Sonny laughed softly. "I will as soon as we hang up. 'Night."

"Good-night."

Sonny called Adrienne.

"Sonny! Wow, I just got off the phone with Joseph." Adrienne said.

"Oh, heh. Guess great minds think alike." Sonny said. "How are you?"

"I am doing good. Treatments are working." Adrienne said. "How are you doing?"

"I am great. Will and I are just driving home from visiting Chad and Abigail." Sonny said.

"Oh. How are they?"

"They are great." Sonny said. "So, back to you, are you still throwing up?"

"No. That stopped." Adrienne said. "Next is the surgery."

"I'm sure it'll be a success." Sonny said. "Please cheer up. And stay positive."

"I will. Thanks, baby. Love you."

"I love you, too. Bye."

"You know, I almost believed you when you told your parents you're fine." Will said.

"What do you mean? I am fine." Sonny said.

"Sonny...you're having nightmares." Will said.

"Everyone has nightmares." Sonny said.

"This morning, you woke up screaming. You woke the kids." Will said.

Sonny just stared out the windsheild. That was true. He had a nightmare about the guy escaping from prison and appearing in bed next to him, then started to... Sonny swallowed. "I really am sorry about that."

"It's okay. I just think you need to talk to someone." Will said. "Please? It would help."

Sonny didn't respond. He parked at the side of the Pub. "We're here. I need to meet Paul for something."

"Okay. Drive safe." Will said. He waited until Sonny drove off, then jogged towards the private area. He had a feeling Sonny won't tell him the entire conversation.

"Thank you for meeting me." He said.

Paul nodded. "Yeah sure."

"I need you to get something that I can use against Deimos." Sonny said. "I want him tied up in legal problems."

"It's too bad you couldn't nail him for selling stolen antiquities." He said.

Sonny shook his head. "There's nothing to find. I just found out that Chad outmaneuvered Deimos and now he's in control of that business."

Paul's eyes widened. "Then Deimos will find out too if he hasn't already. Chad better watch himself."

"You're right." Sonny said. "Deimos is going to go after Chad, and when that happens, I've got that son of a bitch. I want to keep an eye on Deimos and I want you to do the same thing. I want to know exactly what he has in mind for Chad."

"So you can warn Chad, keep him safe from harm." Paul guessed.

Sonny shook his head. "Not exactly."

Both Will and Paul were shocked. "'Not exactly.'" Paul chuckled softly. "It almost sounds like you want Deimos to go after Chad." Sonny raised an eyebrow. "Oh, please tell me that's not true."

"I don't want anything to happen to Chad. I just want Deimos to make a move on him." Sonny corrected him.

"And you're counting on being able to stop him. He's a mad man. You don't know what he'll do." Paul said.

"Which is why we're going to keep a close eye on the situation," Sonny said. "and as soon as Deimos does something illegal, that's when we step in."

"And you're banking on nothing going wrong." Paul narrowed his eyes at him.

"Why are you getting in my face right now?" Sonny asked.

"Because you're willing to risk your friend's life so you can have your uncle's job!" Paul snapped. He stood up and walked a few paces. Sonny followed.

"You seem to think I'm some kind of jerk." Sonny said, slightly hurt.

"No I don't. I just..." Paul sighed. "I've never heard you talk like this."

Sonny nodded. "I promise you I will not let anything happen to Chad. You've got to trust me."

"You said it yourself. Deimos is nuts." Paul replied. "There's no way that you can predict what he's going to do. You're playing a dangerous game."

"I can handle him." Sonny insisted.

Paul was still taken aback. "I've never seen you like this. You've always said you never wanted anything to do with your family business."

"That was before Deimos started running the business, before people started getting hurt." Sonny said.

"Wow, do you know who you sound like?" Paul asked.

"No, and frankly, I don't care." Sonny replied.

Paul folded his arms. "How does Will feel about all this?"

"You leave my husband out of this." Sonny hissed angrily.

"Oh, I would, but, he happens to be my nephew. I care about him. I don't want him to get hurt." Paul said.

"Well, you're definitely a better long-lost uncle than Deimos is." Sonny nodded. "And for the record, Will doesn't like it, but he's supportive anyway. Look, Paul, if we don't do something about him it's going to keep happening. Do you understand that? I need your help so will you please watch Deimos for me?"

"Did you even hear anything I was saying? Do you have any ideal of the risk that you'll be taking?"

Sonny sighed. "I'll tell you the same thing I told Will. I told him I needed something in my life that matters. This matters. Deimos is an animal and he needs to be put down. Getting rid of him is worth any risk that I have to take."

Paul sighed and shook his head. "I have never been more disappointed in you. But I will keep an eye on Deimos. I will call you once he plans a move against Chad, but I'm also gonna call Chad himself to warn him."

"Okay." Sonny said. "Thank you."

"You're welcome."

"I gotta go. Keep me appraised." Sonny said and walked off.

Paul watched Sonny walk off and sighed. "You can come out now, Will."

Will sighed in defeat, smiled, and walked around to Paul. "I don't know what you're talking about. I've been out for five years now."

Paul laughed and shook his head. "How much did you hear?"

"Most of it. Starting from when you two were talking about Chad possibly being in danger." Will said.

Paul nodded. "I don't understand. This isn't like Sonny at all."

Will sighed deeply. "I know. I don't understand it, either. He's been kidnapped and beaten before this- no, worse: he was tortured...yes, he had nightmares then, but they were never as bad as this. I don't get it. Why?"

"Have you talked to him?"

"I tried. He snaps at me and says he's fine." Will answered. "He has PTSD. I know he does. He hides it from the kids, of course, but..."

"Well, he needs to talk to someone, then."

"I tried that, too." Will said. "I talked to Grandma about Sonny earlier today. She gave me some advice that I passed along to Sonny, but...I don't think he listened."

"Well, Marlena says that some things we need to figure out on our own." Paul said.

Will sighed again. "Yeah." His phone rang. "Sonny."

"Where are you? They said you never showed up!" Sonny exclaimed worriedly.

"I'm sorry, honey. I forgot I needed something from the store, so I headed to the square." Will lied.

"Why didn't you call me?"

"I wasn't sure how long you'd be." Will replied.

Sonny calmed down. "Okay. I'm sorry. I was just worried."

"Aww, you're sweet." Will smiled. "I'll be careful, I promise."

"All right. I'll be upstairs."

"All right, love you. Bye-bye." Will hung up and turned back to Paul, who raised an eyebrow.

"The store? Really?" Paul asked.

"I'm testing him. I'm gonna ask what your meeting was about." Will answered.

Paul nodded. "Okay. I'm gonna stay out of this one."

"Wise choice." Will said, smiling. "So, how are things with Derrick?"

"Great!" Paul grinned. "I actually came to find that he's a better match for me than Sonny. No offense?"

"Why would I be offended? That just means you won't go after my husband again." Will grinned.

"Heh. Yeah." Paul said.

XXX

Will went to the store to buy a couple things so Sonny wouldn't know he was lying. He closed up the Pub and headed upstairs. Sonny was sitting on the couch, typing away at his laptop. Will smiled and sat on the couch. Sonny flinched slightly, then turned to smile at his husband.

"Hey." Sonny greeted.

"Hi." Will replied. "Remember when I was the one typing away at a laptop all the time?"

Sonny chuckled fondly. "Yeah. Good times, right?"

"Right. So, what was your meeting with Paul about?" Will asked.

"Deimos." Sonny admitted. "I told him to find something on Deimos."

"Oh." Will replied. "Well, I just hope no one else gets hurt or is put in danger."

"Me too, Will. Me, too." Sonny sighed, closed his laptop, and set it on the coffee table.

"Hey...what do you say we take your mind off of everything?" Will suggested.

"What'd you have in mind?" Sonny asked.

Will sat on his knees and turned towards Sonny. "Hmm..." Will ran his hand up Sonny's thigh. "Well, I was thinking of some sexytime." Will caressed Sonny's cheek.

[i]"I will do a lot more...than kick your ass."[/i]

Sonny pushed Will away, stood up, and turned around, shaking slightly.

"Sonny, what's wrong?" Will stood up and put a hand on his shoulder. "Baby, you're shaking. Talk to me." Sonny just sat back down on the couch and put his head in his hands. Will sat next to him. "Does it have to do with your kidnapping?" Sonny nodded lightly. "Babe, what did that guy do to you? Did he...do more than just beat you up?" Sonny swallowed thickly and hugged himself. "Sonny...I promise I won't get mad or judge you. You know that, right? I love you no matter what. We'll get through this."

Sonny blinked away tears and turned away. "You have to promise me you won't tell anyone. Especially my parents and Uncle Vic."

"Okay, I promise." Will said, dreading Sonny's response.

"After he beat me up, he tied me back up and...ran his hand up my thigh, then caressed my cheek, and stroked my chest...and threatened to do a lot more than kick my ass if I tried to escape again." Sonny answered.

Will's stomach twisted. He felt sick. "Oh my God..." He pulled Sonny into a hug. Sonny clung to Will like a lifeline and let out a few sobs. "I'm so sorry. It's okay, you're safe now. I've got you."

Sonny gasped for breath. "I keep having nightmares of him coming back and..."

"Hey..." Will pulled away and cupped Sonny's face in his hands. "that's never going to happen. That creep is in jail where he'll stay for a long time." He gently brushed away Sonny's tears with his thumbs. "What can I do to make it better?"

Sonny swallowed, wrapped his arms around Will's torso, and leaned his head against his shoulder. "Just hold me."

Will wrapped his arms around Sonny protectively and hugged him close. He scooted down and leaned against the armrest of the couch and kissed Sonny on the top of his head. "I'm here. Nothing can harm you." Sonny was fast asleep in a few minutes. Will took a deep breath.

[i]'Andre DiMera, I am going to make your life worse than a living hell.'[/i]


	96. A Helping Hand

Sonny hardly got any sleep that night. The following morning, Julie was going to introduce her long-lost grandson Eli to the family. Will talked Sonny into staying behind and catching up on sleep. He and the boys met Lucas in the square.

"Hi! How are my favorite grand-buddies?" Lucas leaned down in the double bassinet carriage. The boys cooed and smiled at their grandfather.

"'Grand-buddies'? That's a new one." Will said, smiling.

"Hey, don't knock it. I thought it was pretty clever." Lucas said, standing up. They walked to the Mandalay cafe where Hope, Ciara, Julie, Doug, and Jennifer were all sitting with Eli; a tall, African-American man in his late twenties.

"Oh, hey, Lucas, Will." Jennifer greeted.

"Hey." Lucas greeted.

"Eli, this is my brother Lucas, his son Will, and Will's sons DJ and Leon." Jennifer introduced.

"Oh, hi! It's nice to meet you." Eli said. He shook their hands.

"Nice to meet you, too." Will replied.

Eli noticed a ring on Will's finger. "So, is your wife working today, or?"

Will hesitated. He wasn't sure how he'd react to the news. After all, the last time he came out to a long-lost (well, not really) cousin... "Husband, actually. And yes, he's at work."

Eli noticed Will and Lucas' looks and smiled. "My former parter at the FBI is a lesbian. Love is love, man."

Will and Lucas sighed inwardly with relief and smiled and nodded. "Awesome."

"I also have an older toddler daughter." Will continued. "Ari. She's at preschool right now."

"Oh, well, I can't wait to meet them." Eli said sincerely. "Uh, what does DJ stand for?"

"Devon Justin." Will replied. "I wanted to give one of my sons an Irish name to go with my heritage, and I liked the name Devon. Justin is my father-in-law's name, so it's also to honor him. And my great-uncle's name was DJ. He died of crib death when he was a few months old, so I honored him as well."

"Oh, wow."

Julie then ranted about Valerie keeping Eli from David and the family.

"I'm sorry if I'm making anyone uncomfortable..." Eli said.

"Oh, no, you're not." Jennifer said.

"I kind of get what you're going through." Lucas spoke up. "My story isn't that much different than yours. You know, I was a surprise, and my mom kept me secret from my dad, too."

"How's your relationship now?" Eli asked.

"Well, she...butts in a little too much, but other than that, you know, she's my mom." Lucas replied. "I'm sure she had a good reason to do what she did, so I chose to forgive her."

"But you got to know your father." Julie jumped in. "Eli will never get that chance to know David."

"Not necessarily." Hope said, smiling. "We can tell stories, and we have pictures..."

So, they went ahead and told stories about David and Tom and Alice. JJ eventually joined them.

XXX

Meanwhile, Adrienne walked upstairs to the apartment above the Pub. She quietly walked through the door when she saw someone sleeping on the sofa. She heard whimpering and walked around to investigate.

Sonny lay asleep on the sofa, clutching the edge of the cushion, thrashing around a bit as though having a nightmare. "No...please. Please."

Adrienne rushed over, bent down, and started gently shaking Sonny. "Sonny, baby, please wake up. You're having a nightmare." She lightly slapped his face. Sonny's eyes snapped open and he gasped. Before he could stop himself, he sat up and pulled his mom into a tight hug. Adrienne grunted slightly and hugged back. "It's okay, baby. You're safe. It was just a nightmare."

Sonny did not want Adrienne to know what he was really dreaming about. He quickly thought up a lie. "It was awful."

"I know."

"They got rid of rock-climbing walls." Sonny said.

Adrienne was puzzled. She pulled away. "What?"

"Yeah. I was gonna teach the boys to rock-climb, and they freaking get rid of all the rock-climbing walls 'cause they're too expensive or something." Sonny rambled on.

Adrienne wasn't buying that. She scoffed. "Sonny, come on. That is not what you dreamed about."

Sonny tried to look insistant, but Adrienne stared him down. He sighed in defeat and leaned against the couch. "I don't even know why I try to lie to you."

"Mm-hm." Adrienne nodded. "So, what was your nightmare really about?"

Sonny paused. "I don't want to upset you or give you nightmares."

"Try me. I'm sure I've had worse." Adrienne said.

"Okay." Sonny took a deep breath. "I dreamed that your cancer was getting worse. You needed a bone marrow transplant and I was the only compatible donor. But, since I'm gay, I can't donate blood or a bone marrow. You ended up dying."

Adrienne sighed and instantly felt guilty. "Oh, no, I knew I should have called you when I found out."

"What?"

"My oncologist called me." Adrienne said. "My tumor shrank, but not enough to avoid the surgery."

Sonny sighed in relief and smiled. "Wow, Mom, that's great. I'm so happy."

"Awww." They hugged.

"So, when is the surgery?"

"In two days." Adrienne replied.

"All right, I'll definitely be there." Sonny said.

"Oh, honey, no. It'll take most of the day. It'll be long and boring..." Adrienne said.

Sonny took her hands. "I'm going to be there. I'll bring my work with me, Will can bring the kids later...we'll all be there when you wake up."

Adrienne smiled and caressed Sonny's cheek.

"Sonny?" Will called from the back of the apartment.

"Living room!" Sonny called back.

Will came in, holding the boys in carseats. "Oh, hey, Adrienne."

"Hi." Adrienne greeted. She walked over to the boys. "Hi! Hi, babies."

Will and Sonny walked to the dining area. "So, how was the Horton meeting?"

"Good. Eli seems like a nice guy." Will replied. "He told me that his former partner is a lesbian, so he's okay with gays."

"Oh. Good. I don't know if I can take another homophobic relative." Sonny said, sighing.

Will chuckled. "Well, anyway, you'll meet him soon."

One of the boys started crying. Adrienne picked him up. "Uh-oh, looks like this one has a poopy diaper."

Sonny chuckled. "I'll change him." He picked his son up and headed to the nursery.

Will sat on the floor next to Adrienne. "So, what's new?"

"Well, my tumor shrank, but not enough to avoid the surgery." Adrienne announced.

"Really? Oh, that's great that your tumor shrank." Will said.

"Thanks." Adrienne said. "Things at the Spectator are going well. We just hired a new reporter. She's not as good as Jennifer was when she started out, but she'll get there."

"Oh. Well, that's good."

"Yeah. Our first new hire since Anne." She sobered up. "So, when I arrived here, Sonny was having a nightmare."

"Oh." Will replied.

"He told me it was about me dying of cancer." Adrienne said. "I didn't buy it. He's having nightmares of his kidnapping, isn't he?"

Will remembered Sonny telling him about his kidnapper threatening to rape him if he tried escaping again and swearing him to secrecy. "Look, Adrienne...he doesn't want you to worry."

"I'm his mother. It's my job to worry." Adrienne said.

"I know. I talked to my grandma Marlena about it. She gave me some advice that I passed along to Sonny." Will said.

"Why doesn't he just talk to her himself?"

"He's too proud to get counseling." Will replied. Well, that was part of the reason.

Adrienne nodded. "Well, I'm glad your grandmother is a shrink and you talk to her, anyway."

Will laughed softly. "It does have its' benefits."

"And Deimos? How is Sonny getting along with him?"

"He hates him with a passion." Will said simply.

"Oh, but he forgave Victor for almost getting him killed two years ago?" Adrienne asked.

"Victor felt guilty about it and tried to make it up to him. That's the difference." Will explained.

"Good point." Adrienne said. "Is he out of the business?"

"No." Will admitted.

"Why? It's obviously too dangerous for him." Adrienne sighed.

"I tried talking him out of it, but nothing I say works." Will said. "I guess...it's just one of those things you have to learn for yourself."

Adrienne slumped and exhaled sharply. "I wish he would just go back to running Club TBD or the Pub with you. My heart can only take so much."

"I know." Will squeezed her shoulder.

Sonny walked back into the living room quietly. He heard that last part.

Adrienne smiled. "Will you keep an eye on him for me? I told his dad to do it, too, but...sometimes he gets so wrapped up in his job, he forgets..."

"Of course I will." Will replied. "And hey, I have a big family. They'll keep an eye on him, too. And the kids."

"Thanks." Adrienne pulled Will into a hug. "I'm so glad you witnessed his kidnapping. I don't want to think about what would have happened if you hadn't."

Sonny decided it was time to make his prescence known. He cleared his throat, smiled, and walked back in carrying DJ.

"Oh, look who's back!" Will brightened up.

"Hey." Sonny sat down and set DJ on his blanket next to Leon. "So, did I miss anything exciting?"

"Well, I told Will my good news." Adrienne announced.

"It's great news." Will said to Sonny.

Sonny nodded. "It is. So, what else did you talk about?"

"Eh, same old, same old." Adrienne replied. "Anyway, I need to go to a meeting. I just came by to tell you my news." She stood up and hugged Sonny. "Bye, baby." She leaned down to kiss her grandsons. "Bye, grandbabies."

"I'll walk you out." Will said. He locked the door after Adrienne left, then sat on the couch.

"So, what did you and my mom really talk about?" Sonny asked, bouncing DJ on his knee.

"You." Will admitted. "How you're doing after the kidnapping and how you're getting along with Deimos."

"And what did you tell her?"

"Just that you hate Deimos and you're still working for Titan." Will said.

"And what did she say to that?" Sonny asked.

"Just that she wants you to be safe." Will said carefully.

"Is that all?" Sonny asked again.

Will stared at him, then realized... "You overheard us, didn't you?"

"About my mom wanting to go back to being a bartender? Yeah." Sonny nodded.

"Sonny, like I said, she just wants you to be safe." Will said.

"I know." Sonny said. "But, like I said, until Deimos is brought down..."

"Yeah." Will said. "Anyway, I think it's time to put these two down for a nap."

"Awww, do we have to?" Sonny whined, jokingly.

"Yes, we have to." Will said, standing up.

"All right, fine." Sonny said. They carried their boys to their rooms and set them down in their cribs.

Someone knocked on the door to the stairs. "Will, Sonny? You home?"

Will walked out of the boys' room. "Hi, Grandpa."

"Hi. Just came to visit my great-grandsons." Roman said.

"Oh, I'm sorry, we just put them down for a nap." Will replied.

"Aw. It's okay, I can wait a couple hours." Roman said. "I also want to talk to you about something."

"Okay. Come on in to the living room." They walked into the living room and sat down. "So, what's up?"

"I'm getting a little concerned about Sonny being on the front lines of the three-way family feud." Roman said.

Will sighed deeply. "I know. But, he's not doing anything dangerous or violent or illegal, and he won't. He's being more of a...Neal Caffrey than Michael Corleone."

"Well, hopefully it stays that way." Roman smiled. "I don't want you or the kids getting hurt."

"We won't be." Will assured him.

Roman nodded. "On a lighter note, your Uncle Eric decided to move back to Salem."

"Really? That's great!" Will said.

"Yeah, he's gonna be moving into a studio apartment and he's gonna work at the Horton Center." Roman announced.

"Well, good for him." Will smiled. "So, what finally changed his mind?"

"Your Aunt Jennifer." Roman replied.

"Good ol' Aunt Jennifer." Will said.

"Yeah." Roman replied.

"So, how's retirement treating you?"

Roman sighed. "It was awesome at first, but, then I found out I have too much time."

"Oh, well, I could use some help at the Pub." Will said. "Managing the Pub and taking care of three kids is getting to be a little more overwhelming than I thought."

"That sounds like an idea." Roman said. "I would love to help out."

"Awesome."

XXX

Will helped out the wait staff when the Pub got busier. He spotted Andre sitting at a table. Grinning mischeviously, he grabbed an early bird special menu and headed over.

"Welcome to Brady's Pub." Will greeted and handed Andre the menu. "Here is the early bird special."

Andre was a little taken aback. "Uh, thanks, but I'll just have coffee, two sugars."

"Right. Don't want to accidentally fall asleep before your afternoon nap." Will quipped. He wrote down the order and walked off.

"What on earth...?" Andre muttered, perplexed.

A few minutes later, Will picked up Andre's coffee and spit in it, then carried it to Andre. "Here you go. Enjoy."

"Thank you." Andre said.

Will held back a laugh when Andre took a sip. A half hour later, he came back with moist towels and a check. "Okay, here is your check and some moist towels to roll yourself back into the ocean with."

"Excuse me?" Andre raised an eyebrow.

"Well, whales can't survive too long on land, right?" Will smirked, then walked off.

Andre was puzzled. Did Will just call him fat? He scoffed, paid his check, but no tip. Will came back to pick the check up. "So, you're body shaming now?"

"Just you." Will said. He picked up the check. "Later fossil."

"Such insolence!" Andre snapped. He growled under his breath and stormed off.


	97. A New Kind of Poison

"Are you sure you don't wanna come tonight?"

Will was getting ready to go to the charity benefit at Club TBD.

Sonny nodded from the couch. "Yeah, I'm sure. No one can watch the kids, so, someone has to."

"Okay." Will buttoned up his suit. "So, Andre came to the Pub earlier."

"Oh."

"He ordered coffee, and I spit in it." Will announced.

Sonny laughed in shock. "Will! Oh my God."

"Yeah, well...that's the least of which he deserves, but it's a start." Will replied.

"Eh, it's okay. I spit into Nick's drinks every time he ordered one, too." Sonny revealed.

"You what?!" Will laughed. "Nick drank gay coffee! Oh my God, I can't."

Sonny laughed. "Yep, and a few of my loyal staff did as well."

"Well!" Will said, impressed. "Hmm. Maybe you can run Titan and the family."

"Why, thank you. Your confidence in me means everything." Sonny said. He stood up to kiss Will. "Have fun at the event."

"I will. Love you."

"Love you, too."

XXX

The benefit was in full swing at TBD. People were talking and drinking.

"Hey, cuz!" Will turned to see Abigail walking towards him, smiling.

"Hi! You look amazing." Will said.

"Thank you. So do you." Abigail sid. She looked around. "Where's Sonny?"

"At home with the kids. We couldn't find a sitter." Will replied.

"Ah. That's too bad." Abigail said. She glanced towards Gabi and Chad leaving.

"What's going on?" Will asked.

Abigail sighed deeply. "You know, you're probably the only person who would understand my predicament."

"What do you mean?"

"Chad told me he's in love with Gabi." Abigail replied.

Will was shocked. "What?"

"Yeah. I guess that's the price I pay for faking my death." Abigail shrugged. "He told me he loves me too, and I told him that if he truly does love me, then we both need to cut Gabi completely out of our lives."

"And do you think he'll do it?" Will asked.

Abigail sighed. "I hope so."

Will really wanted to believe that Chad would stay loyal, but...something in him kind of doubted it. "Okay. Well, I really hope you two can work things out."

"Thanks. Me, too."

XX

Later, Will spotted Chad and Abigail talking. Chad walked off. Will was about to approach Abigail, who was approached by a mysterious man in his thirties.

"Excuse me, Mrs. DiMera, I'm a new reporter for the Salem Spectator. I was wondering if I can have a quote from you?" The man asked.

Will quickly walked up to them. "Salem Spectator, huh? You know, I used to work for the Spectator, and I don't recall seeing you."

"Well, like I said, I'm new, so..." The man shrugged.

"Really? How long have you been working there?" Will asked, folding his arms.

The man cleared his throat. "Two weeks."

Will nodded. "My mother-in-law is one of the owners of the Spectator. She just told me this morning that they hired a new reporter- a woman. Their first hire since Anne Millbauer started working there two months ago."

The man swallowed nervously. He cleared his throat and smiled nonchalantly. "My mistake."

"Yeah. Working for Deimos takes strategic planning, doesn't it?" Will asked casually.

"Yeah, no kidding. I mean, he-" The man's eyes widened in horror at his slip of tongue. Will raised an eyebrow, and Abigail gasped. The man shoved Will and fled TBD. A few people gasped and started murmuring.

Chad came up to them with his arms out. "Hey, what's going on?"

Abigail huffed. "One of Deimos' men just tried to kidnap me."

"What?!"

"Yeah. I overheard him asking for a quote from Abigail and claiming he works at the Spectator, but I knew better." Will jumped in.

Chad exhaled sharply and turned to Abigail. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." Abigail nodded. She turned to Will and hugged him. "Thank you, Will."

"You're welcome." Will said, hugging back.

"Okay, we're gonna cancel the rest of this event." Chad announced.

"Chad, no. You worked so hard on this." Abigail protested. "Look, I'm fine. Don't let Deimos ruin this night for us."

Chad exhaled slowly. "Okay."

"I need to tell Sonny. He needs to know about this." Will said.

"All right. Hey, Will, thanks, man." Chad said, hugging him.

"No problem." Will replied. He left TBD.

XX

Rigo ran around a corner and called Deimos.

"Hey, did you get the girl?" Deimos asked.

"No. I pretended to be a Salem Spectator reporter, but some douchebag caught me in the act." Riggs said.

"What?!" Deimos said angrily. "Who was that douchebag? Did you get a name?"

"No, but he said his mother-in-law is one of the owners of the Spectator." He replied.

'Will.' Deimos fumed to himself.

"They're suspicious now." Rigo said.

"Then wait until after the event to grab her. Think of something. Maybe crash your car into Chad's." Deimos suggested.

Rigo nodded. "Okay. I'll do that."

"Good. In the meantime, take care of that other girl."

"Right."

XX

Will pulled his cell phone out to call Sonny.

"Hey, how'd the benefit go?" Sonny asked.

"Well, it went great until one of Deimos' guys tried to kidnap Abigail." Will announced.

"What?!" Sonny exclaimed.

"He tried to convince her that he's a reporter from the Spectator, but I saw right through him." Will replied.

"Well, thank God you were there." Sonny sighed. "Did you tell Chad?"

"Yeah. He's handling it." Will said. "Anyway, I'm on my way home now."

"Okay, see you in a minute." Sonny replied. He hung up and growled angrily. "Dammit, Deimos, stop kidnapping people I care about!" He sighed and someone knocked on the door. "Lucas! Hey, you're just in time."

"Is everything okay?" Lucas asked.

"No. Well, yeah. I just have a work emergency, and Will isn't home yet and I need to leave now, so...would you be so kind as to watch the kids until Will gets back?" Sonny asked.

"Uh, sure, yeah. No problem." Lucas replied.

"Great! Thanks. They're in the living room. It's almost their bedtime, so you just need to feed them, change them, and put them to bed." Sonny instructed.

"All right."

"Thanks again, Lucas. See ya!" Sonny rushed off. He called Paul and asked him to meet in the park.

XX

"So, what's going on?" Paul asked.

Sonny took a deep breath. "Deimos tried to have Abigail kidnapped tonight."

"What?!"

"Yeah. Will intervened and the guy ran off." Sonny explained.

"Were they at the benefit?"

"Ye-ep." Sonny nodded.

Paul exhaled sharply. "Dammit, I should have called you earlier."

"What?"

"I was at the bar surveiling Deimos' guys." Paul explained. "He had two men on a special assignment. Something big, secretive."

"How big?"

Paul shrugged. "I'm not sure yet. That's where the secretive part comes in."

"That's why I have you, so stay on them. I'm going to head back to the house, see if I can get anything out of Deimos." Sonny replied.

"You know this may have nothing to do with Chad. We know he's desperate to find Nicole." Paul supplied.

"So, it's just a total coincidence that he tried to have my cousin kidnapped?" Sonny asked, raising an eyebrow. "Chad stole the artifact business from under Deimos. He hates to lose. He will strike back and when he does we will be there."

"I hope that we can stop him before he actually hurts Chad." Paul said. "Or succeeds in kidnapping Abigail."

"We will not let it get that far. But we need to catch Deimos in the act if we ever want to send him back to prison." Sonny reminded him. "It's the only way our friends and family will ever be safe."

Paul nodded. "Okay. I'll keep you posted."

XXX

Deimos growled angrily and turned to see Sonny standing in the doorway with his arms folded.

"Rough night?" Sonny asked lightly.

Deimos sighed. "I'm a very busy man, Sonny so unless you have something..."

"What are you planning to do to Chad?" Sonny asked.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Deimos said innocently.

"My cousin, Chad's wife almost got kidnapped this evening."

"So that totally makes me responsible, right?" Deimos quipped.

Sonny chose to ignore that. "Tell me what you've done."

"Like I said I don't know what you're talking about, and even if I did, why should I tell you? So you can run and snitch to your cousin JJ?" Deimos asked, rolling his eyes.

"So I can save this family from you sinking it in the ocean." Sonny stated.

Deimos laughs in amusement. "Alright let's get honest here, Sonny boy. I'm the only one keeping this family afloat. Chad DiMera declared war on us. He stole money from our pockets."

"The money you were making in trafficking stolen artifacts." Sonny argued.

"That deal kept Titan from going under after we lost the Orwell."

"After you lost the Orwell." Sonny corrected.

"The DiMera's ruined that too. They are our enemies."

"Chad is my friend. He is uncle to my husband and brother and sisters-in-law, and married to my cousin, whom you just tried to have kidnapped." Sonny said.

"I don't give a damn if he's engaged to your favourite dog. You're a Kiriakis!" Deimos retorted. "The DiMera's are out to destroy us. It's time for you to man up and choose sides. There's only one family that's going to survive this and I'm going to make damn sure we're the ones with the future."

"I am the future of this family, and so are my sons. Do you understand that?!" Sonny exclaimed angrily.

Deimos laughed and shook his head. "Oh, God, I needed that." He continued laughing.

Sonny glared at him. "What?"

"You are the future of this family? Really?" Deimos asked. "Let me hit you with some hard truths here: you are a joke. You're a Michael Corleone wannabe wannabe. Exactly what have you done to prove that you're up for running Titan and this family? Trying to get your parents back together by holding them hostage in a hotel room? And speaking of hotel room hostage situations, nice job escaping your kidnapper- oh, wait."

"That. Doesn't. Prove. Anything." Sonny said through gritted teeth.

"No, that just proves that you are just like a little boy playing tough." Deimos said. "You have a meddlesome, greasy spoon-weilding husband and a retarded baby-"

Sonny lunged at Deimos and squeezed his throat. "Don't you ever use that word in front of me again. Ever!"

Deimos pushed him off. "Bottom line, you're better off serving fries and clam chowder alongside your hubby."

"You're wrong." Sonny said firmly.

Deimos nodded. "Right, right. You keep telling yourself that."

Sonny scoffed and walked out into the foyer and closed the living room door behind him. His phone rang. It was Will. "Hey."

"Where are you? My dad said you left for a work emergency!" Will exclaimed.

Sonny sighed. "I'm at the mansion. I confronted Deimos about his latest plan against Chad."

"And what did he say?"

"He denied it, and changed the subject." Sonny replied. "Look, I still need to figure out what Deimos is up to. I'll call you back." He pressed his ear against the door to listen.

"...You got Gabi? ... Good. The benefit's almost over, so get moving." Deimos was saying. "Don't let anyone get in your way."

Sonny quietly sprinted out of the house and called Paul. "Hey, where are you?"

"I'm outside Club TBD. Why?"

"You need to find Chad and Abigail. Now." Sonny said.

"Why? What's going on?" Paul asked.

"Deimos is going to have them kidnapped." Sonny said. "He already kidnapped Gabi."

"What?!" Paul exclaimed. He sighed and ran his hand through his hair. "All right, Sonny, this is getting too dangerous. I think we need to pull the plug. I know you want to bring down Deimos, but this isn't about that anymore. We need to involve the police."

Sonny exhaled sharply. "Fine. Just keep a close eye on Chad and Abigail."

"I will. Talk to you soon." Paul replied.

"Okay, bye." Sonny hung up. His phone rang again. "Will."

"Where are you? My dad said you left!"

"At the mansion." Sonny replied. "I was right- Deimos is planning something."

"What?"

Sonny sighed. He knew Will would be up in arms about this. "I'll tell you later. I might not be home til late."

"Sonny, is this going to be dangerous?" Will asked.

"Not for me. No." Sonny shook his head.

"Okay. I'll see you later." Will replied. "I love you."

"I love you, too. Bye." Sonny hung up and went back into the living room. "Deimos!" The living room was empty. "Dammit!"

XXX

Paul rushed into TBD and looked around for Chad and Abigail, but couldn't find them. He saw Dario. "Hey, have you seen Chad and Abigail?"

"No, actually, they just left." Dario replied.

Paul turned around, panicking. "Okay, thanks." He ran back outside and saw Chad's car pull out of the parking lot. Paul ran after them. "Wait!" He yelled helplessly. He sighed and called Chad.

"Hey, Paul, what's up?" Chad asked.

"Sonny just told me that Deimos is having you and Abigail kidnapped." Paul said.

Chad's eyes widened, then he sighed. "I guess that would make sense."

"What?"

"I just got a text from Thomas' nanny, telling me that he's not feeling well." Chad said. "Abby just called the nanny, and she said he's fine."

Paul exhaled sharply. "Okay. Why don't you-" Paul heard a car screech and Abigail screaming "CHAD!", then a crash. "Chad? Chad!" Dial tone. Paul exhaled sharply. "Dammit." He called Sonny. "I was too late. They had already left. I called them to warn them, then I heard a crash..."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Slow down." Sonny said.

"Chad and Abigail were kidnapped." Paul said.

"All three of them. Unbelievable." Sonny sighed.

XXX

"So...where's Sonny?"

Lucas and Will sat on the couch in the living room.

"Dealing with some family drama." Will replied.

Lucas nodded. "Don't you think Sonny is getting in too deep with Deimos? He's practically an EJ DiMera in the making."

"Oh, come on. You don't really think that, do you?" Will asked. "Look, Dad, he promised me that if there's the slightest hint of danger to our family, he'll drop the revenge kick on Deimos."

"So he's the only one in the entire Kiriakis family who can bring Deimos down? Really?" Lucas asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Well, yeah, technically." Will nodded. "Victor's heart isn't in it, Brady is on the run with Nicole, Justin likes his job too much, and Philip left town."

"What about his brothers?"

"His brothers don't care about the family business." Will said. He stood up and carried his mug to the kitchen.

Lucas stood up. "You can't like this. This is crazy!"

"I don't like it!" Will admitted.

"So, why don't you try harder to convince him to drop this? Or better yet, just leave?" Lucas asked.

"Because I love him and he's the father of my children." Will said. "And..." He sighed and sat on the armrest of the couch. "Because I've been where he is. I know what it's like to have no one on your side and no one to talk to about something. Honestly, if I leave and take the kids with me, he would just crash and burn and self-destruct. Probably end up dead or in prison."

"Okay." Lucas nodded and stood up. "Just as long as he doesn't put you or the kids in danger."

"He won't." Will said firmly.

XXX

Sonny left the room to track down Deimos, but no luck. He went back into the living room. Victor now sat on the chair by the fire, reading the paper. Victor looked up to see his nephew storming into the room looking more upset than he'd ever seen him.

"Someone's in a mood." Victor commented.

Sonny ignored that. "You need to put a leash on Deimos and I mean now!"

"What happened?" Victor asked.

"Abigail and Gabi are missing. My guess is it's retaliation for Chad stealing his business." Sonny replied.

"But you don't know for sure." Victor said.

"Do I have proof? This isn't a court of law Uncle Vic. He is hurting my family so if you don't rein that son of a bitch in, I will." Sonny said. He started pacing the living room. "Deimos has no morals, Uncle Vic. No conscience! He's got zero self-control! Why you made him the head of Titan is beyond me!"

"Let me just push the pause button here." Victor said calmly. "First of all, you're not sure Deimos has done anything."

Sonny was appalled by Victor's passiveness. "I heard him on the phone Uncle Vic. He was crowing about how he was going to make Chad pay."

"That could mean anything."

"Abigail and Gabi are missing. Paul just told me Chad is missing."

"Just because someone can't be found, doesn't mean they've been kidnapped." Victor replied.

"Wow, you two really are brothers." Sonny said sarcastically. "Look I know that you think people getting hurt is just part of the game but we're talking about Gabi. She is the mother to my child and Abigail is my cousin. Doesn't my family merit protection?"

"If Deimos is protecting the fencing operation he's also protecting the family against huge financial losses." Victor said.

"It's not about the money. I'm talking about lives!" Sonny exclaimed.

"It's not right. If what you say is true then maybe he's overstepped. But it's about the business not some personal vendetta." Victor said. "Don't antagonize Deimos, he's not always predictable."

"I'm not going to do anything stupid, Uncle Vic, but I'm also not going to stand around and watch this man destroy the people that I love." Sonny said.

"I understand. And just so you know Sonny I've always thought of you as the best of us. One day you will lead the Kiriakis family." Victor said.

"But not today." Sonny guessed.

Victor shook his head. "You're just not ready."

"What's it going to take, Uncle Vic?" Sonny asked. "Does someone have to die before you realise you made a mistake?"

Victor just sighed, shook his head, got up, and left.

Sonny sighed in frustration. "I hope Maggie divorces your ass over this." He decided to wait until Deimos came home to confront him. A while later, Paul called Sonny. "Hey Paul, any word?"

"We found them- Chad, Abigail, Gabi." Paul announced. "They were in a warehouse down by the docks."

"Terrific." Sonny said, relieved. "Are they okay?"

"Well Chad's fine, but Gabi and Abigail were poisoned." Paul replied.

"What?!" Sonny exclaimed angrily.

"They're in the hospital now." Paul continued. "Abigail seems a little better than Gabi but they're both still unconscious. You should probably get over here."

"Yeah, I'm on my way." Sonny said. He hung up as Deimos walked in. "You son of a bitch."

"I'm guessing you think I did something wrong." Deimos said casually.

"Don't even start with me. I know you poisoned Abigail and Gabi." He said angrily as he advanced towards him.

"Sounds like I had a busy night." Deimos joked.

"They're in the hospital right now." Sonny continued. "They're fighting for their lives and that's all because of you!"

"Right, right, because I'm evil incarnate." Deimos rolled his eyes. "You know what, I have better things to do then listen-"

Sonny got in Deimos' face and put his hand on his chest. "You know what, you're not walking away from this. You've gone way too far. I want you to look me in the face. I promise you will not be leading this family. You don't think I can make it happen, just watch me." With that, he left.

XXX

Abigail woke up and is doing fine. Gabi was still asleep when Sonny left. He had made Abigail a promise that Deimos would pay for what he did. Abigail, of course, tried to talk him out of it. Sonny drove home in a trance. He walked into the apartment where Will was waiting for him with open arms. Sonny fell into Will's arms and hugged him tight, crying softly.

"It's okay." Will rubbed Sonny's back slowly. "It's gonna be okay."

"It's all my fault." Sonny vented.

"No, it's not." Will assured him. He pulled away and cupped Sonny's face in his hands. "It's Deimos' fault."

Sonny swallowed and nodded. "I promised Abigail I would make Deimos pay. But, knowing you, you'd want me to stop. Give up."

"That's the last thing I want you to do." Will said firmly.

Sonny looked at his husband in shock.


	98. Adrienne's Choice

Sonny stared at his husband in shock, then he nodded. "I figured you'd say that."

"How?"

"Abigail and Gabi are special to you." Sonny shrugged. "Remember how you took their sides over your mom's and mine?" Will scoffed. "Don't worry- I'm not gonna hold that against you."

"Good." Will said simply. "Is Gabi...? Is she gonna...?"

"No. No, she's not." Sonny said firmly. He put his hands on his shoulders. "She's gonna pull through. Let's get to bed. We can go visit in the morning."

"Yeah. Plus, your mom's surgery is tomorrow." Will nodded.

Sonny exhaled sharply and threw his head back. "God, I almost forgot about that."

"Well, two birds, one stone." Will grinned.

Sonny chuckled. "Yeah."

XXX

The next morning, Will called Marlena to come watch the kids. He told her the short version of what happened.

"I'm so glad they were found in time." Marlena said.

"Yeah." Will sighed deeply. "Abigail's out of the hospital, but, Gabi..." He swallowed and shook his head. "Grandma, if Gabi doesn't make it...how am I going to tell Ari? How will I tell my little girl her mom will never see her again?"

"Oh..." Marlena pulled Will into a hug. "Just stay positive. She will make it. She will."

XXX

Sonny and Will headed to the hospital. Their dads were already there. Sonny told Justin the whole story. Before Adrienne went into surgery, Sonny visited her for a bit. Will hugged his husband comfortingly. They held each other for a while.

"She'll be okay. They both will." Will said, rubbing Sonny's back. Sonny swallowd and nodded against Will's shoulder. Will's cell phone rang. "Hey, Rafe. What's up?"

"Why is Deimos still welcome at the Pub?" Rafe demanded.

"Because he hasn't done anything to warrant a ban." Will said. "I can't just ban someone just 'cause I don't like them. They have to actually do something in the restaurant to warrant a ban. Like vandalism, running out on checks, harrassing wait staff and/or customers..."

Rafe exhaled sharply. "Unbelievable."

"Look, I know what he's done. I am well aware." Will said. "But I can't pick and choose who eats at my restaurant. It's a public place. Why? What happened?"

"Hope and I just ran into Deimos at the Pub." Rafe said. "He pretty much denied kidnapping and trying to kill my sister and Abigail."

"I'm sorry." Will said sincerely. "But, like I said..."

"I know." Rafe sighed.

"Hey...have you heard about Gabi?" Will asked.

"It's the same." Rafe replied.

"Okay, well, I'll talk to you later." Will said.

"'Kay, bye."

Will, Sonny, Lucas, Justin, and Kate went into Adrienne's hospital room. Adrienne was already knocked out by the anesthesia. Sonny tried not to cry. Will held his hand and Justin squeezed his shoulder in comfort. After Adrienne was wheeled out to the OR, the fivesome headed back to the waiting area.

Sonny's cell phone rang. "Hello?"

"Hey, Sonny. It's Rafe. I hope I'm not calling you at a bad time."

"No, you're not. I'm just at the hospital. My mom's in surgery." Sonny said. "What's up?"

"I was hoping we could meet. It's about Deimos." Rafe said. "Can you be at the station in ten minutes?"

"Yeah, sure. I'm on my way." Sonny hung up and leaned down to Will. "Hey, I'm gonna go meet someone. I'll be back."

"Okay." Will replied. They kissed. "Bye."

XXX

When Sonny came back, the doctor announced that Adrienne was out of surgery and in recovery. While the anesthesia wore off, Lucas, Justin, Will, and Sonny bought gifts. They headed to her room. Adrienne's cancer was completely gone. They each visited with her one at a time.

Will waited in the waiting area for Lucas, who came out, smiling. Will was a bit unnerved. "So, are you're smiling because you won the lottery, or...?"

"I'm smiling, 'cause Adrienne chose me to be with her for the rest of her life." Lucas announced.

Will laughed softly in surprise. "Really? That's awesome!" They hugged. "I'm so happy for you."

"Me, too." Lucas replied. "I really thought she was gonna choose Justin given their history. But, she wants something different, I guess. It's just nice to be chosen for once."

"Aww." Will pulled away. "Is she breaking the news to Justin now?"

"Yeah." Lucas nodded.

Will nodded and sighed. "I feel kind of bad for Sonny. I mean, he really wanted his parents back together."

"I know, but...that's life." Lucas shrugged. "He'll get over it."

"I hope so."

XXX

Sonny sat on a chair at the end of Adrienne's bed. Adrienne was groggy from the painkillers, so she fell asleep. Sonny was disappointed to say the least that Adrienne didn't choose his dad. He thought back on how this whole mess started. Justin got transferred to Dubai...Adrienne didn't go with him... then Justin started an affair. He took a deep breath. His phone buzzed with a text message from Will.

"Hey, I'm gonna head home to relieve Grandma of the kids. Unless you want me to stay with you."

"No, it's fine. Don't wait up."

"Okay."

Adrienne yawned and woke up. "Sonny. You're still here?"

"Yeah. Unless you don't me to be." He joked.

Adrienne chuckled. She noticed her son's sad expression. "What's wrong, baby?"

Sonny swallowed and took a deep breath. "I want you to be happy. But..."

"You wish I chose your dad instead of Lucas." Adrienne guessed. "Baby, I'm sorry. But sometimes people just fall out of love. Or they outgrow them."

"But why?" Sonny asked. "Why do you feel like you've outgrown Dad?"

"Dad easily gets bored with mundane and humdrum life like sitting on the couch and watching a movie, or just sitting all night talking." Adrienne replied. She hesitated before continuing. "It also...seems like he likes his job more than his family, you know?"

Sonny swallowed and blinked back tears. "Well, um...guess I know what not to do in a marriage."

"Sonny, I'm sorry. You're the one who's most hurt by this." Adrienne said, squeezing his hand.

Sonny cleared his throat. "Yeah, well...I'm too old to be wanting my parents back together, anyway. I'm just glad that things didn't fall apart when I was still a kid."

Adrienne nodded and smiled. "Me, too."

XXX

Meanwhile, Will returned to the apartment and was suprised and happy to see Eric there. He gasped and smiled. "Oh my God! Uncle Eric!"

"Hey, Will." Eric replied. They laughed and hugged. "I hope you don't mind I stopped by."

"Of course I don't. Are you kidding?" Will smiled. "I'm so glad you decided to stay in Salem."

"Me, too." Eric replied. "I got to meet my new grandnephews."

"Aren't they sweet?"

"Yes, they are." Eric chuckled. "Grandma also told me about Adrienne. How is she?"

"She's great. She's in remission." Will replied.

"Oh, that's good." Eric said. "I'm glad."

"Me, too." Marlena spoke up. "The kids are in bed, by the way. Is Sonny with Adrienne?"

"Yeah." Will nodded. "Thank you for watching the kids tonight."

"Oh, anytime." Marlena replied.

XXX

After Marlena and Eric left, Will pulled his pajamas on and sat in his bed with a book in his hands. A few minutes later, Sonny trudged into the bedroom, closed the door, and changed into his pajamas. Will lifted his arm without taking his eyes off his book. Sonny wrapped his arms around Will's torso and laid his head on Will's chest. Will rubbed his back and hugged him close.


	99. No Horsing Around

The next morning, Sonny lay in bed going over the previous night's events. He was happy and relieved that his mom was cured of cancer, but he still wished that she had chosen Justin. But...there's really nothing he could do now. After all, he knew full well how it feels when someone meddles too much in your relationship. He'd be a hypocrite if he tried to break them up. His phone buzzed.

"Hey, Dad, what's up?" Sonny greeted.

"Just thought you should know that Deimos was beaten up pretty badly." Justin replied. "He claims that Chad had him kidnapped and...beaten...up..."

"What?" Sonny asked.

"I just remembered-" Justin exhaled sharply and shook his head. "Never mind. Anyway, he's probably going to retaliate."

"'Probably'?" Sonny rolled his eyes. "He's totally gonna retaliate."

"Yeah. Well, just be careful." Justin replied.

"Okay, thanks. Bye." He hung up. "Hmm...wow, Chad, you really stepped in it this time. I don't want Abigail and Thomas to be put in danger. Can't talk Deimos out of retaliating. So, how do I prevent it?" He headed to the kitchen to make breakfast.

"Morning, honey." Will greeted. Sonny didn't respond. "Are you okay? You seem distracted."

That gave Sonny an idea. He grinned. "That's it! A distraction! Will, you're a genius!" He ran over and kissed Will fiercely.

"Uh, thanks. Why? What's going on?" Will asked, confused.

"Chad had Deimos beaten up yesterday." Sonny announced.

"What?!" Will exclaimed.

"He's probably gonna retaliate. I don't want him and Abigail and Thomas put in danger, so I've been trying to figure out how to get him to back off." Sonny explained.

"So, you're gonna distract him with something?" Will guessed.

"Oh, yeah." Sonny nodded. He looked around and his gaze fell on Arianna's rocking horse. "And I know just how to do it. We're gonna prank Deimos."

"So, we're gonna divert his attention on us?" Will asked.

"Yes, but just an innocent, harmless prank." Sonny reassured him. "Then when he confronts me tomorrow morning at the Pub, I'm gonna provoke him into a fight, then we call the cops and get him arrested!"

Will blinked in shock. "Sonny, there are several things wrong with that plan."

"Well, it's better than my using Chad as bait plan." Sonny shrugged. "Okay. We're gonna need a realistic looking horse's head and about a gallon of fake blood."

"Okay, wait- we're gonna Godfather him?" Will asked. "How will he know it's us, though? He might think it's Chad."

Sonny took a deep breath. "I thought about that. I'm gonna leave a clue."

"Which would be...?"

"Well...okay, I wasn't gonna tell you this, 'cause I figured you'd confront him-"

"But what?"

"Deimos called Leon a retard." Sonny admitted.

Will's face was hot and red with anger. "What?! Oh, I'm gonna kill that bastard!"

Sonny raised his hands to calm him. "Will, Will. Calm down."

Will took a deep breath to calm himself. "So, what, you're gonna write the word retard on his forehead?"

"Yep." Sonny nodded.

"And what if he wakes up?"

"He won't. I know for a fact that he takes sleeping pills to help him sleep." Sonny replied. "Nightmares from prison, I guess. We'll just sneak into his room..."

"But what if he forgets to take them?" Will asks.

"I'll ask Henderson to make sure he takes them." Sonny replied. "He's loyal to me and Uncle Vic."

"All right." Will took a deep breath and chills ran up and down his spine.

"Are you okay?" Sonny asked.

"Yeah, it's just...I mean, I've pranked EJ before, but...he's in love with my mom, so I knew he'd never hurt me." Will said. "Deimos on the other hand..."

"Well, like I said: I'll stay in the Pub where I'll feel safe. He'll confront me, and if it gets physical, then call the cops." Sonny said.

Will took a deep breath and nodded. "Okay. Cool."

XXX

A while later, Eric texted him to meet him at Horton Center.

"Hey, thanks for making it so quickly." Eric said.

"Sure. I'm my own boss now, so I can come whenever." Will replied.

"Great. I wanted to ask you if I could use the Pub for a fundraiser for Horton Center." Eric said.

"Of course. Are you kidding? Just email me the details and I'll work accordingly." Will replied.

"Great, thanks!" Eric said, smiling. They hugged.

XXX

Later that evening, a package arrived for Sonny. It was a fake horse's head mask.

"How did you get this so quickly?" Will asked.

"Mob connections." Sonny said simply.

Will paused. "Okay, I'm gonna pretend you didn't say that."

Roman entered the apartment looking tired. "Hey, guys."

"Hi, Grandpa. You look exhausted." Will commented.

"Yeah. Mind if I crash here? I'm too tired to drive home." Roman said.

"Sure. Actually, Sonny and I are going out to a late movie, but we couldn't find a sitter." Will lied. "So, if you're willing to listen if the kids wake up...?"

"Sure. No problem." Roman replied.

"Great! Thanks."

"What movie?" Roman asked.

"Logan." Will responded.

"Ah." Roman replied, nodding. "Well, have fun."

"Thanks!" Will exclaimed.

"You're welcome." Roman said and headed to Caroline's room. Caroline was still with Kim in California.

Will sighed. "Well, that takes care of the kids."

"Yep. All right, we got the horse mask, the fake blood, and the pen. Let's go."

XX

They parked half a mile down the road from the Kiriakis mansion. They ran and snuck quietly over the wall. Deimos' room was in the back of the house. A tree was against the window. They climbed and quietly opened the window and let themselves in. Deimos was zonked out on his bed, snoring softly. The sheets covered half his body and one leg.

"Is he naked?" Will whispered.

"I really hope not." Sonny whispered back. "Check for me."

"Why do I have to? You're his nephew. It won't be as weird if you did it." Will hissed.

"Yes, it would! Just because you're okay with seeing your uncle naked, doesn't mean I am!" Sonny snapped.

"Fine!" Will whispered loudly. He sighed and crept to Deimos' side. He slowly lifted the covers and sighed in relief when he saw that he was wearing boxers. "Thank God. He's in boxers."

"Phew!" Sonny exclaimed quietly. "All right, let's do this."

"Yeah." Will pulled out the horse mask and Sonny pulled out the fake blood. Sonny poured the blood into the mask, then lifted the end of the covers up. Will put the blood-filled horse mask at the end of the bed and shook it to make the fake blood flow.

"How did we end up in the middle of the ocean?" Deimos asked in his sleep.

Will and Sonny stifled giggles and quietly re-covered Deimos. Sonny pulled out a gel pen. "Now for the finishing touches." He leaned over Deimos to write on his forehead and to his horror, Deimos wrapped an arm around Sonny and turned to his side.

"Mm. Nicole...God, I love you." Deimos said in his sleep. Will put a hand to his mouth to stifle his giggles at his husband's predicament. Deimos ran his hand through Sonny's hair and gripped it tight, causing Sonny to grunt. Deimos tried to kiss Sonny, but he turned away at the last second. Without thinking, Will tickled Deimos' sides to get him to let go of Sonny, which worked. Sonny quickly and quietly got out of Deimos' grip and off the bed.

"Okay, that's it- we're leaving." Will said quietly.

"No. I need to finish what I started." Sonny said, determined.

"Sonny...!" Will protested.

"Just...pin his arms." Sonny instructed. Deimos was now on his back. Will huffed and obeyed. Sonny drew a Hitler mustache on Deimos as well as one large dot on each of his ears to make it look like he's wearing earrings. Then he wrote the word RETARD across his forehead. Deimos was quiet throughout the whole thing. Too quiet.

Will let go of Deimos and leaned towards Sonny. "Is he awake?"

"I don't know." Sonny whispered, then leaned down to Deimos' ear. "Hey, Deimos. I have a question: are you sure Helena didn't set herself up to be killed just to get away from you?" Silence. Sonny felt his pulse, which was in the 40s. "He's still sleeping. Man, those are some sleeping pills."

"Yeah. Now let's get out of here before they wear off." Will suggested.

"Yeah." They snuck back out the window, down the tree, across the yard, over the wall, and down the street to their car.

Will zoomed down the street and laughed maniacally. "I've never felt more alive!"

Sonny laughed softly. "That was a close one. I seriously thought he was gonna wake up."

"Yeah, me too." Will replied.

XXX

The following morning, the husbands got up early and got dressed.

"Hey, Sonny, I've been thinking..." Will spoke up.

"Yeah?" Sonny pulled on a shirt and started buttoning it.

"If you're gonna take over for Deimos...well, we don't know how much your co-workers like him, right?" Will asked.

"Yes. Your point?"

"My point is: if you want people to like you, to want you to be their boss/CEO better than Deimos, you have to make them like you by being their friend." Will suggested. "Sort of like a Presidential campaign."

Sonny considered that. "I think I get what you're saying. Gain popularity among Titan. It'll make the transfer easier on all of us. I like it."

"Great! Well, you can send birthday gifts, or if someone just had a baby, you can buy a little gift for the baby..." Will suggested.

"Yeah!" Sonny exclaimed. "Oh, one more thing: I'm working with Rafe to bring down Deimos."

"Oh. Well, that's good." Will said.

"Yeah. I'm putting together a list of people who work for Deimos personally." Sonny replied.

"That's perfect. You can cross those names off the list of people to win over." Will said.

Sonny smiled and pulled Will into a kiss and put his arms around his shoulders. "Marrying you was the best decision I ever made."

"You're just now figuring that out?" Will teased. "I wish we could be there when Deimos wakes up. I'd love to see his face."

Sonny chuckled. "Yeah. I'm just glad Tate's not there. Brady took him with him on the run with Nicole."

"Ah. What about Victor and Aunt Maggie?"

"They are out of town for the weekend." Sonny replied. "It's just my dad and Deimos in the house."

"Perfect."

XXX

Deimos woke up to sunlight streaming through the window. He yawned, stretched, and rubbed his eyes. His fingers felt a little wet and sticky. He opened his eyes and looked at his hands. He started when he saw that they were covered in blood. He felt something wet under the covers and threw them off. He screamed in fright when he saw a horse's head at the end of the bed.

"WHAT THE HELL?!" Deimos screamed.

Justin heard his uncle scream and decided to investigate. He knocked on the door. "Deimos? Is everything okay in there?"

"IT'S THE OPPOSITE OF OKAY! SOMEONE PUT A HORSE'S HEAD IN MY BED!" Deimos yelled.

Justin felt sick. "Um...I'll...call the vet."

Deimos touched the horse's head and sighed in relief. "No, it's okay. It's a fake horse head."

"Oh. Heh." Justin turned the doorknob.

"No, don't come in! I'm not..." Deimos started to say, but Justin walked in. "...dressed." Justin stared at Deimos' face in shock. "What? You never saw a guy in just his underwear before?" He went to the dresser and pulled out a fresh pair of slacks and a button-down shirt and got dressed.

"No, it's..." Justin touched under his own nose and forehead. "You may wanna look in the mirror. You've got a little something..."

Deimos turned to the mirror and his eyes widened in horror. The word RETARD was written across his forehead and someone drew a Hitler mustache under his nose. He had a flashback to calling Leon a retard to Sonny's face. He seethed and clenched his fists. "Sonny."

"What?" Justin asked, surprised.

Deimos pounded the dresser and turned to Justin, glaring at him. "Is it really that hard to play the dutiful father and tell him to stay away from me?"

"Whoa, wait, what makes you think Sonny did this?" Justin asked, raising a hand to calm Deimos.

"Well, for one thing, the horse head in the bed? Very Godfather. He likes that movie." Deimos said.

"A lot of people like it." Justin shrugged. "It's a good movie."

"He has a tendency to pull pranks." Deimos said.

"Okay...let's say for the sake of argument that Sonny is responsible. Why in God's name would he write that word on your forehead? He has a son with special needs. He wouldn't..." Justin's voice trailed off. "Unless...did you call my grandson a retard?" Deimos didn't say anything. "Well, it looks like you got what's coming to you."

"And let me guess, you're not going to run to him and scold him and tell him to stay away from me." Deimos guessed. "Guess I shouldn't be surprised. You seem to be losing interest in being a parent."

"Excuse me?" Justin asked, appalled.

"I did some extensive research on you, Nephew." Deimos said, folding his arms. "You really were a good father. That is, up until you started putting your job above your family. Well...just your wife and sons, anyway."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Justin demanded.

"Ciara was...about five when she was kidnapped the first time, right? You went above and beyond to help her poor parents search for her. And I think this one time you went to check on Hope and Ciara and Ciara's kidnapper was there and you played the hero. Almost got shot in the process." Deimos replied.

"Ciara's my cousin. And what does that have to do with anything?" Justin asked.

"And you knew her what- five minutes?" Deimos raised an eyebrow. "Fast forward to about four years later when you were Sami Brady's lawyer for her murder of a dirty cop. Your son had evidence that could send Sami to prison. You told EJ DiMera- Sami's fiance- that if he ever put your son in a situation even remotely close to what he put him in...something like 'The Greeks did not invent revenge, they made it into an art form'."

"How did you even know about that?!"

"I have my ways." Deimos said simply. "Then, a year and a half later, your son was stabbed and almost died. Rather than help him through his recovery and hunt down the bastard that almost killed him, you wanted to go back to Dubai and be with your Scandanavian slut."

"Stop it!" Justin growled angrily.

"Then, later that same year, you were hell-bent on railroading Chad DiMera for those Necktie Killings, your son-in-law was nearly a victim. Your son saved him of course, but almost got stabbed again; and you did nothing." Deimos said.

"We arrested Ben Weston." Justin growled.

"Then, cut to a few months later, Andre kidnapped Sonny and tortured him and made him think his daughter fell into a vat of acid." Deimos said. "You didn't do anything to Andre. That same month, you threatened to revoke my parole if I ever came near Sonny again...well, I was very near Sonny, and you didn't revoke my parole. Then, later that year, you warned me again to stay away from him. Then just last month, he got kidnapped because of me. All you did was yell at me and tell me to fix it. Adrienne...holy crap, talk about being a mama bear. You, however? Well, I guess all that just means you don't love your son enough."

Justin yelled angrily and pinned Deimos against a wall. "You can say whatever you want to me, but don't you ever tell me I don't love my son!"

"Oh come on, Justin! You think that if I had called Sonny a faggot or a fairy, I'd wake up in the morning with that word written on my forehead?" Deimos asked, rolling his eyes.

"You wouldn't wake up, period!" Justin declared.

Deimos laughed and shook his head. "Yeah, I don't believe you. You're all talk and no action. When it comes to Sonny, anyway. Tell me something: if it was your precious Adrienne that was kidnapped, would you have gone the same lengths Will did to save Sonny? If Sonny was the one who had cancer, would you have been there for him as much as you were for Adrienne?"

Justin punched Deimos to the ground. "You son of a bitch!"

Deimos jumped up and banged Justin's head against the nightstand, knocking him out. He dug out a pair of handcuffs from his drawer, dragged Justin to the foot of the bed and handcuffed both his hands to the leg. He ripped off some of his sheet to gag him. "That should hold you." He headed to the bathroom to wash the ink off his face. When he finished, he heard Justin gasping, then struggling to free himself. Deimos slowly walked back into the bedroom. He headed to a safe, opened it, and pulled out a lockbox. He pulled out a gun and checked to make sure it was loaded. Justin stared in horror. "Oh, don't worry: I'll make sure he suffers." Justin shook his head and muffled protests. "Hey...at least you won't feel obligated anymore." He left the room.

"No! No! Deimos! NO!" Justin screamed and struggled harder to free himself.

XXX

Sonny sat calmly at a table by the bar at the Pub sipping coffee and going over paperwork. He saw Deimos walk in and calmly walk over to him. "Deimos." Sonny greeted.

"Sonny." Deimos greeted back. He sat down.

"Can I help you with something?" Sonny asked.

"I had an interesting morning." Deimos said.

"Oh, yeah?"

"I woke up with my sheets covered in fake blood and a fake horse head at the end of my bed." Deimos said.

"Wow. Now I really feel like we're the Corleones." Sonny nodded solemnly.

"Interesting. Since it was Don Corleone who put that horse head at the end of that guy's bed." Deimos said calmly.

"Oh. Hmm." Sonny sipped his coffee.

"I also had the word 'retard' written across my forehead in ink and the Hitler mustache." Deimos said.

"Wow. How'd you sleep through all that?" Sonny asked.

"I took sleeping pills before I went to bed." Deimos said. "But you already knew that, didn't you?"

Sonny shrugged. "Sounds like someone pranked you."

"Yes. You." Deimos glared at Sonny.

Sonny scoffed. "I'm sorry?"

"Don't patronize me." Deimos snarled at him. "I called your son a retard and a few days later, someone wrote the word retard on my forehead."

"Now, Deimos, this family has a lot of enemies. Which is to say any one of them could have attacked you." Sonny said. He leaned forward. "But you know what, even if I did know who attacked you, I wouldn't divulge that information to a laundry folding, blackmailing, poisoning, kidnapping, Orwell and fiancee losing, special needs baby hating-"

Deimos stood up and threw the table aside. A few people gasped and turned around to see Deimos grabbing Sonny by the shirt, pulling him up, dragging him off to the side, and pinned him to the wall. "Listen to me, you little bastard. I have had it with you."

THUD!

Deimos and Sonny jumped and saw Will holding a baseball bat and glaring at Deimos. He aimed the bat towards Deimos. "Let go of my husband and step away slowly."

Deimos chuckled, shoved Sonny, and backed away. "Well, at least you have one person looking out for you, Nephew. Unlike your dad."

"You shut the hell up about my father." Sonny said through gritted teeth, jabbing a finger at Deimos' chest.

Will held an arm out, preventing Sonny from attacking him. "The police will be here any minute. If I were you, I wouldn't make things worse."

Deimos pulled out his gun and aimed it at Sonny. "When this ends, I'll have a gay man's head mounted over my fireplace." He turned his gun on Will. "I don't care whose." He put his gun away and walked out the back. Will exhaled sharply. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah." Sonny said. He sighed. "Guess that plan didn't really work."

"Well, at least that took his mind off of Chad."

"Yeah, but for how long?" Sonny asked. They heard the front door slam open and walked out to the restaurant and saw a very disheveled Justin stumble through. "Dad?" They ran over to Justin who saw Sonny, sighed in relief, and pulled his son into a tight hug. "Oh, thank God. Deimos didn't get to you yet."

"Actually, he did." Sonny said. They pulled away. "He pulled a gun on the both of us and threatened to kill us."

Justin exhaled sharply. "I know what you did to him, Sonny. What the hell were you thinking?!"

"I wanted to distract him from going after Chad." Sonny said simply.

"By breaking into his room and putting a horse's head in his bed and writing on his forehead?" Justin asked, eyebrow raised.

"It's just an innocent prank." Sonny said.

"Yes, well, to Deimos, it's much more than that." Justin said. "You're lucky he didn't kill you when he saw you."

"I know."

"Never do anything like that again. Do you understand me?" Justin demanded.

"I understand." Sonny nodded. "And I promise I won't do that again."

"Good. I'll hold you to that." Justin sighed.


	100. They Come In Threes

Sonny stretched, yawned, and rubbed his eyes. Will was already out of bed and had left the room. Sonny sat up as Will reentered the room carrying a breakfast tray. Sonny smiled. "Hey."

"Hi." Will set the tray down over Sonny's lap. "Happy Anniversary."

"Happy Anniversary." Sonny replied. They kissed. "So, breakfast in bed, huh?"

"Yep. Part one of your anniversary gift." Will replied.

"Well, I'm intrigued." Sonny chuckled.

"The last part will be a private dinner at the Pub." Will replied. "We'll have the whole place to ourselves."

"Nice!" Sonny exclaimed. "That fits perfectly with my gift to you."

"Ooh, I can't wait." Will said, grinning. They laughed.

XX

Part two of Will's anniversary gift was a dozen roses sent to his office. On one of the stems was a silver ring with two opals and an emerald gem in between the opals encrusted on the top. Sonny chuckled softly and put the ring on, which fit perfectly.

XXX

Later that evening, Sonny entered the completely empty Pub. All the tables and chairs were pushed to the sides except for a table in the middle, which was set with candles and a small vase of flowers. Will walked out carrying two glasses and a bottle of champagne.

"Hi, baby. How was work?" Will asked.

"Good. Someone sent me a bouquet of roses and a ring." Sonny replied, smiling and holding his hands behind his back.

"Really?" Will asked, pouring the glasses.

"Mm-hm." Sonny replied. He showed Will the ring on his finger. "Fits perfectly. I love it."

Will gasped. "Well, I'm glad you love it. It's the kids' birthstones. The emerald is May, Ari's birthstone and the opals are October, the boys' birthstones."

"You're such a romantic." Sonny said, shaking his head in amazement. He pulled Will into a kiss. "I don't think my gift will top that."

Will chuckled. They sat down to a dinner of salad, soup, and rolls. For dessert they shared a brownie sundae. "Okay, the suspense is killing me. What'd you get me?"

Sonny laughed. "I'm sorry, but that sounded a little..." He shook his head and pulled a long, wrapped envelope out of his jacket. "Happy Anniversary."

"Hmm." Will opened it and gasped. "A spa package for Intensity Day Spa? Holy crap, this is expensive!"

"I know, but, you've been working so hard lately- running this pub, taking care of the kids, and well, taking care of me. I figured you could use some you time." Sonny explained.

Will nodded. He is getting a little exhausted with everything. A spa day could be exactly what he needs. "Thank you. I love it."

"You're welcome." Sonny replied. "And now for part two..." He got up and walked to the stereo. "Last year, you had Claire sing a song that reminded you of us, well, now it's my turn. Claire's not singing it, but I still love this song for us." He pressed play and walked over to Will as an accoustic version of "Make You Feel My Love" started playing. "May I have this dance?"

"You may." Will grinned and took his hand. They held each other and slow danced through the song. "'Nothing that I wouldn't do...go to the ends of the earth for you...to make you feel my love.'"

They headed back upstairs and made love.

Afterwards, Will and Sonny sighed and laid on their backs. "So, I"m secretly working with the police to bring Deimos down."

Will nodded and looked at him. "Good. I'm glad, but...I'm just worried about what Deimos would do to you if he found out."

"If I stayed out of it, no one would be safe. I don't have a choice, Will." Sonny turned on his side and leaned on his elbow. "My family's legacy is on the line. I'm not going to stand around and watch Deimos destroy what my grandfather, my Dad and I have been working for. I love that you're worried about me and that you care about me okay but I'm really hoping you're with me on this one."

"And your mind is set on this?" Will asked.

Sonny nodded. "Dead set."

Will cringed slightly. "Bad choice of words."

"This is what I have to do." Sonny said.

"Then you know that I'm with you." Will said. He smiled and squeezed his hand. "Think of it as repayment for you being there with me through all my family drama."

Sonny laughed and ducked his head. "Yeah. Remember the good old days when all we had to worry about was Nick stealing Ari away from you?"

"Yep. Those were simpler times." Will nodded. He paused. "Didn't your grandfather die in a car bomb or something before you were born?"

"Yep. One of his enemies planted a car bomb. My great-grandfather and grandmother died along with him forty years ago this summer," Sonny replied. "right before my dad's senior year in high school. Uncle Vic sent him here to the US as a foreign exchange student for his safety. He liked it so much, he went to college here, then law school."

"Sounds like he had an interesting life." Will replied.

"It was my grandfather who thought up Titan." Sonny explained. "He made plans, but he died before he could execute them. Uncle Vic created Titan in Papou's memory."

"Which makes you running it even more perfect." Will replied. "Guess we're both continuing our families' legacies. Me with the Pub and you with Titan."

"Looks like it, yeah." Sonny nodded.


	101. End of War Strategies

Will opened up the Pub and the morning crew started trudging in, asking for coffee and breakfast.

Wait...does coffee count as breakfast? Eh...

Anyway, Will got behind the bar, and Sonny called him.

"He demoted me." Sonny said as soon as Will answered.

"Wait, what?"

"Apparently, I'm not loyal enough, and if it weren't for Uncle Vic, I'd be out on my ass!" Sonny continued ranting.

"Whoa, whoa, Sonny, calm down." Will said. "What happened?"

Sonny sighed. "Deimos- in his words- reassigned me to be the head of Basic Black. Fabulous clothes, fabulous people."

Will scoffed and shook his head. "And here I thought he wasn't homophobic. But, Sonny, you read fashion magazines in secret."

"That is not the point, Will!" Sonny exclaimed angrily. "He put me in charge of Basic Black because of my lack of loyalty."

"Like he's one to talk about loyalty?" Will raised an eyebrow.

"Exactly!" Sonny replied. "And another thing- we were going to get people to like me and to want me as head of Titan. If I do it now, it's just gonna look like I did it just because I got demoted!"

"Baby, it's gonna be okay. We'll figure something out." Will said.

"I hope so." Sonny sighed. "Anyway, Deimos gave me an hour to clean out my office at Titan and I need to meet Rafe at the station. I can't let Deimos think I'm working with the cops. So, I was kind of hoping..."

"That I could clean out the office for you?" Will guessed.

"Yeah."

Will sighed quietly. "Okay. Fine."

"Thank you, Will. I love you, and I owe you one." Sonny replied. "Bye!"

Will scoffed as he heard the dial tone. He turned around and saw Marlena. "Grandma, hey!"

"Hi. Everything okay?" Marlena asked. She sat down and leaned forward against the counter.

"Not really. Uh...Sonny just got demoted out of the blue, and Deimos gave him an hour to clean out the office." Will replied. "So, I need to help him. Would you please keep an eye on the boys for me?"

"Sure. Of course." Marlena replied.

"Thanks. You're awesome." Will kissed Marlena on the cheek. "I owe you. Bye."

Will ran to get some boxes out of the storage room, then headed to Sonny's office. Luckily, Sonny's office wasn't too big. Will packed up most of the stuff by the time Sonny showed up.

"Oh, hey. Sorry, I also ran into Paul to give him an update." Sonny replied.

"That's okay." Will said, taping up a box.

Someone knocked and walked in holding a folder. "Hey, Sonny? Sorry to interrupt, but..."

"Oh, it's okay, Elaine. What's up?" Sonny asked.

"Well, I have the latest reports." Elaine replied.

"Oh. You're gonna have to give that to Deimos." Sonny replied. "I've been reassigned to Basic Black."

"Oh. That's a shame." Elaine said, a little disappointed. "A lot of us were hoping you'd take over for Deimos soon."

Sonny was surprised. "Really?"

"Yeah. They're...well, we're getting sick of being led by some unexperienced, greedy, hot-tempered SOB." Elaine explained. "You may not have a lot of experience, but you've run your own club for three-and-a-half years, and you've ran Titan Paris, so it's something, at least."

"Oh, well, thank you for your vote of confidence." Sonny said sincerely.

"You're welcome." Elaine replied. She headed for the door. "I'll see you around."

"See ya." Sonny replied.

"Well, at least we have some people on our side." Will said optimistically.

"Yeah...unless Deimos paid her to instill some false hope in me." Sonny said. He pulled out his phone to call Paul. "Hey, Paul, it's Sonny. Would it be possible if you could please do a thorough background check on Elaine Parson? Check her phone records and emails to see if she had any contact with Deimos outside of Titan. ... Long story. ... Okay, thanks! I appreciate it. ... Bye."

"Babe, be careful. You don't want to alienate your allies. That's what Deimos did." Will said.

"I know. I won't."

"Good." Will replied. "And I understand, you're worried about your family. What I don't get is why you're so upset about being in charge of Basic Black. I mean that's a pretty big job."

"Because it's not in the inner circle at Titan." Sonny explained as he threw some folders in a box. "It's a big enough job that Uncle Vic thinks Deimos is doing right by me."

Will nodded. "Okay, but couldn't you use Basic Black to prove to Victor that you should be in charge?"

Sonny shook his head. "No, it's not going to work. I'd be buried over there. I made this big push at Deimos, he pushed right back. I don't know what to do next."

"Well maybe Paul can help." Will shrugged.

"How?"

"You focus on Basic Black and he'll take care of Deimos."

"What would he do?"

"Put him under surveillance. Catch him doing something illegal- which shouldn't take long- and put him behind bars." Will said.

"You have a lot of faith in Paul." Sonny noticed.

"Yes. Just like I have faith in you." Will raised an eyebrow. "I love you and I don't want you being in Deimos' line of fire."

Sonny scoffed and shook his head. "I can't believe you're saying that."

"Why?"

"I can't wait to show Uncle Vic the first quarter report at Basic Black ... that could take months." Sonny said. "By then Deimos could have the company, the entire family. No offense but I can't wait for Paul or the cops to deal with him. He needs to be taken down as soon as possible."

Will huffed quietly and folded his arms. "I remember when doing the right thing meant more to you than winning."

"I was a kid then. I grew up." Sonny said.

"Well doesn't anything that I think matter to you?" Will asked, irritated.

"You know I care about what you think, Will." Sonny insisted.

"When you talk about Deimos, I feel like I don't even know you." Will said.

"I don't know how to sound reasonable when I'm talking about this man." Sonny admitted. "He wants to destroy every single member of my family."

"Chad went at Deimos directly and look what happened to him and Gabi and Abigail." Will reminded him. "You've done your part. You forced Deimos to give you a good job whether he wanted to or not. Why don't you just let the professionals be the ones to confront Deimos?"

"Stop trying to make me feel better!" Sonny snapped, angrily. He sighed and calmed down. "I know that you were just trying to make things better, and I'm sorry I snapped at you. You're right- I can't alienate people who are on my side, and I'm not going to."

"Thank you. You're forgiven." Will replied. "And when I said I thought you should leave Deimos to the professionals, I didn't mean that you weren't up to the job. I just ... look, you are one of the best people that I have ever known and I don't want to see you sink to his level."

Sonny smiled. "I get that I do, so thank you. How about we don't talk about Deimos right now."

Will nodded. "Okay, not now, but that doesn't mean I'm not going to bring it up again."

Sonny laughed softly and kissed his husband. "We should probably start loading up."

XX

On the way home, Paul called Sonny. "Hey, so Elaine is clean. She's not working for Deimos."

"Oh, that's good. Thank you."

"You're welcome."

"Hey, Paul, one more thing," Sonny said. "Deimos reassigned me to Basic Black, and I know nothing about the fashion industry. So, I was wondering, do you have any books or magazines that might help me?"

"I might. Or, I think my dad might. I'll check, and if I do, I'll drop them off at your apartment." Paul said.

"Thanks! You're awesome."

Paul laughed softly. "You're welcome."

XX

Sonny headed over to Chad's house to question Chad about having Deimos beaten up. Chad denied it, but Sonny didn't care. The two friends decided to work together to bring Deimos down.

"You know, the boys' christening is at the end of this month." Sonny said. "Will and I asked Gabi to be their godmother. They'll call her Madrina. We would be honored if you would be their godfather."

Chad smiled, touched. "Me? Wow, um...I'd be honored to be their godfather."

Sonny smiled back. "Great. This is awesome. A DiMera and a Hernandez godfather to Kiriakises. You know, I think this could be just the thing to end this war."

"Yeah. Good point." Chad replied.

XXX

Later, the husbands headed to the rec center to play tennis. To make a long story short: Will won. They headed to the private area in the square.

"One more serve, and I would have owned your ass." Sonny ranted good-naturedly.

"You pretty much do already." Will joked.

Sonny scoffed and shoved Will playfully. "Perv!"

Will laughed and they sat down. Earlier, they heard that Eduardo got arrested for stealing treasury bonds. Will got a text from his dad telling him he'll take Ari for the night to give Gabi a break. "Wow, this Eduardo thing is a mess."

"Yeah, tell me about it." Sonny sighed. "Gabi is gonna lose her father all over again."

"I wonder if Deimos set him up or something." Will said.

"My sources tell me he did." Sonny sagged his shoulders. "The man I hate to call my uncle."

"Yeah, and the guy who is equally pissed at you." Will stated.

"What?"

"What if you're next?" Will asked worriedly.

"I can handle myself." Sonny said impatiently. He stood up and turned around. "Why do you have to be so overprotective?"

Will scoffed. "Gee, I don't know. Maybe because you were almost stabbed to death and you got kidnapped and beaten up twice each in the last two years." He stood up as well. "Sonny, I know you can take care of yourself."

"Except when it comes to Deimos." Sonny guessed.

"You know what he's capable of." Will said. "Setting up Eduardo- that's the least of it. If you keep pushing-"

Sonny whirled around angrily. "I might find something! Something to bury him with."

"Unless he buries you first." Will said.

"That will not happen." Sonny insisted.

"But if it did...how am I supposed to live without you?" Will asked. "Can you explain that to me? To Ari and the twins?"

"Hey..." Sonny cupped Will's face in his hands. "It's gonna be okay." He pulled him in a hug.

"You remember your promise, right?" Will asked. "If there's the slightest hint of danger to you or our family..."

"I'll drop the revenge kick on Deimos." Sonny pulled away. "I remember and I stand by that promise."

"Good." Will smiled and nodded.

XX

Later was Abigail and Chad's bachelor/bachelorette party. They planned on renewing their vows the next day and only two members of each family were invited. Will and Sonny headed downstairs to the Pub where JJ, Paul, Chad, Abigail, and Eli were chatting.

"Hey, guys." Will greeted.

"Hi!" Abigail replied.

"Eli, I believe you haven't met my husband." Will turned to Eli. "This is Sonny. Sonny, this is Eli."

"Hi, it's nice to finally meet you." Sonny said, shaking Eli's hand.

"Nice to meet you, too." Eli replied.

They talked and laughed for a bit, then the party ended.

XXX

"Grandma, I'm sorry Eduardo got arrested." Will and Kate were sitting at the outdoor cafe drinking coffee. "But, what did you expect? He wasn't exactly a model citizen."

"Still. I wish we could have spent more time together." Kate sighed.

It took all of Will's energy to not roll his eyes. "Okay, I have to go right now...immediately." He stood up. "Later, Grandma. Try to cheer up. There's always someone better."

"I doubt it."

Will shook his head and walked off. He passed Andre. "Hey, Orca."

"Excuse me?" Andre turned around and glared at Will.

"Oh, I'm sorry, did you lose your hearing already?" He asked loudly.

"My hearing is perfectly fine, thank you very much." Andre said through gritted teeth.

"I'm surprised, considering your age." Will smirked.

Andre nodded and folded his arms. "You know your great-grandmother and cousin Doug are at least fifteen years older than me, right? Do you insult them, too?"

"Why would I? They never did anything to hurt anyone." Will raised an eyebrow. "You, on the other hand, are utterly, utterly intolerable. It's exhausting to look at you. Why don't you do us all a favor and just disappear?" He walked off.

Andre just scoffed and shook his head. He stormed off, angrily in the other direction.

XX

Kate finished off her coffee and heard Andre muttering to himself, angrily.

"Never have I been more insulted. I swear to God..."

"Bad day?" Kate asked.

Andre turned around to face Kate. "You could say that. I had a lovely conversation with your grandson. Attacking my appearance and age and essentially telling me to kill myself!"

"What?" Kate asked, appalled. "That doesn't sound like Will."

"Yes, well, I'm sure writing a scathing article about his mother and cheating on his husband twice doesn't sound like him, either." Andre quipped.

Kate scoffed. "If he did say those things to you, I can hardly blame him, Andre. Especially after the stuff you pulled in the last year and a half alone."

"Well, he should learn to get over stuff like that." Andre snapped.

"You should take your own advice." Kate said. "Tell you what: I'll have a little talk with him. Straighten him out."

Andre exhaled slowly. "Well, since kidnapping obviously doesn't work anymore..."

"Keep this in mind: I gave you a job and a home. I can take those away just as easily." Kate said warningly.

"Fine." Andre grumbled.

XXX

Kate walked into the Pub and spotted Will behind the counter. She walked over, folded her arms, and cleared her throat to get his attention. "Do you have a death wish?"

"Sorry?"

"I just ran into Andre. He told me a funny story." Kate said. "Something along the lines of you attacking him verbally- insulting his age and appearance and essentially telling him to kill himself?"

"Well, I figured since he likes killing people so much, might as well kill himself." Will shrugged. "I wouldn't worry too much, Grandma. Manatees have very thick skin."

"Okay, first of all, Andre isn't even that overweight. And second of all, what the hell is going on with you?" Kate asked. "You do not attack people like that, especially if they have a tendency to to seek revenge in a horrible way."

"Oh, what's he gonna do? Kidnap someone I actually don't give a damn about and have them beaten up?" Will asked sarcastically.

Kate sighed quietly and nodded. "So that's what this is about. Honey, I'm sorry. I really am, but...Sonny is safe now. The guy who actually kidnapped him is in jail."

"I know."

"Well then why are you still up in arms about that?" Kate asked. Will turned around and remembered Sonny telling him what happened after he was beaten up. Kate leaned forward. "Will?"

"I don't know." Will shook his head. "Maybe I'm inheriting my mom's vindictive, unforgiving tendencies."

"Yeah. I think that's it." Kate stood up. "Just...don't insult Andre to his face again. Unlike manatees, Andre bites back hard."

"Okay." Will said. "I won't."

"Good." Kate said, smiling. "Glad we cleared that up."

XXX

Deimos clicked away on his laptop. He made sure Victor and Maggie were both out of the house before he met with his associate.

"You wanted to see me?" Asked a man in his early forties.

"Yes, Weiss." Deimos cleared his throat, closed his laptop, and stood up. "I demoted my nephew, but I have a feeling he's even more determined to fight me. He needs to be taught a lesson."

Weiss nodded in understanding. "You want me to take him out."

"Oh, no. That would be the easy way out." Deimos said. "You know, the US bombed Hiroshima, which ended World War II. They surrendered. I wonder if Sonny will do the same if we take out his family."


	102. Wake-Up Call

Justin stormed into the living room. Deimos looked up at him. "What?"

"You demoted Sonny?" Justin asked.

"Oh, come on. You can't be that surprised!" Deimos exclaimed. "He is determined to foil my plans, so I just reassigned him to Basic Black."

Justin folded his arms. "Why Basic Black?"

Deimos shrugged. "I needed a new CEO for Basic Black, and Sonny fit the bill."

"Sonny knows nothing about the fashion industry." Justin replied.

"Neither did the person who started that company." Deimos stated simply. "Hey, you're lucky that's all I did to him after breaking into my room and drawing on my face and put a fake horse's head with fake blood in my bed."

Justin scoffed and shook his head. "Yeah. I know the feeling." He left the room.

XX

Justin tracked Sonny down at the Pub. Sonny had a laptop, a book, and a mug of coffee spread out on the table. "Mind if I join you?"

Sonny snapped from his thoughts. "No, not at all."

"So, I hear you're the new CEO of Basic Black." Justin said, sitting down.

Sonny groaned and rubbed his temples. "Don't remind me. I've been up two days straight just getting caught up with everything that's been going on."

"Sonny, I am sorry, but what did you expect?" Justin shrugged. "You have to know by now that crossing Deimos has consequences. You're lucky a demotion is all that happened to you."

"I can take care of myself, Dad."

"I'm not saying you can't. Just...be careful. Use your brain when you take down Deimos." Justin said. "Or just drop this revenge kick."

"So Deimos can take over the family and run Titan to the ground?" Sonny asked, raising an eyebrow. "No way. Look, if you're so worried, then why don't you take him down?"

Justin hesitated and sighed. "Because...I lost my job last time I went against him."

Sonny scoffed and shook his head in disbelief. "Seriously? That's your excuse? Come on!"

"Sonny...I've been where you are right now." Justin said, changing the subject. "And where you are is not pretty."

"I'm trying to save our family and Titan." Sonny said with exasperation in his voice.

"I know. But going around town telling people you want Deimos dead and that you're trying to bring him down isn't the right way to go about it." Justin said. "People get hurt."

"I know. But like I said, I'm handling it."

"Sonny...let me tell you a little story." Justin said after taking a deep breath. "About thirty years ago...I was not much older than you are now. I was into Uncle Vic's organized crime scene. I was just like you. I wanted revenge, I wanted to save this family. I did messed up things. I broke the law, I lied...our enemies bit back hard. I was held at gunpoint along with your mother and Uncle Steve, I was almost stabbed in the back- literally, and I was also shot at. Uncle Vic took a bullet for me. I almost lost your mother. She also had a miscarriage because of my dealings with organized crimes."

"Dad, I'm not looking to become a criminal, I'm looking to stop one." Sonny replied.

"That's not the point I'm trying to make here!" Justin snapped. "My point is that if you go further and further into this revenge kick you're going on, people you love will get hurt. You'll get hurt."

"That's not going to happen." Sonny insisted.

"That's what I thought, too." Justin said. "But it did happen. Look, just think about what I said. Think long and hard about what you're getting yourself into. Please?"

"Okay. Fine." Sonny said.

"Great." Justin stood up. "I have to get back to work, but let's talk later."

"Sounds good." Sonny watched Justin walk out of the Pub. He sighed. "Maybe he's right. Maybe I should just leave this to the professionals. After all, how many times have Will and I almost died in the last two years? Maybe I should just forget about it."

"Sonny?" Sonny stiffened and blushed with embarrassment when he heard Abigail's voice. "Who are you talking to?"

"Uh, nobody. Heh. Just thinking out loud to myself." Sonny replied. "So, what's up? How was the vow renewal?"

Abigail exhaled sharply. "It didn't happen. I called it off."

"What? Why?"

Abigail shook her head. "Because I realized that Chad is in love with Gabi. He's always been."

"Really?" Sonny asked in disbelief. "Even during the time when Gabi kidnapped Melanie and he gave her hell for it for months?"

Abigail shrugged. "Maybe."

"Abigail, you can't give up on him. What about Thomas?" Sonny asked. "Do you want him to grow up with divorced parents?"

"Of course not! But, I can't stay married to Chad if he's just gonna pine after another woman." Abigail said.

Sonny exhaled sharply and rubbed his temples. "I can't believe what I'm hearing."

"Look, I know how you feel about kids growing up with divorced parents." Abigial said softly. "But, unfortuneately, sometimes that's just the way it is. Nothing we can do about it."

Sonny slumped his shoulders. "I'm sorry."

"It's okay. It just wasn't meant to be." Abigail replied. She stood up. "I'll see you at the Christening."

"Bye." Sonny said. He sighed and put his head down on the table. Why do married couples keep breaking up if they have kids? God, why did Gabi have to ruin everything.

"Sonny?"

Sonny looked up and glared at Gabi, who approached him. "You." He said before he could stop himself.

Gabi sighed inwardly. "I'm guessing you heard."

"What is wrong with you? You can't leave one married couple alone?" Sonny demanded. "Although I will give you this: at least you didn't hire a stalker this time."

Gabi huffed. "Sonny, I told Chad to work on his marriage. I accepted that he is in love with Abigail."

"Then why did Abigail call off the vow renewal?" Sonny asked.

"I really don't know." Gabi shook her head. "Look, I'm sorry. Really."

"Sorry? Well, sorry doesn't fix Chad and Abigail's marriage now, does it?" Sonny stood up, collected his things, and stormed off.

Gabi exhaled sharply and sat down. Will walked up to her. "Hey, Gabi. Can I get you anything?"

"No thanks." Gabi replied.

"What's wrong?"

"Abigail called off the vow renewal." Gabi explained. "Sonny had apparently heard about it and lashed out at me."

Will sighed and nodded. "Gabi, I'm sorry. I'll talk to him."

"Thank you."

"Look, I know this whole revenge thing is getting out of control." Will said.

"Oh, honey, we are way past control at this point." Gabi said. "I'm sorry, but I'm surprised Sonny hasn't tried to kill Deimos yet!"

"I know. Me, too." Will said, honestly.

XXX

Later, Will went upstairs. Sonny quietly closed the door to the boys' room. Will headed to the living room and Sonny followed.

"We need to talk." Will said.

"About?"

"I just saw Gabi earlier and she said you lashed out at her and accused her of ruining Chad and Abigail's marriage." Will said, folding his arms.

Sonny sighed. "Right, that. I'm sorry. I'm just tired and cranky..."

"Oh, don't apologize to me. I think you should talk to Gabi." Will replied.

Sonny nodded in agreement. "I will. After getting a million hours of sleep." He let out a huge yawn.

Will smiled fondly. "All right. Let's get you to bed, then."

"Mmkay." Sonny let Will lead him to their bedroom. Sonny fell asleep right when his head hit the pillow. Will slowly and quietly took Sonny's shoes off and tucked him in.

"Good night, baby. I'm here, and I'll keep the tigers away." Will whispered in Sonny's ear, then kissed him.

XXX

[i]Ari bounded down the outdoor steps that lead down to the ground level. "Come on, Daddy!"

Will carried the twins in their carseats. "All right, we're coming." He set DJ down to reach for his key and unlocked the car. "All right, climb on in."

Ari climbed in and Will settled the boys in the car.

Sonny walked down the stairs, talking on his phone. "...I know. I will have the reports in by tomorrow. ... My family's going to the park today. I'm going with them."

BOOM!

Sonny was thrown forward as he heard a huge explosion behind him. He fell face first into the grass. Groaning, he sat up and turned around. He nearly had a heart attack when he saw his car that held his family now consumed with flames and smoke. He started screaming in agony.[/i]

Deimos smiled and chuckled at his fantasy and took a sip of champagne. Victor walked in with the morning newspaper.

"Hmm. Let's see: you're drinking a glass of champagne and it's not even nine in the morning, you have a satisfied look on your face, and you were just chuckling. You just took one of your enemies out." Victor surmised.

"Very perceptive, big brother." Deimos said. "Yes, indeed I took one of my enemies out. Well, their family. That'll teach them to cross me."

"Yes. Now let's hope they don't make the same mistake Andre and Eduardo did by kidnapping someone you don't care about." Victor quipped.

Deimos laughed. "Really."

XXX

Sonny woke up and looked at his alarm clock which read 7:14 AM. He stretched, yawned, and turned to Will's side of the bed which was empty except for a note.

"'Went to the store early to get some supplies for the Pub. Be back soon.'" Sonny read. "Mm. Okay." He turned and closed his eyes to go back to sleep. He was startled back awake by the sound of an explosion coming from outside. He threw off the covers, ran outside the back and gasped when he saw his car literally up in flames. Will was going to take that car. "Will!" He shouted. He ran down the stairs. "Will!" He heard a groan and turned around to see Will laying on the ground with part of a car door covering him. Sonny rushed over and pulled the car door away. He knelt down next to his husband and gave him a once-over. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine." Will grunted and sat up. He gasped when he saw the car. "Oh my God." Sonny helped him up. "Sonny...someone tried to steal our car."

"What?" Sonny asked.

"I saw someone get into the car. I ran down in hopes of stopping him, but..." Will exhaled sharply.

"Okay, let's just get inside."

XX

They called the fire department, the police, and an ambulence. Will only suffered minor injuries. The attempted car theif obviously wasn't so lucky. There wasn't much of the car theif to find except a pile of ashes.

"Deimos did this." Sonny declared.

"How do you figure?" Asked JJ. Lani was interviewing Will.

Sonny sighed. "I haven't exactly been...quiet about my revenge against him. He set this up to get me to surrender."

JJ sighed and nodded. "Okay, we'll keep him in mind."

Lani walked up to them.

"How is he?" Sonny asked.

"Still in shock." Lani replied. "But okay, considering."

"That's good."

Lani's phone rang. "Oh, excuse me. It's the fire marshall. This is Lani. ... Uh-huh. ... Okay, great. I'll let them know. ... Thanks, bye. ..." Lani turned to Sonny. "They found remains of the car theif. They're sending it to the lab to get tested, then they'll notify his family."

Sonny nodded. "Okay."

"Also, the press is going to want to talk to you." Lani said. "This is kind of news-worthy."

"Let me talk to Will. See what he thinks." Sonny said. Lani nodded and walked off. Sonny sat next to Will and rubbed his back. "Baby?"

"We were going to take the kids to visit Grandma Marlena this morning." Will said, his voice shaking slightly. "What if that car thief hadn't...? I know Deimos had something to do with this."

Sonny sighed inwardly. "Yeah, probably. Will...the press is going to want a statement from us."

"Okay." Will nodded.

"'Okay'? Really?" Sonny asked in surprise.

"I don't want to give Deimos any satisfaction." Will said. "I'll talk to the press. Hopefully, Deimos will be watching the news at that point."

"Are you sure?" Sonny asked.

"Very sure." Will said, determined.

XXX

Deimos checked his watch. "Hmm. I wonder if this made the news yet." He turned on the TV.

"I'm standing in front of The Brady Pub where a car bomb went off this morning at 7:15 AM." The reporter said. Victor spit out his coffee in shock. "The manager and his husband and three children all live above the Pub. Fortuneately, none of them were harmed. Unfortunately, a car thief, who was in the wrong place at the wrong time tried to steal the car and ended up dying in the blast. Here with me is the manager of the Pub, Will Horton." She turned to Will. "First of all, I'm sorry about what happened. This must have been frightening."

"Eh, it could have been worse." Will replied.

Deimos stared in shock and anger. "No. No!"

"Normally, I would be mad that someone tried to steal my car, but in a weird way, that man saved my life." Will said. "Yes, he made a bad choice, but, in the end he died an unwitting hero."

Deimos screamed in rage. "I was so CLOSE! All that hard work undone by that collassolly," He threw everything off the coffee table. "incredibly," He threw his glass at the TV. "stupendously stupid," He tapped his head. "CAR THIEF!" He threw the coffee table aside.

Victor stayed calm throughout Deimos' temper tantrum. He cleared his throat. "Thought I told you Sonny's family was off-limits, Deimos."

"You told me Gabi was off-limits! You said nothing about Will and their kids!" Deimos glared at Victor.

SLAM!

Deimos jumped and turned around to see Justin, more infuriated than he'd ever seen him. He was so angry, he couldn't speak. He advanced towards him.

"What?" Deimos spat.

Justin still didn't speak. Instead, he grabbed Deimos by the throat and started strangling him.

"Justin! Stop!" Victor cried.

Deimos kneed Justin in the groin, causing Justin to let go, then punched him.

"Deimos! Knock it off!" Victor cried again.

Justin stood up, grabbed Deimos and bodily threw him into the liquor cart. Deimos groaned in pain and started to reach for a broken bottle, but Justin stood on his hand, causing him to cry out. Deimos grabbed Justin's foot and swung him to the ground.

Victor sighed and called his security guard. "We got a situation in the living room. Deimos and Justin are fighting. Send three of your men in here to break it up."

By now, Deimos has tackled Justin over the couch causing the couch and the table behind it to fall over. They rolled each other to the piano and jumped up. Justin grabbed Deimos' head and smashed it against the paino. Two security guards rushed in and pulled the men apart. The third guard got in between them.

"All right, break it up or I'll have you arrested. I mean it!" The guard said.

"He started it!" Deimos, who looked worse than when Chad had him beat up, pointed to Justin.

"Gee. I wonder why?!" Justin, who sported a huge bruise on one cheek, a swollen eye, a slightly bleeding nose, and a cut lip; seethed.

Just then, Maggie walked in and gasped in horror. "What in the world is going on here?!"

"Deimos rigged Sonny and Will's car with a bomb!" Justin pointed to Deimos.

Maggie was horrified. "What?!"

"Nobody died. Well..except for an unlucky car thief." Victor assured her. "Sonny, Will, and the kids are fine."

"Well, thank God." Maggie said. She sighed and glared at Deimos and Justin. "I'm going upstairs to get ready for the day. When I come back down, I expect this place clean."

"You expect- this is my house!" Deimos snapped.

"Then clean up after yourself." Maggie said simply, then left the room.

Victor stood up. "All right, children. You heard her. Start cleaning." He left the room.

XX

A while later, Sonny arrived. He walked into the almost empty living room and noticed nothing on the coffee table or liquor cart. Deimos stood in front of the fireplace.

"Let me guess: you saw that your attempt on my life failed and threw a temper tantrum." Sonny said.

"Your family, actually." Deimos said through gritted teeth.

"Well, at least you were honest." Sonny said simply. "So, a car bomb? Really? That actually kind of reminded me of how Papou Alexander and Yia Yia Christina died. Was that what inspired you?"

Deimos remained silent.

Sonny nodded. "Okay." He walked until he was a foot away from Deimos and got on his knees.

"What are you doing?" Deimos asked warily.

"Surrendering. Isn't that what you want me to do?" Sonny asked.

Deimos studied Sonny's face. He looked sincere. Just to be sure... he stuck one foot out. "Kiss my shoe." Sonny obeyed without hesitation. Deimos chuckled. "Well...looks like you finally learned your lesson."

"I have. That car bomb was a wake-up call." Sonny replied.

"Good. Now get out of my sight." Deimos said.

"Of course." Sonny started to stand, but Deimos stopped him.

"Crawl on your stomach, slowly." Deimos said. Sonny nodded and crawled out of the living room on his stomach. "All the way out, Nephew."

Sonny sighed and crawled to the door, which Henderson held open. "Thanks, Henderson." Once the door closed, Sonny stood up and dusted himself off. "Pfft. Sucker."

XXX

Will lay on the couch, deep in thought. Sonny walked in. "Will?"

"We almost died in a car explosion." Will said, his voice shaking slightly.

Sonny sat down. "I know."

Will sat up. "The boys haven't even been christened yet. What would that have meant if...?"

"Hey...hey." Sonny pulled Will into a hug. "It's okay. They're okay, we're okay."

Will sniffed and pulled away. "You promised me that if there was the slightest hint of danger that you would drop the revenge kick on Deimos."

Sonny nodded and opened up his laptop. He pulled up all the files he has on Deimos and deleted them, then emptied the recycling bin. "I'll tell Paul to drop the investigation. Then I'll tell Rafe I'm done working with him."

Will smiled and pulled Sonny's face into a kiss. "Thank you. Now, we can finally be a normal family doing normal things. Starting with the christening." Sonny smiled back. They heard the boys fussing, and Will went to check on them.

Sonny waited until Will was out of sight. He went through a labyrinth of files until he got to a second copy of Deimos' files. He sighed. "Sorry, Will. But this is a promise I can't keep." He closed out of his files and shut his laptop.


	103. Smooth Sailing

The day of the twins' christening is here. Will and Sonny rushed around getting the kids dressed and ready. They headed to the church. Most of their families who already live in Salem were there- only Brady and Tate were missing. Gabi arrived and headed straight for the little family.

"Mommy!" Ari exclaimed.

"Hi, sweetheart!" Gabi greeted. She picked her daughter up and hugged her. She set Ari down and greeted the boys. "Hi, buddies. Hey."

"Thank you for doing this, Gabi." Will said.

"Oh, of course." Gabi grinned. "So, Chad's gonna be the godfather, huh?"

"Yeah. Is that going to be weird?" Will asked.

Gabi shook her head. "No, it's fine. I mean, it makes sense. And I do agree that it will be the first step in ending the war between our families."

"Hopefully." Will nodded.

Chad arrived. "Hey, all."

"Hi! Where's Abigail?" Sonny asked.

"Waiting for Thomas to wake up from his nap." Chad shrugged.

"Oh. I'm surprised Andre didn't show up with you." Sonny replied.

"Nah, he knows he's not wanted here, so..." Chad replied.

"Hm. Or he knows he'll be struck by lightning once he sets foot in here." Will quipped. "Or he'll break a pew once he sits on it."

"Will!" Sonny snapped sternly.

Chad was appalled. "Dude, what is your problem?"

"Nice example you're setting for our daughter, Will." Gabi rolled her eyes.

"Hey, at least he actually deserves it." Will protested.

"Still. That's my brother you're insulting." Chad said.

"I know." Will said simply.

Chad just scoffed and shook his head.

XX

"What the hell are Chad and Gabi doing here?" Julie whispered to Hope.

"One, we are in a church, so watch the language. Two, Will and Sonny want Chad and Gabi to be the babies' godparents."

"Why not Abigail and Paul?" Julie asked.

"Abigail's already godmother to Arianna, and Will and Sonny are closer to Chad than Paul." Hope said.

"Well, Go- I mean, Heaven help them all, then." Julie grumbled.

Hope just shook her head.

The ceremony started. Father Louis turned to Will and Sonny who held the boys. "What names do you give your children?"

"Devon Justin Kiriakis and Leon Lucas Horton." Will said.

"And what do you want God's church to do for your children Devon Justin Kiriakis and Leon Lucas Horton?"

"Baptism." Sonny answered.

"And who will be sponsoring your children?"

"Chad DiMera and Gabriella Josefina Hernandez." Will answered.

"Do you, Chad DiMera renounce Satan and all those who rebel against God?" Father Louis asked.

Chad swallowed. "I do."

"And do you, Gabriella Josefina Hernandez renounce Satan and all those who rebel against God?"

"I do." Gabi answered.

Julie snorted in derision and rolled her eyes. Hope shushed her.

Chad addressed his godsons. "This is definitely a day to remember. A DiMera is the Godfather of a Kiriakis and a Brady." There were scattered chuckling. "I am honored to be your Godfather. I'll teach you everything I know: baseball, chess, how to pick up girls." Some people laughed. "Most of all, I'll be your go-to if your dads are arguing too much or if they're too embarrassing. Keeping promises is important to your dads...so this is one promise I will definitely keep."

Sonny felt a wave of guilt wash over him. He remembered looking at a hidden file of Deimos on his laptop.

Now it was Gabi's turn. "It's an honor to be your Godmother. I'll be there for you when your dads are travelling, I'll be there to tell you the girl you're dating isn't good enough for you," Some people laughed. "I'll be there to help you shop for the girls you love and your dads and sister, adjust your tie when you go out on dates or dances and to your weddings. I'll make you the best tamales on this side of the Mississippi." Some people laughed again.

Father Louis scooped up some water. "I baptize you in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit." He sprinkled water on the twins, who fussed. "Amen."

Will turned to the congregation. "Let's eat! Refreshments are being served at the Pub, everyone."

"Well, that went smoother than Ari's christening." Sonny spoke up.

"Yeah. No one came back from the dead." Will chuckled.

XXX

The days following were uneventful. Well, to Salem's standards. Will walked through Horton Town Square and saw Paul and Sonny sitting at a table, a laptop open in front of them. Will sighed inwardly. He couldn't hear them, but he was pretty sure they were talking about Deimos. Nick 2.0. They can't go a single day without talking about him. Will slowly approached the table.

"I'll see what I can find out." Paul was saying. He stood up and saw Will. "Oh, hi, Will."

Sonny stiffened and turned to his husband. "Hi, honey."

"Hi." Will said.

Paul could sense the building tension and cleared his throat. "I have a few phone calls to make. Excuse me. Later, guys."

Will sat down and smiled at Sonny. "So! What was the meeting about?"

"Uh...you know...it's...classified." Sonny said, shifting nervously.

"Since when is Deimos classified?" Will asked casually.

"Since I-" Sonny stared in horror. "Crap..."

Will laughed to himself and shook his head. "You know what? Promises were made to be broken or something. I was stupid to think you would drop the revenge kick on Deimos even if our lives were threatened. I'm letting you off the hook."

"Wh-what?" Sonny asked, surprised.

Will threw up his hands and let them fall on the table. "I give up. I have tried virtually everything short of killing Deimos to get you to drop this revenge kick. So, go for it. Do whatever you want, but I swear, if you drag the kids into this mess..."

"I won't." Sonny promised.

"Good. Now...where are we on this Deimos thing?" Will asked.

"Uh, well, he had something delivered to the homestead." Sonny said. "He knows I'm watching the mansion, so it's not there."

"So, Greece?"

"Yep." Sonny nodded. "Problem is, we don't know where in Greece."

"Well, where is Deimos originally from?" Will asked.

"Nafplio. Our family also owns several islands surrounding the country." Sonny replied.

"Oh. That should narrow it down." Will nodded.

"I know you wish I'd just keep my head down and leave Deimos alone." Sonny said.

"And I know you're never going to do that." Will said.

"Doesn't mean you have to help me put a target on him."

"I told you if you're all in then I'm in it with you for better or worse." Will said. "Just like our marriage vows."

Sonny chuckled. "You know, this might sound crazy, but, I feel like as long as you're by my side, he doesn't stand a chance."

XX

They decided to walk through the park. Sonny looks at his cell. "Wow, no one warned me people in the fashion business can be so viscous. I don't know who's more dangerous: Uncle Vic, a felon; or Mila, the pissed off shoe designer."

Will grinned. "I think I'll just take my chances with Deimos. At least with him we've got the police on our side."

Sonny sighed in content. "How did we get here?"

"We were just in the town square, walked around the corner..." Will joked.

Sonny playfully shoved him. "I didn't mean that."

Will laughed. "I know what you meant. It's just life, you know? Doesn't turn out the way you expect it too, does it."

Sonny shook his head. "No I can't say running Basic Black was ever in the plans for me. All this stuff with Deimos made me realise how much I want to run Titan, turn things around for my family. I found what I want to do with my life and I found who I want to spend it with."

They sat on a park bench. Will smiled. "Bet you weren't planning for that either."

"I wasn't, but falling in love with you, creating a family is even better, because it was unexpected."

Will takes Sonny's hand. "You're going to be an amazing CEO, Sonny. You're going to change everything because that's what you do just like you changed my life. And one day, when Deimos is in prison and we're hanging out on the yacht in the Aegean it's all going to be worth it."

Sonny put his arm around Will's shoulders. "When you say it like that, I really believe you."

"Well I believe it too." Will said. "Don't get me wrong- I am insanely jealous of your success. But, I guess I wouldn't mind being married to the CEO instead of actually being CEO. You're going to do great things for Titan. You've succeeded at everything you've ever put your mind to."

Sonny smiled. "This time we're going to do it together."

XXX

The next morning, Sonny headed to the hospital to drop off medical forms for Adrienne. He ran into Eli, who told him that Julie apparently had a heart attack while she and Gabi were arguing. Eli asked about Gabi. They sat down.

"Julie hates Gabi because Gabi killed Nick." Sonny explained.

"Yeah, I heard all about it." Eli said.

"From your grandmother." Sonny guessed. Eli nodded. "Well, did Julie tell you that Nick was obsessed with Gabi? That he blackmailed her, stalked her, and nearly raped her?"

Eli was shocked. "What? No."

Sonny nodded. "Yeah. Nick pushed Gabi to a point where she just could not take the abuse anymore and she just...snapped."

Eli sighed and put his empty coffee cup on the end table. "Sonny, I had no idea."

Sonny sighed. "Yeah, well, Julie did. She knew all about it. She chose to ignore the facts and she made Gabi out to be this monster who killed Nick. And the same thing happened when JJ and Gabi broke up. She ignored the fact that JJ cheated on her. Everyone has their limit. You know Gabi's not one to back down from a fight, believe me- I know."

"You guys weren't always friends?" Eli asked.

Sonny nodded. "We had our issues and we probably will again. But, that doesn't change the fact that Gabi is a great person. She has a heart of gold and anyone would be lucky to have her in their corner."

Eli smiled and nodded. "How did Nick and Will get along? Aren't they cousins?"

Sonny exhaled sharply. "They didn't. Get along, I mean. Nick was raped in prison and for some reason, that made him extremely homophobic. He called me a faggot, and he tried to steal Ari away from Will. Twice."

"Does Julie know this?" Eli asked, surprised.

Sonny shook his head. "I think, even if she did know, she'd ignore that fact, too. Hope and Jennifer don't know, either. We didn't want to cause any more drama."

"I guess that explains why Lucas and Will looked nervous when Will said he's married to a man." Eli said.

"Yeah." Sonny nodded.

"Well, you won't have to worry. I'm totally fine with the LGBT community." Eli said.

"Oh, yeah. Will told me your former FBI partner is a lesbian." Sonny said. "I appreciate that."

"Thanks. I'm glad we had this talk." Eli said.

"Me, too." Sonny stood up. "I'm going to get going. I really hope Julie's okay, that she gets better. Just be damned if I let anyone make Gabi out to be someone she's not. Take care."


	104. Shot to Hell

"So, how's Operation: Deimos going?"

Will and Sonny lay in bed. Sonny sighed. "Well, it seems to be going pretty well. I found out that Deimos lied about where he was going. He said he was going to Quebec to meet with Jean Luc- one of Basic Black's most prominent designers- but I found out from Uncle Vic that Luc is on sabbatical until fall. He's been nowhere near Quebec in months. Paul's looking into it. He'll let me know by tomorrow night."

"Ah." Will nodded. "Well, if it has anything to do with those stolen artifacts, then..."

"His ass will be back in jail where he belongs, and we can move back into the mansion." Sonny declared. "Our mansion."

"'Our mansion', huh?" Will leaned up. "What about Uncle Vic and Aunt Maggie?"

"They can still live there of course." Sonny insisted. "And my dad. I just thought you'd want to live there once Deimos is out of the picture."

"I have thought about it to tell you the truth." Will said. "I do love having a cook and a maid and a butler and a limo..."

Sonny laughed. "Kiss my ass, EJ! He gave you an apartment and a sports car. I'm giving you a mansion and a limo!"

Will laughed, too. "Good point! And the boys will have bigger spaces to learn to crawl, then walk. Maybe I can just be the caretaker to this place. Rent the rooms out to any distant family members who visit."

"Good idea." Sonny nodded. He fell silent for a minute. "Hey, do you remember before you went to LA with your mom and the kids?"

Will gave a long-suffering sigh and fell back on the bed. "I thought you were over that."

"I am. Please let me finish." Sonny said. Will leaned back up. "You said you were bored with our marriage. My question is, are you, still? Bored, I mean."

"No." Will shook his head. "Honestly, I haven't been bored since you saved me from Ben."

Sonny smiled and chuckled inwardly. "See? Good things take time."

"Yeah." Will laughed.

XXX

The following evening, Paul arrived at Sonny and Will's apartment with news.

"I got something." Paul said.

"Did Deimos charter a plane?" Sonny asked.

"Maybe, maybe not." He replied. "See I talked to this guy at a charter place and he wasn't being very forthcoming. He didn't say no but he didn't hang up, kept hinting that he might know something."

"He wanted some incentive?" Will guessed.

Paul nodded. "Yeah, exactly."

"Where is this place?" Sonny asked.

"It's not too far from your Uncles', just off Country Road L." Paul said.

Sonny nodded. "I'll grab the money and..."

Paul raised a hand to stop him. "You stay here, I'll go get it."

Sonny shook his head. "No."

"Sonny, isn't that why you hired me and Steve in the first place, to do the leg work? What if Deimos finds out you've been asking questions, bribing charter owners?"

Will nodded in agreement. "Good point."

"You can't antagonize him any more than you already have." Paul continued. "Eventually Deimos is going to find out what you're up to, but until then, just leave it to me."

Sonny nodded and gave in. "I'll get you the money, but you need to be careful yourself."

"I got this. I'll be okay and together we'll both get Deimos." Paul said. Sonny wrote a check, handed it to Paul, then Paul left.

"Any day now..." Sonny took a deep breath.

"So, you think Paul will be able to bribe the owner?" Will asked.

"Hopefully." Sonny sat down. "But, if worse comes to worse..." He groaned and rubbed his eyes. "I swore to myself I would never do this."

"Do what?"

"Ugh, I can barely get the words out." Sonny said.

"What? Come on, spit it out." Will said, slightly impatient.

"I'll use...the Kiriakis name to get him to talk." Sonny said.

Will's eyes widened. "Whoa. That would be..."

"Wildly out of character for me. I know." Sonny sighed. "I mean, I've used it before...on Nick and Gabi, but it didn't work."

"Well...desperate times calls for desperate measures." Will shrugged.

xx

Someone knocked on the door. "Entrere, Paul!" Sonny called. Paul walked in and hands Sonny the money. "I take it the guy at the charter was no help."

"No, he wasn't, but the pilot was and it cost you absolutely nothing." Paul said.

"How'd you do that?" Sonny asked, amazed.

"Well it helps that your private investigator uncle-in-law is a famous ex-MLB pitcher." Paul smiled. "I traded some autographs for some information."

"What'd you find?"

"The pilot said he flew a passenger that matched Deimos' description to Canada." Paul explained.

Sonny's face fell. "So, Deimos was telling the truth. He has business in Quebec."

Paul shook his head. "No, 'cause the pilot flew the guy not to Quebec but to Manitoba to a little airstrip near a mountain town."

"Manitoba has mountains?" Will questioned.

"The pilot said when they got there there was a tall, lanky guy with salt and pepper hair waiting for him." Paul continued. "And when the guy turned around, the pilot said he had a scar on his right cheek."

"I know that guy. He works for Titan. His name's Lyle." Sonny said. He pulled out his phone.

"What are you doing?" Will asked.

"I'm going to track down Lyle right now, find out why Deimos is in Manitoba." Sonny said.

"Okay, just a few words of advice: don't try to sound intimidating. That might scare him away." Will said. "Be calm and friendly. Works wonders- trust me."

"I do trust you." Sonny replied. He dialed a number. "Hey is this Lyle? ... This is Sonny Kiriakis. I'm calling you with a head's up. ... My Uncle Victor is extremely upset with you, and I think you know the kind of things that happen to people and employees that upset him. ... I think you have, and maybe I can help you out, but you've got to explain a few things to me Lyle. Number 1, why did Deimos charter his own jet and 2, why did he lie about where he was going? ... And I'm sure that's true Lyle, I am, but what if Uncle Vic thinks you're helping Deimos go behind his back? ... Again, it's Uncle Victor's perception of what you're doing that matters. Now, I can smooth everything over for you, Lyle, but you need to tell me what Deimos is doing in Manitoba. ... But you were at the airport, right? Now if I know that, how long do you think it's going to take for Uncle Victor to figure that out? You know the kind of tactics he's going to employ, the gentlemen he's going to send to go talk to you. They're not going to be as patient as I am. They're not going to be as nice as me either. Is this sinking in? Do you feel me, Lyle? You are not in a very good position. ... He's not going to believe that. Your only hope is to tell me why Deimos is in Manitoba. ..." Sonny's blood ran cold. "Brady Black and Nicole Walker are there?" Paul and Will stared at each other in horror. Sonny glanced towards Will and Paul and swallowed. "That's good to know. I need to talk to them as well. I need to know your exact location. I'm flying there right now. ... No need for that. I don't want you getting into trouble with Deimos. Just tell me the address. ... Great. Thank you, Lyle. Pleasure doing business with you. I'll be in touch."

"So Deimos has tracked down Brady and Nicole." Paul surmised.

"Which means they're in a lot of danger." Sonny said. "Deimos is scary. Jealous Deimos is terrifying."

"Brady's my brother. I'm going too." Paul declared.

"The more the merrier." Sonny said. He called his pilot. "Hey this is Sonny Kiriakis. Fuel up the jet. Manitoba, Canada." He hung up. "Let's hope it's not too late."

"Shouldn't we call Brady?" Will asked.

"I tried calling him yesterday, but he apparently disconnected his phone." Paul sighed heavily. "Which is the smartest and also stupidest thing he has ever done, I'm sure."

"Terrific." Will said sarcastically. "I'd come too, but, I'm not sure I can get anyone to watch the kids last-minute."

"I am going to fill Derrick in on what's happening." Paul said.

"Okay. Meet me at the airfield in an hour." Sonny said. Paul nodded and ran off.

"Here we go again." Will said.

"I know." Sonny sighed. "I won't be gone long."

"Okay. Be careful." Will said.

"Aren't I always?" Sonny asked, smiling.

"Do you really want me to answer that?" Will asked.

"...Not really."

XXX

The next morning, Sonny called Will with an update.

"We got there too late." Sonny sighed. "I got the information from Lyle, but by the time we got to the cottage, Nicole and Holly were gone and Brady was hurt with a bullet in his chest."

Will was surprised. "Deimos shot Brady?!"

Sonny sighed inwardly with resignation. "Actually...it was Xander who shot him."

Will's eyes widened in horror. He sank slowly into a chair. "Xander's alive?"

"Yeah. He kidnapped Nicole and Holly." Sonny replied. "Are you okay? You seem quiet."

Will pushed back flasbacks of his kidnapping, swallowed, and shook his head. "I'm fine. Um...how-how's Brady?"

"He's okay. He'll probably need another heart transplant, but, he'll be okay." Sonny replied.

"Where was Tate during this whole mess?" Will wondered.

"In his room." Sonny said. "When Paul and I arrived at the cottage, Tate was crying. Honestly...I'm surprised he hadn't wandered to the living room and saw his dad like that. Talk about trauma."

"Yeah, really." Will said. "I guess we shouldn't be surprised Xander's alive. We suspected that Deimos might have kept him alive for his own selfish reasons."

"Good point." Sonny said. "You know, Deimos showed up at Brady's bedside. He acted all surprised that Brady was shot by Xander and he kidnapped Nicole and Holly. He said he's gonna help us all he can."

"Please tell me you didn't buy that." Will groaned.

"We didn't. Don't worry." Sonny smirked. "Actually, the more I think about it...I wonder if Deimos set this whole thing up. That he hired Xander to kidnap Nicole and Holly so Deimos can save them, then he'd be a hero in her eyes."

Will scoffed. "Nicole is not going to fall for that. Trust me. I've known her a long time, and she is the furthest thing from fickle and gullible."

"Poor Deimos will be so dejected." Sonny said dramatically. "Do you think he'll cry? I'll bet he'll cry."

Will laughed. "I'm sure he'll cry and curse at the wind."

"Yeah. Anyway, I'm coming back home now. I should be at the airport by 1:00 this afternoon." Sonny said. "Paul's staying with Brady and Tate. Brady's gonna be airlifted to University Hospital."

"Okay. Want me to come get you?"

"Yes, please." Sonny replied. "I'll see you later."

"All right. Love you. Bye."

XX

That morning was the fund-raiser for the Horton Center, which was a success. Will decided to head to the cafe for a quick lunch. He saw Jennifer and Eric. Victor sat a few feet away from the couple and said some choice words. Eric confronted him, and he and Jennifer left. Will sighed angrily, put on a polite smile, and sat across from Victor.

"The hell do you want?" Victor said, crossly.

"Just to let you know that once Deimos is either back in jail, on the run, or dead; Sonny is gonna own the mansion. And I'm married to Sonny, so it'll be my mansion, too." Will said.

"Is there a point to this?"

"Yes. As long as you live under my roof, you will not insult, torment, or belittle any members of my family; who, by the way, is Sonny's family, too. Or you will be out on your ass." Will said. "Understand?"

Victor scoffed. "I don't think Sonny will be too happy about that."

"Well, he'll be at the hospital later, so, you can ask him then." Will replied.

Victor was surprised. "Why will he be at the hospital later?"

"You don't know?" Will asked, surprised. "I thought he would have called you."

"He didn't call me. What happened?" Victor demanded.

"Brady was shot and Nicole and Holly were kidnapped." Will said.

"By whom?"

"Xander." Will announced.

Victor was thrown. "What?!"

"Either Deimos didn't do a very thorough job killing him, or he never even tried to kill him." Will shrugged.

Victor scoffed and shook his head. "How bad is Brady?"

"Very. They're airlifting him to University Hospital. He should be there soon." Will replied.

"Where's Tate?" Victor asked.

"Paul is taking care of him." Will replied. "He's okay. Now...what needs to happen in order for you do take care of Deimos- and by that, I don't mean lovingly?"

"What are you talking about?"

"Oh, come on, Victor! Nicole and Brady ran away from Deimos. A few weeks later, Nicole and Holly are missing, and Brady's been shot?" Will snapped. "That can't be a coincidence."

"You also said that Xander shot Brady and kidnapped Nicole."

"Yes, and who was it that said Xander was dead?" Will asked. "Deimos."

"Will, put yourself in my position." Victor snapped. "What would you do if Johnny did all those things?"

"For one, I would never frame him for murder!" Will exclaimed. "Is that what this is about? Are you trying to make it up to him or something?" Victor didn't respond. Will scoffed and shook his head and stood up. "I gotta go pick Sonny up from the airport. See you later."

XX

Will arrived at the airport at 1:00 on the dot. Sonny stood at the curb. He climbed in and kissed Will on the cheek. "Hi."

"Hey." Will pulled away from the curb. "Any change with Brady?"

"Nope. He's still the same." Sonny replied. "I just wish we'd gotten there sooner."

Will squeezed his hand. "I know. But, think of it this way: if you weren't hellbent on destroying Deimos, Brady would be dead. You and Paul probably saved his life."

"Yeah." Sonny sighed. "I seem to have developed a habit of rescuing someone in the nick of time."

Will laughed. "Seriously." He sobered up. "So, how did you get the information from Lyle, anyway?"

Sonny hesitated. "I pulled a gun on him."

Will slammed the brakes in the middle of the road. "You what?!" A car screeched to a halt behind them and the driver started honking his horn like crazy. Will swore under his breath and pulled over. "Sorry!" He called out, helplessly. He huffed and turned to his husband in shock.

"It wasn't loaded." Sonny insisted. Will sighed and shook his head. "I wasn't going to shoot him, Will. I just wanted to scare him into telling me where Nicole and Brady were. Their lives were at stake."

"You could have dug a skeleton out of his closet and blackmailed him!" Will argued.

"That was actually my initial plan." Sonny explained. "Paul did a thorough background check on him and we couldn't find anything on him that we could use."

Will sighed heavily. He knew he was the last person to lecture him about holding guns on people. At least his was empty. "Okay. Fine."

"Fine? That's it? No arguements?" Sonny asked.

"Nope. You did what you had to do." Will said. He put his hands on the wheel. "Oh, by the way, I ran into your Uncle Vic earlier. I told him about Brady."

"Oh."

"And I told him that if he insults or trashes any of my family members after we move into the mansion, he's out on his ass." Will admitted.

Sonny was shocked, but not surprised. "What?!"

Will pulled back out on the freeway and headed to the hospital.

XXX

Once they arrived at the hospital, Will and Sonny spotted Deimos at the nurse's station and headed towards him.

Deimos turned to the young couple. "Have you seen Brady?"

Sonny folded his arms. "Yeah, Paul's with him. What the hell are you doing here?"

"I just came by to see how Brady is doing. Has he come to?" Deimos asked.

"Worried about what he'll say?" Sonny asked in an accusatory tone.

"I'm the one that got him here, Sonny." Deimos said defensively.

"You got him away from Nicole too." Sonny said, raising an eyebrow.

"I'm also the one trying to track down Xander so we can find Nicole and Holly so why don't you get off my back?" Deimos asked.

"It just seems weird, because the cops have been looking for Nicole and Holly for weeks and have been coming up empty." Sonny explained. "And then Xander, who's on the run himself- and not the brightest bulb in the circuit- knows exactly where to find them. You have any idea how that happened?"

"Well it sounds to me like our family has underestimated Xander." Deimos said.

"Especially you." Sonny pointed out. "You said you killed him. You saw him drown. How could you make a mistake about something like that?"

"I never said that Xander was definitely dead." Deimos shook his head.

"Don't give us that. I was there!" Sonny exclaimed.

"I said I shot him and I saw him fall backwards into the river." Deimos insisted. "That's all true. I presumed he was dead like everybody else. Don't you think if I thought for one second that he was still alive I would have tracked him down? I know how much he hates this family, how much he hates Nicole."

"We're supposed to believe that?!" Will said angrily.

"You'd do anything for Nicole." Sonny pointed out. "Wouldn't you? Like bribing the Judge in her custody case?"

"What's your point, Sonny?" Deimos asked.

"You blew that case for Nicole. She wants no part of you. And after you took off for where she's been hiding, Xander grabbed her and shot Brady." Sonny said.

"Again, what are you getting at?"

"How far are you willing to go to get what you want?" Sonny asked.

"I know you don't like me, Sonny. I also know that you'd rather be running this family instead of me, but I'm sorry to disappoint you. I don't have the time or the patience for this nonsense, your ridiculous accusations. I have a mother and daughter to find." Deimos declared. He walks off.

Sonny seethed and clenched his fists. "I hate that son of a bitch."

"Oh really? I had no idea." Will joked.

"And can you believe that he thinks he can run my family?" Sonny ranted. "He's part of this, I'm sure of it."

"Hey, I agree." Will said. "Look, the best thing we can do right now is find Nicole."

Paul walked up to them. "Hey, so, Marlena wants me to call my Dad, tell him about Brady. I'm going to ask him for his help to find Nicole and Holly, and Steve's too."

Sonny sighed. "Good."

Victor walks up to them. "Take me to my grandson."

"I'll show you where his room is." Paul said. They walked off.

Sonny sighed and sat down. "I swear- it just keeps getting worse and worse."

"I know." Will sat next to him. "Hopefully soon, his plan will blow up in his face and he'll be jailed or dead when this is all over."

"Yeah. Wouldn't it be great if Xander and Deimos finished each other off?" Sonny asked.

Will chuckled. "That would be a dream. I need to check on the kids. Um...are you going to be okay?"

"Yeah, I'll be fine." Sonny nodded.

"Okay. Love ya." Will kissed Sonny and walked off.

A few minutes later, Victor came back to the waiting area and sat down, heaving a big sigh.

"I'm guessing you read Brady the riot act for getting involved with Nicole." Sonny guessed.

"You know me too well." Victor smiled. "I understand that if you and Deimos hadn't found Brady when you did, he'd be dead right now. You two make me very proud."

Sonny scoffed and shook his head. "Don't lump me with him."

"Sonny!" Victor snapped.

"Uncle Vic, I know you feel guilty about Deimos being in prison all those years, but your guilt is making you blind to who and what he really is." Sonny said simply.

"Explain."

"Do you think it's a coincidence that he found out where Nicole was right before Xander showed up?" Sonny asked.

"What are you saying?" Victor asked.

"Deimos was going around saying he was going to rescue Nicole." Sonny said.

"Well, obviously, he's obsessed."

"He's obsessed with her, and he was not going to lose her to Brady." Sonny said. "And if he had gotten there first, he might have done exactly what Xander did."

"You don't know that." Victor argued.

"I'll tell you what I do know: Deimos is the plague incarnate, and I'm not giving up until I prove that to you." Sonny said.

Victor closed his eyes and nodded. "You talk about being blind to who someone is. Are you speaking from experience?"

"Partly. Why?"

"Will came to see me in the square earlier." Victor said. "Acted all high and mighty, and told me that I'd be out on my ass if I speak ill of his family, and he hasn't even moved into the mansion yet."

"I know. He told me." Sonny said.

"He told you?" Victor asked, surprised. Sonny nodded. "And?"

"You better start practicing keeping those kind of comments to yourself." Sonny said simply.

Victor was appalled. "What?!"

"From what I understand, you were trashing his uncle Eric while he was on a date with his- and mine, by the way- aunt Jennifer." Sonny said. "Will's family is my family, too. You hurt them, you hurt me. So we would both appreciate it if you would keep your hateful comments about his family to yourself once we move in there with the kids."

Victor exhaled sharply. "He's definitely got you whipped."

"This isn't whipped, dear Uncle. This is respecting your spouse and making him comfortable and happy." Sonny said. "If I trashed someone Maggie cared about, you'd do the same thing."

Victor scoffed and shook his head. He stood up and walked over to the coffee cart.

"I'm gonna go check on Brady. Be right back." Sonny said.

XXX

Will and Lucas sat on the couch. They had one twin each laying on their backs on their laps. They held the twins' wrists and slowly pulled them up and down to get a little exercise going. Will told Lucas about Brady, Nicole, Sonny, Paul, and Deimos and what happened within the last 24 hours.

"Leave it to Nicole to get herself into this kind of situation." Lucas shook his head in dismay.

"Yeah." Will sighed.

"So, you and Sonny believe Deimos never tried to kill Xander? That he hired Xander to kidnap Nicole and the baby to play hero?" Lucas asked.

Will nodded. "Mm-hm. Brady and Paul are skeptical as well. Victor, on the other hand just turns a blind eye when it comes to Deimos."

Lucas exhaled sharply. "Man, what is with Victor?"

"I think he just feels guilty for sending Deimos to prison. That's what started this whole thing." Will said.

Lucas scoffed. "Yeah, well...Deimos shouldn't have slept with Victor's fiancee."

Will laughed softly. "Are you defending Victor?"

Lucas groaned. "I'm going to have nightmares tonight, I'm sure."

"Aww." Will teased.

"I'm glad Sonny and Paul found Brady in time." Lucas said.

"Me, too." Will said. The boys yawned. "Looks like it's time for a nap." He stood and scooped both twins in his arms.

"You're becoming an expert in this." Lucas commented.

"Years of watching my mom and grandma." Will replied as he headed to the nursery. Once he put the boys down, he walked back into the living room. He put his hands on the back of an armchair. Lucas had a serious expression on his face. "Uh-oh. You have that look."

"What look?" Lucas asked.

"That 'I want to talk to you about something, and I know you're not going to like it' look." Will said, nodding. He sat on the chair and sighed in resignation. "Okay, what's up?"

"Well, it's about Sonny." Lucas said.

Will exhaled sharply. "Dad..."

"No, hey, just hear me out." Lucas said. "I do think he needs to stop with the obsession with taking Deimos down...especially since it almost got you blown up. But, I will say that for once, it actually came in handy since Sonny was following Deimos, and it lead him and Paul to finding Brady. So...are they finally going to arrest him, now?"

"No. We have no proof yet that Deimos is involved." Will replied.

"But Sonny is going to look for proof and won't give up until he does, right?" Lucas guessed.

"Right." Will nodded.

"What then?" Lucas asked.

"Then Sonny will take over Titan, and we'll move back into the mansion with the kids." Will said.

"Just like that?"

"Just like that." Will said. "I don't understand where this skepticism over Sonny is coming from."

"His obsession with taking Deimos down, working for Titan...I'm just afraid that he's going down the same path Victor is on." Lucas said. "I mean, being more agressive, the gangster hairstyle, wanting to take over the family business? Who does that sound like to you?"

"Victor?" Will guessed.

"And EJ."

Will laughed in disbelief. "I can't believe this. You're comparing Sonny to EJ? Really?"

"Well..." Lucas shrugged.

Will sighed and thought about it. "Well, you're not totally far off."

"Wait, what?!" Lucas exclaimed, surprised.

"Sonny is starting to remind me of the parts I actually liked about EJ." Will admitted. "He's smart, a quick thinker, he loves me and our kids and would do anything for us. However, unlike EJ, Sonny is not violent or dangerous, nor has he committed any major crime. And EJ looked intimidating, whereas Sonny does not."

Lucas sighed deeply. "Okay, I hear you."

"But...?"

"Well, it's just..." Lucas sighed and rubbed his eyes. "This was after you came out. Your mom and I talked about how we hoped that you wouldn't marry someone even remotely like EJ. We were skeptical about Sonny at first, but then we got to know him. He's a good guy. We hoped he'd stay that way."

"Sonny is still a great guy." Will insisted. "And it's still going to stay that way. Once Deimos is out of the picture, things will calm down."

"Okay. I hope so." Lucas nodded.

"Does Adrienne know about your skepticism about Sonny?" Will asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Hey, let's not go there, okay?"

"Okay. I'm just saying that if Sonny had the slightest critical remark about Ari, he'd be out on his ass." Will said simply. "Adrienne's a way bigger mama bear than I am a papa bear. How do you think she's going to react to you criticising her son?"

Lucas glared at Will. "I hate it when you do that."

"Well, I learned from the best." Will grinned.

Lucas exhaled sharply. "Okay, fine, I see your point. I'll keep it to myself, I promise."

"Good." Will nodded and smiled. Sonny walked through the door. "Oh, hey! We were just talking about you."

Sonny walked into the living room. "Oh, yeah?"

"Yeah. Will was just telling me that you and Paul tracked down Brady and saved his life." Lucas said.

"Yeah. That was an adventure." Sonny said, sitting down. "Is my mom home yet?"

"No. She's still on that camping trip with your brothers." Lucas said.

"Oh. I would have gone too, but with everything going on..." Sonny shrugged.

"Well, maybe the three of us and your mom can go camping sometime this summer." Lucas suggested. "You know, because you didn't get to go on this one."

"That sounds like a good idea." Will nodded and glanced at Sonny.

Sonny smiled and nodded. "Yeah. That does sound like fun."

"All right!" Lucas smiled and stood up. "Well, I will give you two some alone time. I'll see you later."

"Bye, Dad." Will called as he left. He turned to Sonny. "So, what's the word on Nicole?"

"We need to get to Nicole before Deimos does." Sonny replied. "If Deimos indeed hired Xander, he's gonna want Xander to take her someplace that is familiar to him in order to make it easier for him to track them down. I'm thinking Greece."

"Makes sense." Will nodded. He then remembered something. "You know...last fall when the Trio of Terror kidnapped me, I heard them talking about maybe escaping to the Kiriakis compound in Mykonos. Maybe Xander and Nicole are there?"

"No. He'd want to make sure Nicole is truly trapped." Sonny replied. "They're probably on one of the many private islands in Greece."

"How many are there, exactly?"

"Well, Greece has six thousand islands total." Sonny shrugged. "Only about a thousand of them are private islands. My family owns like...ten."

"Wow." Will nodded. "So, once we find out exactly where they are..."

"We're gonna fly there and rescue them." Sonny said.

Will nodded in understanding. "You know, Ari's birthday is coming up. You're gonna be back by then, right?"

Sonny thought about that. "I don't know. I hope so. And I was also hoping you'd come with me."

"You were?"

"Yeah. I did promise to take you with me when I go on another trip." Sonny said.

"Yes! This is what I was hoping for. Excitement, adventure." Will said.

"Okay, but, keep in mind, this is not a vacation. It's a rescue mission." Sonny said.

"I know. You're right."

"I kind of wish it were a vacation." Sonny admitted. "I could show you all of my favorite spots in Greece: Mount Olympus, Athens, Santorini, Mykonos, and my great-uncle's hometown Napflio..."

"Maybe for our anniversary one year." Will said.

"That's a promise."


	105. Greece Is The Word

Will closed the nursery door quietly and someone knocked on the back door. "Abigail. Hey, come in."

"Hi." They walked to the living room.

"Can I get you anything?"

"I'm good. Are the boys asleep?" Abigail asked.

"Yeah. I just put them down." Will replied.

"Oh. Um, do you still talk to Chad a lot?"

"Not really." Will folded his arms. "Why?"

Abigail sat on the couch. "Chad is going to Greece because of some antiquities or something. I'm just afraid that he'll get himself in trouble."

"Greece, huh?" Will sat down. "Any idea which city?"

Abigail raised an eyebrow at him. "Really? That's your question?"

"Well, it's just..." Will sighed. "Xander's alive. He kidnapped Nicole and her baby and we have reason to believe they're in Greece somewhere."

"Wow." Abigail nodded. "Uh, no, he didn't tell me which city. I talked to Hope and she just called me and told me she's following Chad to Greece to make sure he stays out of trouble."

"Okay. Hmm. Wouldn't it be funny if they ran into Xander?"

"Well, that'd actually be great, 'cause then we'll know where Nicole and Holly are." Abigail pointed out.

"True." Will nodded.

Abigail exhaled sharply and leaned back. "I wish Andre was here. He'd talk Chad out of going. But, he's in Machu Picchu at the moment."

"Machu Picchu, huh? Well, he does need the exercise." Will quipped.

Abigail side-glared at Will. "Hey, do I insult your brother-in-law, Will?"

"You mean your cousin?" Will smirked.

Abigail huffed and shook her head. "Fine. Be cold and unforgiving. Andre has done way worse to me in the past than he did you, and I forgave him. EJ did bad things to you and your family, too, and you forgave him. Why can't you forgive Andre?"

"Because EJ made up for the bad things he did." Will replied simply. "And I like EJ better. At least he's better at thinking under pressure."

"You call cheating on your mom with me in order to shut me up about Nick 'great thinking under pressure'?" Abigail asked.

"Yes! Because he knew you had a crush on him." Will said. "Okay, he didn't have to actually cheat on my mom. That was bad. But if he didn't know you had a crush, he would have asked someone like me or Sonny if you did. If we didn't know, then he would have tested you before acting on it."

"Oh, whatever." Abigail shook her head.

Will calmed down. "Abigail...why do you confide in him? You know you can talk to me or Sonny about anything, right?"

"I do. But, it's just nice to have friends outside the family." Abigail replied.

"'Brother-in-law' is still family." Will quipped. "What about Lani? Aren't you guys friends?"

"Sort of." Abigail shrugged. She stood. "I better go. It's almost Thomas' bedtime."

"Okay. I'll talk to you soon." Will said.

"Bye."

Will sighed and his phone buzzed. "Hey, Mom."

"Hi. How are things?"

"Things are great." Will replied. "How are the kids? They're in boarding school now, right?"

"Yep. Johnny's going to an all-boys boarding school in Zurich and the girls are going to their sister school." Sami replied.

"Great. So they're close to Aunt Carrie and Uncle Austin." Will replied.

"Yeah. Figured they'd feel better about going away to boarding school if they're close to family." Sami replied.

"Good point." Will said. "How's EJ?"

"Good. He's on a business trip to Greece."

Will's heart thudded. "Greece, huh? Which city?"

"Athens. Why?"

Will swallowed. "Chad's going to Greece as well and Aunt Hope is going after him to make sure he doesn't get himself into trouble. And knowing Andre, he'll follow along as well."

Sami huffed. "Okay, I'll text him."

"There's more. Xander's alive. He kidnapped Nicole and her baby, and we have reason to believe they're in Greece, but we don't know where." Will replied. "Deimos might go there, and Sonny, Paul, and I will be following him to make sure he doesn't get to Nicole first."

"Wow." Sami exhaled slowly. "That sounds pretty risky."

"I know. It will be exciting, though. I've always wanted to go on this type of adventure." Will said.

"It's not as glamorous as you think." Sami said.

"Yeah, but I'm gonna enjoy it anyway." Will said.

"You know, your dad texted me about what's going on with Sonny." Sami said.

"And you're gonna tell me you're worried and to take action or something." Will guessed, sighing.

"Well, I'd be a hypocrite." Sami admitted. "And...Sonny hasn't done anything illegal or dangerous, right?"

"Right." Will said.

"I just want you to be prepared for the worst." Sami said. "If Sonny makes enemies..."

"I know." Will said. "I guess I now understand your commitment to EJ."

"Good." Sami smiled. "I better text EJ that half the town will be heading to Athens."

Will laughed. "Okay. Bye, Mom."

"Love you."

"Love you, too."

Will hung up and called Marlena. "Hey, I just wanted to check in on Brady."

"Still no change." Marlena answered. "And I still can't get a hold of John, so I am meeting with the director of the ISA to see if she'll help."

"Oh. Okay. Well, I hope John is okay."

"Thanks, me too." Marlena replied. "I'm almost at the meeting, so..."

"We'll talk later, then." Will replied. "Bye, Grandma. Love you."

"Aw, I love you, too." Marlena replied. "Bye, hon."

Will then called Kate. "Hey, Grandma. Have you talked to Chad recently?"

"I have, actually. He's actually going on a business trip to Greece." Kate replied. "Why?"

"Oh. Athens?" Will asked.

"I think so. Why?"

"I was just wondering." Will replied. "So, he's there on business? I didn't realize DiMera had an office there. I would have thought they would close it down, since their number one rival is from there."

"Doesn't change the fact that Athens is a wonderful city." Kate replied simply. "Why do you ask?"

"Abigail's worried about him. He's afraid that he'll get himself in trouble." Will explained.

Kate scoffed. "Chad is going to be just fine. Why is Abigail still worried about him? She left him."

"They still share a child together." Will replied. "And Abigail still loves Chad."

Kate snorted in disbelief. "Okay, I know she's your cousin, but come on."

"So, I can't badmouth Andre, but you can badmouth Abigail? Really?" Will asked, raising his eyebrows.

"Okay, fine. Fair enough." Kate replied. "I won't badmouth Abigail to you if you don't badmouth Andre to me."

"Fine." Will replied. "I'll talk to you soon. Bye, Grandma."

"Bye."

XXX

The next afternoon, Sonny texted Will to meet him, Justin, and Paul at the Mandalay. Will walked up to the trio and sat down.

"Hey, you're just in time." Sonny said to Will. "Paul got confirmation that Deimos is on his way to Greece."

"Which means he probably knows where Nicole is." Paul added.

"Have you told this to the cops?" Justin asked.

"Yes. We spoke to Eli about it and he said there wasn't enough for the Bureau to get involved." Paul replied.

"Someone has to do something." Sonny said. "If Deimos finds Nicole and Holly, he's going to try and disappear with them. And Brady is hanging on by a thread as it is."

"Sonny, Sonny, Sonny, Sonny, Brady's going to make it." Justin said calmly.

"He said they were so happy in Canada. He, Nicole, Tate and Holly were going to be a family." Sonny said sadly.

"So it's up to us to save Nicole and Holly." Paul said.

"And we will." Will said determined.

Justin was shocked. "Wait a minute. Are you three telling me you're going after Deimos on your own? Do you have any idea how dangerous that man is?"

"We have a very good idea. That's why we're going after him, Dad." Sonny said.

"What the hell can you guys do?" Justin askedl

"Spare us the lecture, please." Sonny said. "The reason I'm telling you is because I need you to cover for me with Uncle Vic. I can't have Deimos find out we're going after him."

"And what are you going to do if you find him? Ask him nicely to come home to Salem with Nicole and the baby?" Justin asked.

Sonny rolled his eyes. "Thanks for sparing the lecture."

"Why the hell is it your job to rescue Nicole?"

"It is my job to stop Deimos." Sonny said. "It's an embarrassment to even share a last name with the guy."

"Do you have any idea what this could do to your mother?"

Sonny shook his head. "Don't try to guilt me right now."

"I'm not trying to guilt you." Justin insisted. "I'm trying to keep you from getting killed and that's exactly what could happen if Deimos finds out you're after him."

"Paul's a trained PI." Sonny argued.

"Oh, well, Deimos is a trained psychopath." Justin argued back.

"Sonny has a gun and he's not afraid to use it." Will replied simply. "We both do."

Justin turned to his son in shock. "Since when did you start walking around Salem locked and loaded?"

"Since Uncle Vic handed Titan over to a homicidal maniac." Sonny answered. "I have a permit."

"Oh, that makes everything peachy." Justin said sarcastically.

Sonny's cell phone rang. "Hi, what's up JJ? ... No we don't have time for that. Just meet us at the Titan jet." He hung up. "Well, looks like we're all going to Greece."

Gabi heard that last part and walked up to the men. They stood up.

"Hey guys." Gabi greeted.

Paul hugs her. "Hey Gabi. See you later. I have to get going."

"Tell Brady I will take care of everything." Sonny called after him.

Justin took a deep breath. He could try talking him out of it, but that wouldn't do any good. He is a grown man, after all. And he and Will are locked and loaded and the police are going with them, so it won't be too bad. "Sonny, be smart, be safe." He walks off.

Sonny turned to Gabi. "Hey what's wrong? You look really upset."

"I am upset." Gabi said. "My dad took the plea. He's going to be in prison for two years."

It took all of Will's willpower to not scoff and roll his eyes. 'Grow up, Gabi. You're lucky it's not two decades!'

"God I'm so sorry." Sonny replied.

"And Deimos, who thinks it's fun to poison people, is-is free as a bird." Gabi ranted. "I know my dad isn't completely innocent, but he set him up to take that fall."

"Maybe there's something we can do about that." Sonny supplied, helpfully. "Paul and I have been building a case against Deimos, okay? We think he's going after Nicole and Holly right now. He told Brady that he's going to go find them and bring them back to Salem."

"And you buy that?" Gabi asked, raising an eyebrow.

"No, I don't buy it, but I do believe he's going to go find them." Sonny admitted. "He's not going to bring them back here. If he does find them he's going to take off and we're never going to see Holly or Nicole ever again."

"And he's never going to pay for what he did." Gabi guessed.

"He is going to pay for what he did." Sonny said, determined. "And I'm really sorry, I'm not going to be around for the next couple of days because I'm going after him."

"Yeah I know. You're going to Greece, and I want to go with you." Gabi said.

"Gabi you can't, no." Sonny said.

"Why not?"

"I know you want to make Deimos pay, but Ari needs you. Absolutely not." Will spoke up.

"Then how come you're going?" Gabi asked Will.

"To back them up." Will said. "I'm licensed to carry a gun. Also, Sonny sort of promised me he'd take me with him on his next trip, so..."

Gabi just scoffed and shook her head. "What Ari needs is this feud between our families to stop."

"And it will stop without putting you in danger." Sonny said.

"Danger? You know I still have bruises from what Deimos did to me, from what his thugs did to me." Gabi said. "He took Chad and put us in a meat locker. We nearly froze to death. He kidnapped me and poisoned me, took Arianna's grandfather away. No, I'm never going to feel safe if that man is out there."

"I promise you Gabi, I will get him. I will make him pay." Sonny said.

"I want to see him go down with my own eyes." Gabi said angrily. Gabi sighed and calmed down. "Sonny, you have to promise that you're going to be careful, because I can't let another person I love be hurt by Deimos."

"We are going to be fine." Sonny promised. "Eli, JJ, Lani are all going too."

"Arianna needs you." Gabi said. "You're her dads. I need you to help raise our little girl."

"We will always be there for Ari and for you. You know that. Always." They hug. "That's all I can say right now cause it's an open FBI investigation. JJ will not let Deimos get away with this, not after what he did to you and Abigail. I feel exactly the same way. I will not stop until he is put away."

"Neither will I." Gabi said. Will nodded in agreement. She cleared her throat. "I'll bring Ari to the Pub later so you guys can say good-bye."

XX

Later, Will and Sonny walked through the square.

"Does it bother you that I have a gun?" Sonny asked.

Will shrugged. "Not really. As long as you know how to use it. It's just- it's really not like you."

Sonny turned to face him. "I know you feel this business has changed me, but everything will go back to normal as soon as we take down Deimos. And I know that you're worried about John and Brady, but I have the cops, I have the FBI ... they're all coming with me. So I'd understand if you wanted to hang back."

"Are you kidding me? I've already told you we're in this together always." Will replied.

Sonny's phone rang again. "Paul, hey."

"Hi. I just called to tell you that I can't go." Paul replied. "There's just too much going on with my dad and Brady. I can't leave Marlena."

"Okay. I understand." Sonny replied.

"I still want to be kept up to date, though." Paul replied.

"All right, I'll update you every hour and you can pitch in from home." Sonny suggested.

"I will definitely do that."

XX

Will and Sonny met with Gabi and Ari at the Pub. Ari bounded over to her dads. "Daddies!"

"Hey!" Will groaned playfully as he scooped Ari up. "How's my girl?"

"Good! Can we go get ice cream?" Ari asked.

"You can, but, your daddy and I are actually going on a trip." Sonny replied.

"Can I come?" Ari asked.

"I'm afraid not, sweetheart." Will said. "Maybe when you get a little bit older."

"But, tell you what, we are going to buy you a big birthday present while we're there." Sonny said. "How does that sound?"

"Okay." Ari said.

"That's my girl." Will said. He hugged Ari tight. "I love you, my sweet girl."

"I love you too, Da." Ari said. "Don't get lost like Mommy did."

They laughed. "I won't."

"And you'll be back for my birthday, right?" Ari asked.

"We will. I promise." Will said.

XXX

"So, you're going to Greece?"

Lucas and Will were in Will's bedroom. Will zipped up his suitcase. "Yep."

"So close to Ari's birthday? Really?" Lucas asked.

"We're flying back on the nineteenth." Will explained. "It's gonna be fine."

"What's in Greece?" Lucas asked.

"The Parthenon, Acropolis, Mount Olympus..." Will replied.

"So this is a vacation?" Lucas asked again.

"Yep." Will lied. He knew that if Lucas knew the real reason, he'd talk Will out of it.

"Oh."

"Are you planning any trips any time soon?" Will asked.

Lucas sighed deeply. "I can't really afford to. Deimos hacked Countess W and stole all our money."

Will furrowed his brow. "Dad, I don't think it was Deimos."

"What do you mean?"

"Sonny has been keeping a close eye on him." Will replied. "If Deimos hacked Countess W, Sonny would have known and he would have reported it."

Lucas shook his head and threw his arms out. "Well, then who did it?!"

"No idea." Will shook his head.

Lucas huffed and rubbed his eyes. "Well, whoever did it..."

"I know." Will said. "And thank you for watching the kids while we're gone."

"Of course." Lucas smiled. They hugged.

Will walked into the living room where Sonny was saying good bye to the twins. He knelt down in front of his babies. "Hey, guys. I'm sure your dad already told you that he and Da are going on a little trip. We're going to one of the most beautiful, romantic countries in the world. It's where Daddy Sonny's family is originally from. I can't wait to take you there when you're older. We're gonna take pictures and buy you gifts. Something to look forward to." He hugged the twins. "I love you guys. I'll see you in a few days."

XX

Will and Sonny headed to the airfeild. "You know, this would be the longest you've been away from the boys since they were kidnapped."

"Yeah." Will sighed. "But it's only for a few days, so, we'll be fine."

Sonny nodded. They pulled their suitcases to the stairs leading to the plane. The pilot met them. "Hey, Sonny."

"Hi, Lee." Sonny greeted. He handed his and Will's suicases to a worker, who put their suitcases in the cargo. "Are we ready for takeoff?"

"Yep. By the way, I like the new stewardess you hired." Lee said.

Sonny blinked in confusion. "I didn't hire a stewardess."

"Really? Hispanic, mid-twenties..." Lee said.

Sonny groaned. "Please tell me her name's not Gabi Hernandez."

"It is, actually." Lee replied. He noticed the men's exasperated expressions. "Is there a problem?"

"No, it's fine. Nothing we can't handle." Sonny replied. They boarded the plane. Sure enough, Gabi stood by the couch wearing a 1950's stewardess uniform holding a tray. "Gabi...what the hell?"

"I told you I wanted to see Deimos go down with my own eyes." Gabi replied. "Besides, you need a stewardess, right?"

Will sighed and threw his head back. "Oh, boy." He looked at Gabi. "Okay...if I promise to lift the injunction against your dad once he's out of prison, will you please get off the plane and go home?"

Gabi considered that. "Nope, sorry."

Sonny glanced at JJ, Lani, and Eli for help. Eli shrugged. "Sorry, man, but there really is no reason to kick her off the plane. I'll keep an eye on her, I promise."

Sonny sighed and gave in. "Okay. Fine. Good luck." He and Will sat in the armchairs on the opposite side of the plane. Gabi and Eli were on the couch and JJ and Lani sat in chairs facing each other on either side of the couch.

This is going to be an interesting trip.


	106. It's Only A Matter Of Time

Adrienne knocked on the door to the apartment above the pub. Lucas answered.

"Hi!" Adrienne greeted happily.

"Adrienne! Hey!" Lucas greeted. They hugged. "Welcome back."

"Oh, it's good to be back." Adrienne replied. "I come bearing gifts for Sonny, Will, and the kids. Are they here?"

"The kids are, but Will and Sonny are out of town." Lucas replied.

"Oh. Where'd they go?" Adrienne asked.

"Greece."

Adrienne gasped quietly. "Oh, how romantic! I remember my first trip to Greece. They'll have a lot of fun. But, um, I ran into Justin earlier. He said Sonny is on a business trip."

"Yeah. Sonny promised Will he'd take him along next time he went out of town for business, and, well..."

Adrienne nodded in understanding. "This is 'next time'."

Lucas smiled and nodded. "So, how was the camping trip?"

"It was nice and relaxing." Adrienne replied. "It was exactly what I needed."

"You know, I was thinking we could go on a camping trip with Sonny and Will since Sonny didn't go this time." Lucas said.

"Great idea!" Adrienne said approvingly. She then texted Sonny.

[i]"Hey, Lucas told me you and Will went to Greece. I just got back from the camping trip with gifts from your brothers. Have fun and send me pictures!"[/i]

XXX

Sonny woke up, stretched, and yawned. The early morning sun was streaming from the windows of the airplane. Will slept with his face against the window, JJ slept with his legs sprawled and his head tilted to one side. A line of drool hung from his mouth to his lap. Lani slept sitting straight up with her head on her shoulder. Gabi and Eli sat with their backs against each other. The plane suddenly hit a pocket of turbulence, shaking everyone awake.

Eli, only half-awake tried to stand up, but his seatbelt kept him down. He pretended to wave a gun around. "FBI. Lemme see your hands."

Gabi, a little disoriented, raised her hands and looked around. She laughed softly when she realized Eli half-sleep talked.

Lani groaned and rubbed her neck. She noticed JJ with drool running down his chin. "Uh, JJ?" She pointed to his chin and rubbed her own.

JJ got the hint and rubbed his chin furiously, blushing a deep red. "Nobody saw that."

Will stretched and groaned. "Well, that was the best night's sleep I ever had."

Sonny cleared his throat and stood up. "All right, what does everyone want for breakfast? We got muffins and I can cook eggs, pancakes, French Toast, or waffles."

"I'll have a muffin and coffee, two sugars and one cream." Lani said.

"French Toast and orange juice for me." JJ said.

"Pancakes and coffee for me." Gabi said.

"I'll have what she's having." Eli said. He chuckled at his own joke.

"I'll have French toast and apple juice." Will said, turning on his phone. Sonny raised an eyebrow at him expectantly. Will got the message. "Oh! You know what? I'll help you."

"That would be great. Thank you." Sonny replied. They headed to the mini-kitchen and prepared everyone's breakfast. After everyone finished eating, Will and Sonny cleared everyone's plates and cleaned up the kitchen. "All right, we land in less than ninety minutes. So, if you wanna shower, do it now."

JJ stood up and walked over to Lani. "Join me?"

Lani smiled and took his hand. "I thought you'd never ask."

Will smirked. "Don't be too loud in there, guys."

JJ scoffed and turned around. "Dude, I got one word for you: Bicentennial."

"Ohhhhh, he got you there, Will." Gabi said. She laughed as Will blushed.

"What's up with that?" Eli asked.

"JJ and I walked in on Will and Sonny doing it in one of the rooms at the Martin mansion where the Bicentennial was being held." Gabi explained.

Eli laughed, then studied their expressions. "Y'all serious?"

"Unfortuneately." Will nodded.

XXX

Paul stood outside Brady's hospital room. John was in with him. Brady was awake, but fading. Derrick walked up next to him. "Hey."

"Hi."

"Have you gone in yet?" Derrick asked.

"Not yet." Paul replied. "I don't want to tire him out too much."

Brady and John saw Paul and Derrick through the window. John smiled and jerked his head slightly, gesturing the men to come in. Paul took Derrick's hand and pulled him with him.

"Hey, baby brother." Brady greeted, weakly.

"Hi." Paul said softly. "How are you feeling?" He scoffed to himself. "Dumb question. I'm sorry."

Brady chuckled slightly. "It's fine. I'm...I'm hanging in there."

"That's good." Paul replied. He didn't want to think about it, but...

"Hey...make sure Tate doesn't join the Boston Red Sox team." Brady half-joked.

Paul laughed softly. "I definitely will."

Brady nodded, then turned to Derrick. "Take good care of my brother. You hurt him, I will haunt your ass."

They laughed.

"I promise I will not hurt him." Derrick replied.

Brady sighed deeply. "Paul, um...I'm glad Dad and Marlena have you in their life. I wasn't the best son to them as I should have been. And I wasn't the best brother to Eric or Sami or Belle...or you."

"Don't be so hard on yourself. You were awesome." Paul said.

Brady chuckled softly. "Thanks."

Marlena entered, holding her cell phone. "Hi. I have Belle on FaceTime if you're up for it."

"Of course." Brady replied. Marlena sat at Brady's side and aimed her phone at him. "Hey, Tink."

"Hey." Belle greeted, slightly choked up. "Sorry I can't be there. All the flights are booked."

"It's okay. I'm just glad I got to see you somehow." Brady smiled.

XXX

Once they landed in Athens, they started strategizing. Sonny got texts from both his parents.

"Okay, my dad set up a meeting with the judge. Will and I will head out and see if anyone recognizes Deimos." Sonny replied.

"All right." Eli nodded. "Lani, JJ, and I will work on cutting through the red tape from here."

"Sounds like a plan." Sonny replied. "We'll keep in touch."

The two headed to customs at the airport.

"Welcome to Athens. Is this your first time?"

"I've actually been here before. My family is from Nafplio." Sonny replied. "I'm Sonny Kiriakis, this is my husband Will."

"Kiriakis. As in Victor Kiriakis?" The agent asked.

"Yep. He's my great-uncle." Sonny nodded, also a little wary.

"Ah. Is he well?" The agent asked.

"Very. Thanks."

"Good."

"Anyway, we're here looking for my great-uncle Deimos. Have you met him?" Sonny asked. "Brown hair, brown eyes, early fifties, just over six feet tall, and has a hooked nose?"

The agent stroked his chin thoughtfully. "Yes, I have. He came here yesterday."

"Did he tell you where he was going?"

"No. I would ask the valet at the entrance."

"Okay. Ef charisto." Sonny replied. They headed for the entrance. The valet wasn't that helpful, either. They rented a car and started driving towards the city. Will looked around in awe at the landscape, then the city. They parked in front of a hotel and got out and walked around.

XXX

Will sat at a table at the Cafe Athena. He got a text from Marlena asking for Sami's number. He texted Sami and told her about Brady. She texted him back and told him to send a video of her saying goodbye to Brady. Will sent it along to Marlena. Sonny sat in front of him. "So, were we being followed?"

"Well, I couldn't get a good look through the crowds, but someone is definitely on our tail." Sonny replied. They heard footsteps approaching and looked up to see Gabi. Sonny sighed in frustration. "You've got to be kidding me!"

Will stood up. "What the hell are you doing here?"

"What- did you really think I was just gonna hang out on the plane while you two look for Deimos?" Gabi asked.

"You shouldn't have been in the plane in the first place, Gabi." Will said.

"Which is why I had to stow away." Gabi replied.

"This is dangerous, Gabi." Sonny said.

"You need to be thinking about Arianna." Will said.

"No, don't you bring our daughter into this." Gabi snapped.

"How could I not?" Will asked. "What if something happens to you? Deimos already tortured you. More than once. He doesn't care that you're alive or dead. We can't both be in danger. Ari can't lose both of us."

"Will, I have proven that I'm a survivor." Gabi said calmly.

"Okay, look, look, look, arguing about this is not gonna help anything." Sonny jumped in.

"I appreciate your concern," Gabi said. "and I understand what you're saying, but the sooner you understand that I'm going with you, the sooner we can get moving. Actually, we should get moving." Gabi turned around and saw Chad. "Chad."

"Gabi?" Chad said, confused. He looked at Will and Sonny. "What are you guys doing here? Please don't tell me you guys followed me here."

"We're after Deimos, actually." Sonny replied.

Chad raised his eyebrows. "He's in Greece?"

"We believe so." Will replied.

"Xander kidnapped Nicole, brought her here and the baby." Sonny explained. "Deimos is so desperate to get her back ever since she left Salem with Brady."

"And Sonny believes that if Deimos finds her first, he's going to re-kidnap her and the baby and take them to God only knows where." Will added. "Somewhere totally untraceable."

"So then, how do you plan to find them?" Chad asked.

"JJ, Lani, and Eli are in on this, too." Sonny replied. "Connecting with Interpol and the Greek police."

Chad sighed. "Unbelievable. So, if he slips up? What then?"

"I have a meeting with a judge that my dad set up." Sonny replied. "Fortunately, Deimos' reputation preceeds him, and the judge hates his guts. So I wanna use him to cut through some of the red tape so we can bring Deimos back to Salem."

"With his next stop, prison." Will nodded.

Chad turned towards Gabi. "How about you? You just along for the ride?"

"No, she actually just stowed away on the airplane." Sonny replied.

"Look, after everything Deimos has done to you," She looked at Sonny, then Chad. "and you, and to me, to Abby, and to my father, I have a stake in this, too."

"But, we think it'd be safer if you went back to the plane for now." Will said to Gabi.

"Yeah, well, I'm not gonna let that happen." Gabi replied.

Sonny and Will folded their arms. "Look, I realize that I can't make you do anything, but I do not have time to babysit, Gabi."

"Does it look like I need a babysitter?" Gabi asked.

"She's proved that she can take care of herself." Chad pointed out in Gabi's defense.

"Thank you for the support, Chad." Will said sarcastically.

Sonny's cell phone rang. "Okay, I am going to take this while you guys duke it out. Hey, Eli, what do you got? ... Thanks, we'll get right on that. ... Yes, we have, actually. She tracked us down and she's here with us right now. ..." He chuckled. "Will do. Will's trying to convince her to go back to the plane now. ... Yeah, she's not budging. ... Don't worry. If she doesn't want to go, we'll just leave her here with Chad." He hung up, turned to Chad, and folded his arms. "You gonna tell us what you're doing here?"

"Here on business." Chad replied, slightly nervous.

"Yeah?" Sonny asked, raising an eyebrow. "What kind of business?"

"Can't talk about it." Chad replied. "But it will help with your assault on your uncle."

"Really?" Sonny asked in disbelief. "How?"

"I just said I can't talk about it." Chad replied. "But, let's just say that it will hit him below the belt."

"The money belt?" Sonny asked. "So, if you destroy him financially, and if we can prove that he came here to kidnap Nicole..."

"It should give us enough ammuntion to put him away." Chad finished. "This time, permanently."

"And kick him out of my family." Sonny replied. He cleared his throat. "Anyway, I just got off the phone with Eli, and he said that we have a lead on Deimos. I'm gonna check it out." His phone rang again. "Aw, crap. It's the judge." He answered his phone. "Hello, this is Sonny Kiriakis. ... Yes, sir, I'm on my way. ... Bye." He hung up and sighed. "The judge has thirty minutes right now and it's less than a mile away."

"Okay, how about we split up?" Will suggested. "I'll spy on Deimos and you go meet with the judge."

Sonny was hesitant. "Will, I don't know."

"Sonny, I'll be fine. I'm pretty stealthy." Will assured him.

"Okay. He's staying at the Hotel Athens, room 626. Be very careful." Sonny said. They kissed. Sonny walked off.

"So, I'm gonna go. Stay here and stay out of trouble. I mean it." Will said to Gabi and walked off.

XXX

Will stood on the balcony of the building across the street from the hotel. He could see Deimos' hotel room from there. He got out binoculars and started looking. A few minutes later, Sonny entered the the balcony.

"Got a read on him?" Sonny asked.

"Oh, yeah. I'm pretty good at this whole spying thing." Will replied, proudly. "You can thank both my parents." Sonny chuckled. "What about you? Any luck with the judge?"

"The local authorities hate certain members of my family as much as I thought they would." Sonny replied. "Once this is over, they'll happily take control of Xander here, and they love the idea of exiling Deimos back to the United States for good."

"Eh, well, not that we want him, either." Will commented and looked through his binnoculars again.

"Anything worthwhile?"

"Well, the drapes are open, but the sheers are making it impossible to see in there." Will replied.

Sonny smirked. "Maybe we should sneak in and hide in his closet."

"Haha." Will rolled his eyes and gave the binnoculars to Sonny, who looked through them.

"Oh, yeah, you can't make out much." Sonny said.

"Just give it a sec." Will advised.

Sonny saw some movement. "Oh, there he is. He's on a call. If only we knew who he was talking to." He gave the binnoculars back to Will and texted Eli. "All right, everyone's in the loop now."

"So they know we have jurisdiction and can move forward?" Will asked.

"Thanks to my dad's contact, yes." Sonny replied. "Let me know the minute Deimos is on the move."

"Yep. Hey, be safe."

"You, too." They kiss and Sonny walked off. He arranged for Gabi to catch a commercial flight home, but Gabi missed it and spent time with Chad, instead.

XX

The next morning, Will and Sonny returned to the balcony. Sonny played on his phone while Will spied on Deimos.

Will had his camera phone ready. "Turn around for me. Turn...around, you son of a bitch." He snaps pictures. "There we go. I think I got some good ones. Uncle Eric would be proud. Paul, too, I guess."

"All right. Text those photos to JJ."

"Got it." Will texted JJ then called him.

"Hey, Will. What's up?"

"Hey I'm sending over some photos of a guy who's meeting with Deimos. I was hoping that we could get an ID." Will replied.

"Great. Eli'll run it through the FBI database, see what we can find, then I'll have Paul dig up something on him you can use." JJ replied.

"Thanks JJ." Will replied. He hung up.

"You think they'll come up with anything?" Sonny asked.

"Let's hope so. We are going to need some solid leads if we are going to nail Deimos." Will replied.

A few minutes later, JJ called Sonny. "We got our guy? Fantastic. ..."

Will saw the guy leave. "Sonny, he's on the move."

Sonny nodded. "Alright, thanks, JJ, I've got to go. ... No time for that." He hung up.

"So, what's the plan?" Will asked. His phone buzzed with a text message from Paul.

[i]"Hey. So, it looks like Guy's wife and kids have no idea the kind of man he is."[/i]

Will smiled mischeviously. [i]"Thanks. This is good information."[/i]

XX

Will sat on a bench holding a map of Athens. Guy walks by, and Will stood up. "Excuse me, do you speak English? I was looking for a bar close by." Guy looks at the map. "I don't know if the bar is in the hotel..."

Sonny sneaks up behind and grabs Guy. "Guy Mantzoukas. We know you work for Deimos Kiriakis. Tell us what he's up to."

Guy scoffed. "Or what?"

"Or I will personally track your wife and kids down-"

"You leave them out of this!" Guy demanded.

"...And tell them what you've been up to these past few years." Will continued. He held up his phone to show that he dialed his wife's personal cell phone number, but didn't press the talk button. "Your choice, pal."

Sonny handcuffed Guy behind his back. "We can do this the easy way or the fun way."

"Can you imagine the utter shock, horror, and hurt on your wife's face when she hears that she married and had kids with a criminal?" Will asked. "And your son...he worships you, doesn't he? You're his hero or something. That's gonna be a huge blow to him."

Guy remained silent. Sonny slammed him against a wall. "Talk, you son of a bitch!"

JJ entered the balcony and pulled Sonny away. "Sonny, stop."

"These guys jumped me, they should be locked up!" Guy ranted.

"Oh yeah." JJ flashes his badge "... I could say the same thing for you." He grabs him. "When I'm done with you, you're going to wish I'd left you with these two thugs. Let's go." They leave.

Will sighed. "I'm glad JJ got here when he did. That could have gone south real fast."

Sonny scoffed. "Oh come on, we were doing just fine on our own. We are finally making progress here. If JJ gets that guy to talk then adios Deimos."

"Or...how do you say that in Greek?" Will asked.

"Antio." Sonny replied.

"Antio, right." Will said.

"Everything will finally fall in my lap and I will take over Titan. I will take control." Sonny declared.

"Yeah I know how much you want that." Will said.

"I want it more than anything." Sonny replied. He rubbed Will's back. "Except you and the kids." They kiss.

XXX

"I think he's packed." Sonny was still at the balcony and looking through his binoculars. "He should be leaving soon."

"Great and we know where he's headed." Will said.

Sonny nodded. "To get Nicole."

"And we're going to follow him." Will said.

"Yeah and we're going to take him the minute we see Nicole and the baby." Sonny loads his gun.

Will was slightly freaked out. "Sonny, we are going to grab him and hold him for the Greek police, that's it."

"Right, of course." Sonny said offhandishly.

"The authorities promised that they'd honour any requests for extradition, and Eli says that if Nicole confirms that Deimos was involved, he'll file kidnapping charges ASAP." Will recounted.

Sonny nodded. "And then that bastard is no longer head of Titan, I am." Will stared at him in exasperation. "What?"

"You need to gut check your motives, dude." Will replied.

"My motives have been clear from the start. Why shouldn't I take over Titan? Deimos has to go. End of story." Sonny insisted.

"Well, yeah, but-"

"He gets arrested for kidnapping, you're looking at the heir apparent. It'll be my time and not a moment too soon, because that son of a bitch has wrecked Titan and my family." Sonny continued.

"I'm not trying to defend him, Sonny." Will said calmly. "Yes, he's evil. I hope that he gets caught and he's put away for life. But what I am worried about is you, that this job is going to change you."

"Oh, like I'm going to wind up like Deimos. I'll be a younger version of Mr. Evil." Sonny rolled his eyes. "Come on, Will, when this job is handed to me it's going to be stressful. I'm going to have to make decisions every 10 minutes, but I'm good with that. I will stay who I am, who I was raised to be. I will never change."

"Well, I hope not." Will said. "But, I'm with you til the end."

"Thank you. Now let's get this bastard." Sonny checks on Deimos with the binoculars.

After almost an hour, Sonny handed the binoculars over. "Hey Will, would you mind watching Deimos for a while?" His cell phone rings. "Hey JJ what's happening? ... I knew it! There's no way Xander and Deimos just happened to be in Manitoba at the same time. I'll be right there." He tapped Will. "The thug just gave up Deimos. Xander is working for him."

Will smiled and pumped his fist. "Yes! We're going to get them both."

"This is perfect."

"All right, you get the local cops up to speed, arrange for backup. I'm going to keep an eye on Deimos." Will said.

Sonny nodded. "I'll see you soon."

"Listen Sonny, I know how bad you want this, okay? But you need to remember who we're dealing with. This is Deimos, and if he is cornered he's going to be twice as dangerous." Will warned.

"I got it. You be careful too."

XXX

Meanwhile, back in Salem, Paul met up with John at the hospital. "Hey, Dad. So, did you finally finish that assignment you were working on?"

"No, not yet." John sighed. "Listen, I want you to prepare yourself for some bad news."

"Brady?" Paul guessed.

"Correct. No matter what the doctor's are doing, his body is rejecting Daniel's heart." John said.

Paul sighed. "Oh man."

"He's losing the fight, son. It's just a matter of time." John said sadly.

Paul nodded and hugged his father. "I'm sorry."

XXX

Will still watched Deimos' hotel room window. His phone rang. He pulled it out, but then was knocked out cold.


	107. Victory

Sonny reentered the plane. JJ turned around. "Hey man, are we all set?"

"Our Greek backup ready to move?" Lani asked.

"Yeah I just spoke to them. They're on their way." Sonny replied, smiling.

"Great. Hope and Eli are..." Lani's voice trailed off when she noticed Sonny was looking at his phone worriedly. "Sonny, is there something wrong?"

"Will's not answering." Sonny said.

"Maybe he put it on silent." JJ suggested.

"No, it's always on vibrate so I can reach him. Something's wrong. I have to go back there." He headed for the door. "Do not leave without me."

JJ stared after his cousin in irritation. He scoffed. "Control freak."

XX

Sonny ran back to the balcony. Will groaned and rubbed his head as he sat up.

"Will! Will, Will, Will. Are you alright? Hey come here." Sonny ran to help him up and dragged him to the bench. "Come sit down. What happened?"

"I don't know." Will replied. "I was watching Deimos and someone hit me from the back."

"Let me see it." Sonny turned Will's head towards him. There was a deep gash on the back of his head. "Ooh. You need stitches. Come on." He stood up and helped Will up. "Let's get you to a hospital."

XX

After dropping Will off at the hospital, Sonny called JJ. "Deimos left the hotel. We don't know how long ago."

"Why? What happened?"

"Someone cold cocked Will from behind and left him for dead." Sonny explained. "He's fine, but he needs stitches."

"Okay. We'll be at the villa."

"JJ, I'm still coming."

"So you're just gonna leave your husband at a hospital in a foreign country?" JJ asked astonished.

Sonny bit his lip. He had a point there. Will noticed his conflict and sighed. "It's fine, Sonny. You can go. I know how much you want to see Deimos in handcuffs."

"Are you sure?" Sonny asked.

"Yes. I'm a big boy. I can take care of myself." Will grinned.

Sonny smiled and kissed him. "I'll pick you up as soon as we're done."

XXX

A few hours later, Will was done. He signed his release and headed to the cafe. Sonny walked towards him with a takeout bag.

"Hey. I'm really sorry I wasn't with you at the hospital." Sonny said.

"You had more important things to do like bringing down Xander and Deimos." Will said, waving him off.

"I guess I'm only sorry that Nicole and Eric got away with the baby." Sonny replied. "But seeing Deimos hauled away in handcuffs was just so satisfying."

"That's probably an understatement, I'm sure." Will said, smiling.

"And the other satisfying thing is I talked to my Uncle Vic and he's going to support my bid to be the CEO of Titan." Sonny replied, smiling back.

"Sonny that is great!" Will exclaimed.

"I have never felt so confident in my entire life. I will put Titan on the map like none of my predecessors ever could. It is time that this company and these people see what true leadership really is." Sonny declared.

"Whoa, honey, I know you're excited, but geez. Take it down a notch." Will said. "You're starting to sound like me when I was working for Sonix."

Sonny scoffed lightly and shook his head. "I have never been more passionate about anything in my entire life, Will. I can't show a hint of weakness to my family."

Will nodded. "Okay. So your new leadership style, what's the game plan when you take over?"

"First I have to fire everyone that Deimos hired."

"Wait, what? Why?" Will asked, shocked.

"I have to show strength, right?"

"What about the employees that are doing fine?"

"Anyone's expendable."

"Even the woman who heads your internet security?" Will asked. "You told me a dozen times how much she impressed you. Doesn't she have a mother with dementia and a son who's in his 3rd year at Stanford?"

"I will give her a great referral letter." Sonny insisted.

Will scoffed. "And a pink slip. It's a brutal market place out there, Sonny."

"So it will be easy to replace her." Sonny shrugged. "I can't have anyone with ties to Deimos in my company. Why would I want those people there? He obviously poisoned them against me."

"Yeah, maybe, but, it's so unlike you to fire people who may have no real loyalty to Deimos, decent people who have worked hard for Titan and whose only mistake was not to be hired by you." Will said. "It's drastic."

"No, it's not." Sonny argued. "It's leadership, Will. And it's time my family sees what that is."

Will took a deep breath and nodded. "Okay. What if those people you will fire have no loyalty to Deimos at all? What if they sue you for wrongful termination?"

Sonny sighed. "We'll cross that bridge when we get to it. Hey...we still have a few hours before our plane leaves. Would you want to go to the Parthenon? Or the Acropolis?"

"Hell yeah." Will grinned.

"All right! Let's go."

They ended up going to the Parthenon. A helpful tourist took a picture of Will and Sonny in front of the Parthenon, hugging each other and smiling for the camera. Then they headed back to the plane.

XXX

"Will, are you sure you're up for the flight?" Lani asked.

Will nodded. "Definitely, I feel fine."

Sonny entered the cabin. "All right, guys, there's food in the galley. You can get into it once we're up in the air."

"Thanks."

"The pilot said wee should be clear for takeoff in about 20 minutes." Sonny continued.

Gabi walks into the cabin.

"What are you doing here?" JJ asked.

"I was hoping there was still some room with you guys." Gabi said.

"Yeah there's plenty of room but what about Chad?" JJ asked.

"Well, it just felt a little uncomfortable, just the two of us alone on the flight. Coffee, tea, me?" She half-joked and sat down.

Sonny walked back to the cabin. "Okay, we've been cleared for takeoff. Everyone buckle up." Chad shows up. "Chad, we're just getting ready to leave."

"Glad I made it in time." Chad said.

"What's going on? Did something happen with Deimos?" JJ asked.

"No, the plane's engine malfunctioned." Chad replied. "Do you guys mind if I hitch a ride?"

Sonny shook his head. "Welcome aboard."

Chad sits across from Gabi and the two started arguing under their breaths.

"We're cleared for takeoff. Everyone have a great flight." The pilot said.

XX

A couple hours into the flight, the plane jerked sideways. Everyone cried out in alarm.

"What the hell was that?!" Lani asked.

"I'll go ask." Sonny went to the cockpit. The pilot lay dead in his chair with his hand over his heart. Sonny took a deep breath, swallowed, and went back into the cabin. "The pilot just had a heart attack. He's dead."

"What?!" Everyone asked in alarm.

"I don't want to panic anybody, but who's flying this thing?!" Gabi asked.

"I will. I took a few flying lessons." Sonny replied. He headed back to the cockpit.

Will followed. "You sure you can fly this thing?"

"Not really." Sonny admitted. He pushed the dead pilot off the chair and took control of the wheel. "Okay, I spot an island we can land on." He noticed the fuel gauge. "Aw, crap, we're losing fuel!"

Will sighed and ran back into the cabin. "Sonny doesn't want to alarm anyone but he wanted to let you guys know that we are losing fuel."

JJ looks out "The fuel's streaming out of the wing."

"He's going to try and glide it in for an emergency landing. He's just looking for a place large enough and flat enough for us to land." Will said. He hurried to the couch and buckled his seatbelt.

Gabi started to panic. "We're gonna die!"

"Stay positive!" JJ said.

"We're gonna die quickly!" Gabi exclaimed.

"Come on guys, planes were made to glide and Sonny's as good a pilot as Sully Sullivan." JJ said.

"Everyone, put your knees together, hands behind your head, and keep your head down like this!" Eli instructed. They all assumed the crash position.

"You still don't think that thing is cursed?" Gabi asked Chad.

"I found a place to land. It's coming up quick." Sonny's voice came over the PA. "It's not perfect, so we'll bounce hard when we land. Guys, I'm doing this. Here we go. Positions everyone."

Gabi prayed silently. Everyone is in position. The plane bounced hard, then crashed to the ground.


	108. Stranded

Everyone groaned and sat back up.

"Everyone okay?" Eli asked.

"Yeah." Everyone muttered. Smoke was starting to fill the cabin.

Will stumbled towards the cockpit. "Sonny?"

Sonny gripped the wheel tightly, his eyes wide open, teeth clenched, and his whole body shaking slightly. Will ran over to him and cupped his face in his hands. "Sonny. Hey."

Sonny snapped out of his trance and took deep breaths and coughed because of the smoke. "Is everyone...?"

"Yeah, we're all okay." They looked towards the dead pilot. "Well, most of us."

Sonny stood up and hugged Will. Then, the engine exploded. The husbands ducked to the ground to avoid flying glass.

"Will! Sonny!" Will and Sonny stood up and stumbled from the cockpit and nearly ran into Eli. "You guys okay? What happened?"

"The engine caught fire." Will replied.

Eli nodded. "Okay. Grab what you can and head out."

XXX

JJ lead the group to a clearing. "I really wish I could have seen the look on Deimos' face when they brought him in."

Lani followed, flashlight in hand, looking around. "Maybe Hope will send us some photos."

"Where are we? What is this place?" Gabi asked, limping slightly.

"I don't know but I don't think there's a resort nearby." Eli replied. "This place is desolate."

Will sighed and held up the takeout bag. "I'm really glad we grabbed those snacks at the Café before we left. We are going to definitely need them."

"Where's Sonny?" Chad asked. Sonny appeared next to him.

"I'm all battered and bruised but I think after that crash landing we're all lucky to be alive." Sonny pulled out his cell phone.

"Don't bother, I already tried." Lani said.

"I had a feeling." Will said.

"So does anybody know where we are?" JJ asked.

"I checked the instruments just before we crashed." Sonny said. "We hadn't been out of Athens for more than a couple of hours, so I'm pretty sure we're on a island in the Mediterranean or the Aegean or the Ionian Sea. I don't know. I was so far off course looking for a landing place I don't know where we are. There's so many of these islands scattered all over the place and they're too small to be noticed."

"You did get out a Mayday signal before we starting falling, right?" JJ asked.

Sonny shook his head. "I didn't have contact with anyone before we crashed."

Gabi started panicking again. "Wait, you're saying no one even knows we crashed let alone where we are?"

"Hope is going to figure it out when we don't show up in Salem in the next day or two." Will assured her.

"A day or two days?" Gabi asked. "That's...are you serious?"

"Even if Hope does notice, she won't know where to find us." Eli said.

"We'll be out of here in no time." Chad said optimistically.

Sonny drops a bag on the sand. "Always good to have a backup plan."

Will helped Sonny look through the bag. "You never know when you're going to be stranded on a desert island."

"Well I had a feeling something might go wrong." Gabi said, glaring at Chad.

"Hey Gabi, the fact that the survival kit is still intact means something went right." Sonny said.

Will nodded in agreement. "With everything that's here we should be good for about a week."

"A week longer than I hoped." JJ said, sighing.

"Alright, what have we got?" Lani asked.

"We've got fire starters, food bars, water pouches, rechargeable flashlight, and waterproof matches which reminds me we've got to get some wood to start a fire." Sonny said.

"Well, I... guess I can do that." Lani said. She started heading into the woods.

"You're not going out there alone, I'm going with you." JJ said. He followed her.

"Make sure you leave a trail so you can find your way back." Sonny called after them. He pulled out the water pouches. "If we conserve this, especially the water pouches we're going to be fine, we're going to make it."

"Could you at least pretend that you're not enjoying yourself out here?" Will asked, grinning.

"I'm just used to it. I know this is hell for the rest of you, but for me this is a typical vacation." Sonny shrugged.

Will laughed softly. "Yeah I remember you telling me that...uh, Survivalist Adventures, right?"

"Don't tell me you're one of those guys who like roughing it on purpose." Eli raised an eyebrow at Sonny. "Never got that."

"Me either. I'm a Glamper myself." Will said. Eli was confused. "That's a camper who camps with the luxary of technology."

"Does that mean you're not going to come with me when I backpack through Peru this fall?" Sonny asked Will.

"Sure, if you promise not to fly this time." Will said teasingly. Sonny gasped and slugged Will playfully, causing him to laugh.

"Yeah, well, we may still be on this island in the fall if we don't get rescued." Gabi said pessimistically.

"Maybe stop freaking out." Chad said to Gabi.

"Don't tell me what to do." Gabi said angrily. She takes off. Eli gets up to follow but Chad goes.

"Alright maybe we should empty out these bags and see how much we really do have and how long it will last." Eli said.

"I'm really looking forward to seeing the look on Deimos' face when that cell clangs shut behind him." Sonny said. "I wish I could get hold of Hope, have her take pictures for me."

"Wait, isn't there a satellite phone on the plane?" Eli asked.

"There should be." Will said.

"I don't remember seeing it." Sonny said.

"We were all in such a hurry. I'm going to go back and see if it survived the crash." Will said. He started heading towards the plane.

Sonny followed. "Will, Will, Will, Will, Will, why don't you wait until morning when it's light out?"

"I'll be fine. If we can get hold of someone tonight, we might be off this island by tomorrow." Will said. Eli handed him a flashlight. "Thanks, cuz."

Will ran back to the plane. The smoke had subsided, but not completely. He climbed back into the cockpit. He tried not to look at the dead pilot. The dashboard was a charred mess. He picked up the radio and tried to turn it on, but it was dead. He spotted the sat phone, grabbed it, and ran off.

Sonny stared in the direction Will headed. Eli noticed. "Hey, he's gonna be all right, man."

"It should have been me." Sonny lamented. "I'm the one who crashed into that rock. If I hadn't..."

"I found it." Will said as he ran back to the group.

"Hey, it took you long enough." Sonny said.

"Is that the satellite phone?" Chad asked.

"We should call Hope." Lani suggested. "Did you try it?"

"That thing probably doesn't even work." Gabi said.

"No, it doesn't. It got damaged when we hit that boulder." Will replied.

"What about the cockpit radio?" JJ asked.

"It's just a tangled mess of charred wires." Will said, shrugging.

Eli reached for the phone. "Can I?"

Will handed it over. "Be my guest."

"Have you got a screwdriver in that survival kit?" Eli asked.

"Yes. There it is, right on top." Sonny replied. He sighed and steps away.

Will joins him. "I'm sorry about the phone."

"Don't worry about the phone. I'm just glad that you got back in one piece." Sonny said.

"You weren't worried about me, were you?" Will asked, grinning. "Sonny, we just survived a crash landing- going back for a phone, that's a piece of cake. But sleeping on cardboard boxes, that's going to be a problem."

"I really messed up." Sonny lamented. "If I hadn't hit the rock the engine wouldn't have caught fire and we'd be inside the plane right now."

"You did the best that you could." Will put his hands on Sonny's shoulders. "Stop worrying about all the bad things that happened and just try to laugh at the irony of all this."

"Which is?"

"Victor just handed you the keys to the kingdom, and you're in the one place where all your power and money are useless." Will said.

Chad walks up "Power? Since when?"

"Since today actually." Sonny announced. "I'm going to be the CEO of Titan."

Chad raised his eyebrows. "Wow, so you and I are going to be full on rivals."

"I can handle it. Can you?" Sonny asked.

Chad laughed softly. "Hell yeah, I can."

XX

Chad walked over to Gabi and handed her a water bottle. "Thought maybe this would help with your mood."

Gabi glared at him and stood up. "You wanna know what's gonna help with my mood? Really? Is you getting rid of that amulet."

"What are you talking about?" JJ asked.

"Did you say amulet?" Sonny asked.

Gabi nodded. "Yes."

Chad raised his hand to silence her. "Shh. You're being ridiculous."

"No, I'm not." Gabi continued. "Was the fuel leak in sonny's plane ridiculous? Was us landing on a deserted island ridiculous? No. That thing is cursed."

"Cursed amulet?" Eli asked in disbelief.

"This is crazy." Chad said, shaking his head.

"No. You just don't wanna get rid of it because it's worth $20 million." Gabi said accusingly.

"Did you say $20 million?" Sonny asked, astonished.

Chad sighed in frustration. "I should never have told you about it."

"And it's not just what's happened here. No, your plane malfunctioned, too, and your hotel room was burglarized, and also all of the personal things that have been happening in your life." Gabi said.

"End of discussion." Chad whispers and walked off.

"I hate the outdoors. I don't mind chasing bad guys, but I cannot sleep if I don't take a shower." Lani ranted. They all sat in a circle around a small fire.

"Running water. Ha. Sounds like such a luxury right now, doesn't it?" Will asked.

"I just can't wait to get home, go down to the police station, and make sure that Deimos is very comfortable in his new cell." Sonny said, smiling.

"Something I, for one, cannot wait to see." JJ said nodding.

Will raised his water bottle. "We should make a toast to Salem PD's latest coup."

"To the demise of Deimos Kiriakis." Sonny raised his water bottle.

Will's face fell as he realized something. He cleared his throat. "Speaking of demise...earlier today, my grandma told me that Brady won't make it through the night. He probably died by now."

Silence fell on the group. "Oh, yeah." Sonny whispered. He took a deep breath. "You know, I remember when I came out to him. He was suprised at first, then you know what he said?"

"What?" Will asked.

"'Well, at least I have one family member I won't have to compete with for another girl'." Sonny replied. Everyone laughed.

"He was good at cheering me up." Will said.

"I remember running into Brady during my drug-dealing days." JJ nodded. "He was there to deal drugs himself, but when he saw me, he told my mom what I was doing."

"I thought he was going to be my brother-in-law at one point." Gabi said. "He still checked up on me every once in a while, and...he didn't hold me responsible for his fiancee's death."

"Wait, what?" Eli asked.

"Don't ask." Chad replied. He sighed. "Even though we were enemies for some reason...he helped me look for Melanie when she was kidnapped."

"I didn't know Brady too well, but, from what I could see, he was a great dad to his little boy." Lani replied.

"I knew him even less, but...he sounds like a good guy." Eli said.

"His poor family." Lani nodded solemnly.

"Well...at least he's in a better place." Sonny said. "Reunited with his mom, Bo, Daniel, Zack..."

"Two of his fiancees." Will added.

"You know...we should share these stories with Tate when he's older." Gabi suggested. "Keep him alive."

"Yeah, that sounds like a good idea." Will replied.

"Mm-hm." Sonny said, nodding. He stood. "Well, it's getting late. I'll go back and see if the blankets can be used."

"Oh, I'll come with." Will said.

A few minutes later, Sonny and Will returned with blankets in hand.

"Hey, everyone, gather around." Sonny announced. Everyone except Chad turned to him. "Since the cabin was ruined by smoke..."

"We get to sleep under the stars." Will finished.

"Sounds like a plan." Lani said.

"Well, unfortunately, there's a blanket shortage, so a few of us are gonna have to share." Sonny said.

"I think we can handle that." JJ grinned as he took a blanket.

Chad ran up to the group. "Oh, what'd I miss?"

Sonny grinned and handed a blanket to him. "Good luck."

The couples all shared blankets. Eli got his own. They cuddled each other. Sonny spooned Will. "Comfortable?" He whispered.

"As can be expected, yeah." Will whispered back. "Well...we got our camping trip."

Sonny laughed softly. "Yeah."


	109. Survival Of The Fittest

Will yawned and stretched. He groaned as he rolled onto his back and felt the hard ground. He opened his eyes and saw bright, blue sky with some clouds. He sat up and looked around. Everyone was still asleep except for Chad, who seemed to have wandered off.

Sonny woke up and turned to Will. "Morning."

"Morning."

"Did you sleep well?" Sonny asked.

"Yeah. Surprisingly." Will replied.

"Hey, let me check your stitches." Sonny turned Will's head and gently stroked the stitches. "They look okay."

Gabi sat up and stretched. She surveyed her surroundings and whimpered slightly. "I was hoping this was a dream."

Lani yawned and turned to her side. She opened her eyes and saw a spider crawling towards her. She jumped up and screamed, shocking JJ awake. JJ shook his head and tried to calm his girlfriend. "Babe, take it easy. It's just a spider."

"But it's creepy! And crawling! Ewww."

Eli, who had woken up, stood up, walked over, and stepped on the spider, killing it. "First rule of survival: if it bleeds, you can kill it."

Lani scoffed softly. "Thank you."

"You know, you have a way of saying 'thank you' that makes it sound like 'drop dead'." Eli commented.

"It's a gift." Lani smirked and cocked her head slightly. Chad walked out of the woods. "Where did you go?"

"To take a leak." Chad replied simply. "I'm hungry. What's for breakfast?"

"Well, we could eat the snacks we got from the cafe." Sonny suggested.

"Dessert for breakfast. Twelve-year-old me is estatic." Eli said.

After everyone ate, they started strategizing.

"Okay, Chad and Gabi, you guys head to the beach and walk the perimeter of the island, see where we are." Sonny said. "Lani, JJ, you guys explore the woods; Eli, you build a huge fire, like a signal fire. Will and I are gonna see if we can salvage anything from the plane now that the smoke has hopefully subsided."

"Sounds like a plan." Lani replied.

They all went their seperate ways.

XX

Chad and Gabi walked on a path that lead to the beach.

"How's your ankle?" Chad asked.

"Numb." Gabi sighed. "All I wanted to do was see Deimos go down with my own eyes. That's all I wanted to do. Instead, I...I sprain my ankle and got into a plane crash. To top it all off, I miss my daughter's birthday. Four years, and already I've disappointed her."

"So, celebrate her birthday when we get back." Chad suggested. "That's what I'd do."

Gabi glanced at Chad, smiled, and nodded. "Yeah. I think I'll do that."

They made it to the beach. They stood at the edge of the water and looked out into the horizon. "Well, we're definitely still in Greece. There's a lot of islands scattered everywhere. Let's keep walking."

XX

The plane looked to be in good shape except for the nose, which was folded up like an accordian. Sonny groaned in despair. "My uncle's gonna kill me. I mean, it's one thing to put a dent in a limo, but, an airplane? Repairs are gonna cost what you would make in six months running the Pub."

Will gave a low whistle. "Maybe the inside isn't that bad."

They stepped into the plane. The entire interior was ruined by smoke. Sonny glanced at his husband. "You were saying?"

"But, I've been wrong before." Will muttered. They looked around in cupboards and drawers. "Oh, hey, I found a few tarps. We can use them to make lean-tos."

"Cool." Sonny called from the cockpit.

Will found some non-perishable food, cold drinks that are now warm, and the food cart. He loaded the food, drinks, and tarps onto the cart just as Sonny walked from the cockpit, sat down on the worn couch, sighed, and put his head in his hands. Will sat next to him.

"I'm guessing the pilot is starting to decompose." Will guessed.

Sonny looked up. "No, it takes longer than that to decompose."

"Then what's wrong?"

"It's just..." Sonny shook his head. "We could have been home by now. Planning a last-minute birthday party for Ari, and...the boys will be crawling soon. I just can't believe we might miss all that."

"Hey..." Will pulled Sonny into a hug. "Everyone back home, they're gonna notice we're missing. They'll find us before you know it. We're all going to survive this."

"You really believe that?" Sonny asked.

Will pulled away and stared at Sonny intently. "Yes, I believe that."

Sonny smiled and nodded. "Thanks."

XX

Later that afternoon, the castaways sat around the bonfire. Lani and JJ wrote out SOS using dark colored rocks and wood. They all drank the warm drinks from the no-longer-working fridge in the plane. Sonny's hair was finally falling out of it's gel helmet.

"Sonny, your hair is getting kind of long." Gabi commented.

Sonny didn't know how to respond to that. "Thanks?"

"Yeah. Remember when it was short and messy?" Will asked.

"Feels like a hundred years ago." Chad said.

"Hmm." Will studied Sonny hair, then kneels in front of him. He parted Sonny's hair in the middle and combed through it with his fingers.

"What are you doing?" Sonny asked.

"Fixing your hair." Will said simply. "I love it, but I'm getting a little sick and tired of the gelmet."

Gabi nodded. "Yeah, me too."

Sonny narrowed his eyes at Will, who scooted back to admire his work. He turned to the group. "Well, what do you think?"

Lani wrinkled her nose and shook her head. "Too nineties."

"He does look a little like Shawn D when he was younger." JJ said.

"Oh, yeah. He does!" Will said.

Sonny scoffed lightly. "We are cousins, after all."

"Your hair has become so soft and bouncy." Will commented. He pulled on a strand of Sonny's hair, then released it. It bounced back in place. He then lightly pressed Sonny's crown with his palm.

Sonny tickled Will's side to make him stop. Will shrieked with laughter. Everyone laughed with him.

"Okay, let me try one more thing..." Will parted Sonny's hair to the side and brushed his bangs over one eye.

"Dude, you look gay." Chad commented.

"I am gay." Sonny deadpanned as Gabi giggled.

"You look a little emo, too." JJ said.

"'Emo'? What is this- 2005?" Lani asked, raising her eyebrow.

Sonny shook his hair out of his eye. "Okay, that settles it. Gelmet is here to stay."

"Or just cut it a few inches." Gabi commented.

"Yeah, maybe."

Will looked at his watch and sighed. "We've been missing for almost 24 hours now. If none of our families call the FAA by now, I'm not speaking to them for a week."

XXX

Will walks up to Sonny, who is trying to get his phone to work. "I found an inlet where the water is shallow and clear. I might be able to catch us some more fish." He sees Sonny isn't listening. "Oh there was an awesome barbeque place there, too. The pork was phenomenal."

Sonny finally looked up. "Why are you talking about pulled pork?"

"You're wasting time on your phone. There's no signal for hundreds of miles." Will said.

"Just looking at a list I made ... all the goals I have for Titan Industries." Sonny replied.

Will sat next to him. "We'll get back there and you can do all the stuff on that list."

Sonny sighed. "We don't know that, Will."

"We're supposed to have landed in Salem by now." Will reminded him. "They're going to start looking for us. We're going to be rescued."

"You're right, it's only a matter of time." Sonny smiled. "Until that happens, I will sit here and picture Deimos behind bars where he belongs."

"Look, Hope knows everything Deimos did. That means the cops and your Uncle Victor do too, so, try and stay calm." Will advised. "Put Deimos out of your mind. He's going to get what's coming to him."

"I don't get to see it happen." Sonny said sullenly.

"No, you're here with me, and the sun is in sky, there's clear water in the lagoon, and fish in the sea." Will said.

"You make it sound like it's a vacation, Will." Sonny scoffed.

"Okay, so it's not a 4 star hotel, but you can build some sort of shelter. I mean you did the renovations in the Club, right?" Will shrugged.

"I had tools. I had a hammer, nails."

"There's got to be tools in the plane. Come on, think positive." Will said.

"You're asking too much of me right now." Sonny deadpanned.

Will scoffed. "Bottom line is this: we are not in any immediate danger, and Titan Industries is still going to be standing when we get back."

"I know that, Will, but I have a lot of plans, and I can't get home to put them in place. That's the problem." Sonny said.

Will nodded solemnly. "Okay, so, what happened to the guy who said to hell with it, got on a plane and flew to Prague to help everyone find Stefano?"

"Did that impress you?" Sonny raised an eyebrow.

"You flew in your own plane. That was dashing or something." Will smirked.

"That was dashing? What am I, Pierce Brosnan?" Sonny laughed softly.

"Look, that was really impressive."

"I did that because I didn't know what else to do, but I am not that guy anymore." Sonny said.

"No, now you're the guy who lives to run Titan Industries." Will said sarcastically.

Sonny sighed angrily. "Here we go again. Why is that a problem? Titan is my legacy, my future and I need to step up and make it work."

"And what about us? What about our children? I thought that's what you said you wanted to work."

"You know what I meant."

Will blew his bangs off his forehead. "You know, I don't like that with every conversation we have, we always talk about Deimos and Titan."

Sonny folded his arms. "Sort of like how we always talked about Nick?"

"That is completely different and you know it!" Will snapped, pointhing a finger at him.

"Why, because it's you?"

"Do not put words in my mouth. I wasn't obsessed with taking down Nick like you are with Deimos!" Will argued. "I put you and Ari first when it came to Nick."

"So you think I won't put you and the kids first when it comes to Deimos?" Sonny asked

"The sad part is I do. And when we get back to Salem you're going to show your Uncle Victor and your dad and everyone else what a good CEO you can be. If that's what matters most to you then... well, at least the kids have me and Gabi." Will stormed off. Sonny sighed and just stared after his husband.

XXX

Later, Will came back with some fish.

"You going to clean those yourself?" Sonny asked. Will ignored him and started cleaning the fish. "How do you know so much about fishing?"

"My grandfather taught me when I was a kid." Will answered. "The summer before I started middle school, he took me to the lake every weekend to fish."

"That explains how you know about fishing, how do you know so much about me?" Sonny half-joked. He sat next to Will. "Look I'm sorry. I don't want you to think that all I care about is Titan. Deimos went after the people that I love and the business that my Uncle built from the ground up. It's driving me crazy that I can't get home and fix what he did."

"You'll get there and you'll do that, but right now you are stuck on this island." Will said. "You can either be mad and stomp around, or you can throw yourself into making the best of it. Who knows, you might find out something new about yourself. Maybe something that'll make you a better CEO."

"I'd settle for making me a better husband if you're still interested." Sonny said.

"Don't be stupid." Will chuckled. "Now, how about you go look for some lemons or something to marinate the fish in so you can cook them."

Sonny laughed softly. "I thought you were getting better at cooking?"

"I am, but you cook better." Will smirked.

Sonny laughed. "True." He walked off.

Will started cleaning the fish. He heard an insect buzzing, then the insect bit his neck. He swatted the mosquito away and rubbed where it bit him. "Ow. That sucker meant business." He continued cleaning the fish, then felt a little sick. "Oh man, I don't feel so good." He takes off his shirt and groaned slightly. "I need water." He hears Sonny calling his name over and over. "Sonny, where are you?" Will keeps hearing Sonny calling his name. He gets up and staggers off to look for Sonny.

Sonny returns with lemons and sees Will's shirt on the ground. "Where'd he go?" He looked around and started walking. "Will? Will!"

XXX

Meanwhile, the rest of the castaways just made a shocking discovery.

"We've got to get off this island." Lani declared. "I did not sign up for dead people and diseases I've never heard of."

"Let's hope Eli has some luck getting that satellite phone to work. It's probably going to be our best bet." JJ said.

Sonny rushes up. "Have you all seen Will?"

"I thought he was with you." JJ said.

"He was. We found this place to fish on the other side of the island. I left for literally 2 minutes to pick some fruit. When I got back he was gone, no sign of him anywhere." Sonny explained.

"That's strange." Chad said.

"Where the hell can he be?!" Sonny exclaimed, reaching near hysteria.

"Okay, just calm down. We'll find him better if we split up." Chad spoke up. "Gabi and I will stay here in case Paul shows up."

"We'll search the rest of the island." Sonny said.

"Be safe and good luck, guys." Gabi said.

Just then, Will walked up. Sonny rushed over to him and hugged him. "Will!"

Gabi hugs him "Thank God you're okay."

"Of course I am. Why wouldn't I be?" Will shrugged.

"We thought something happened to you. Where'd you go?" JJ asked.

"I was cleaning the fish and I got a little nauseated, so I went down to the lagoon, got some fresh water, and walked it off. I'm totally fine now." Will explained.

"You don't look so good." Sonny said, concerned. He gave him a water bottle. "Here, have some water."

Will shook his head. "I'm okay."

"I went down to the lagoon. I looked all over the area. Why didn't I see you?" Sonny asked.

Will shrugged. "You got me. I guess we just missed each other."

"I guess so." Sonny said.

"What's important is that he's okay." Gabi spoke up.

Sonny hugs Will. "Don't you ever scare me like that again."

"I'm here Sonny, I'm here." Will said as he hugged him back. They kiss.

"Whoa. Hey, why don't you guys get a...carboard slab or something to lay on?" Chad asked.

Everyone chuckled.

"Are you sure you're okay? You don't look great." Sonny said as he pulled away.

"I'm fine." Will insisted.

"We should take a break. Lie down, drink some water." Sonny suggested.

"I don't need to lie down and I don't need water." Will snapped.

Sonny was taken aback. "Okay, I'm just trying to help you."

"I don't want to argue anymore, Sonny. We did that earlier."

"You're right, I'm sorry. I just need you to promise me you'll tell me if you're feeling sick again." Sonny said.

Will nodded. "It's a deal. Let's go see about this fish."

"Maybe I should do the gutting this time. You got queasy." Sonny suggested.

"I told you I'm fine. If I need any help I'll give you a shout." Will said and walked off.

"I hope Eli comes back soon, otherwise he'll miss out on some pretty good fish." Lani commented.

"He's been gone for a long time, hasn't he?" Gabi asked.

JJ walked over to Will and pats him on the shoulder. "Looks like we're eating good tonight."

"You got that right." Will said.

JJ notices blood on Will's shirt. "Hey, is that blood? Did you cut yourself or something?"

Will glanced down at his shirt. "Oh. That must have happened when I was gutting the fish earlier."

"If you need any help..." JJ shrugged, stood up, and walked off.

Will looks around. His head felt fuzzy and he felt like he was floating. Everyone's voices are distorted. He pulls out his knife and stares at it.

Sonny knelt beside Will. "Will, are you okay? What is it? What's wrong?"

Will clutches the knife. "Sorry, what did you say?"

"I said are you okay?" Sonny replied.

"I'm fine, I'm just a little fuzzy." Will lied.

"Maybe you're just dehydrated. Have some water. Why don't I clean the fish?" He takes the knife. Will looks around.

"I feel funny eating before JJ and Eli get here." Said Lani.

"Me too." Sonny said.

"Maybe we should have a cocktail while they're gone." Chad half-joked.

Gabi scoffed. "Oh come on, you make it seem like we're passing out martinis."

"Ooh. I could go for a glass of chardonnay." Lani said.

"I have a whole case of that in the wine cellar at home." Sonny announced.

Will snapped out of his trance. "Something to look forward to." He stared at the knife, which is now sitting on a rock.

"I'm really sorry. I wish I was more prepared for an emergency." Sonny said. "Although we're going to be getting out of here pretty soon."

"It feels like we've been here for a month." Gabi said.

Will picks up the knife. All the voices sound distorted to him. JJ comes back.

"JJ, where's Eli?" Lani asked.

"I didn't find him, I found this." JJ held up the satellite phone, which was in pieces. Will eyed it warily. "I combed the area where Eli said he was going. The mangled phone is all I found."

Chad stood up. "We're going to have to go look for him then. Only this time we're going to have to search more of the island."

"That's a lot of territory." Lani commented.

"We're going to have to split up. Why don't Sonny and Will take that end of the island, we'll take the other." Chad suggested.

"I really wish I could help you out." Gabi said.

"Your ankle's sprained, it's fine." Chad replied.

"Besides we'll need someone here in case Eli comes back on his own." JJ said.

"Could you leave me like a stick or something?" Gabi asked. "What if something comes to attack me?"

Will looks at Gabi and the knife.

"You'll be fine. The fire is lit, it'll scare away the animals." Chad assured her.

"Are you sure you don't want to stay here with Gabi?" JJ asked Lani.

Lani smiled. "As long as we avoid any wild animals, I'm fine."

Will keeps twisting the knife in his hand. Sonny noticed. "What's with you and the knife? Put it down. Come on, let's go." Behind Sonny's back, Will put the knife in his pocket.

Later, Will told Sonny that he's going to get a drink. He sneaks up behind Gabi.

Gabi pulls the amulet out of Chad's backpack. "Are you serious! You are the reason all of this is happening." She's going to throw it in the fire but doesn't. "Chad would never forgive me. God forbid I get rid of 20 million dollars."

Will picks up a rock and knocks Gabi out.


	110. Chapter 110

Chad comes back to the campsite. "Hopefully Will and Sonny are having better luck. Hey Gabi." He kneels next to her and touches her head, and his fingers have blood on them. "Hey JJ, Lani!" They come running.

"Oh my God!" Lani exclaimed. She and JJ knelt next to Gabi and Chad.

"What happened?" JJ asked.

Sonny runs up. "I heard yelling. What's going on?" He noticed Gabi. "Wait, Gabi!" Will joins them.

"Somebody must have attacked her." JJ said.

Gabi comes to and groans in pain. "What happened?"

"Did you see who hit you?" Sonny asked.

"Is that why my head hurts so much?" Gabi gingerly felt her head.

"Looks like they come up from behind." JJ said.

"I don't remember what happened. I was there and then everything went black." Gabi explained.

"Who would do something like this?" Sonny asked, aghast.

"It doesn't make any sense." Will said.

XXX

Meanwhile, back in Salem, John and Marlena were enjoying a late dinner together. John had been called back to the ISA.

"I'm only on this mission because it's a matter of..."

"Life and death." Marlena nodded. Her cell phone rings. "Hold that thought. This conversation is not over." She picks up the call. "Hello?"

"Hey Marlena, it's Rafe. I just wanted to give you an update on the missing plane." Rafe replied.

"What missing plane?" Marlena asked, confused.

"You haven't heard? I would have thought Lucas would tell you." Rafe said.

"Rafe, John and I have been at the hospital with Brady. Just catch me up."

"Yeah right. Well Sonny Kiriakis took his family's private jet to Greece in pursuit of Deimos." Rafe said.

"Oh my God." Marlena breathed.

"What?" John asked.

"The plane was headed back here when it fell off the radar. There's no evidence of a crash. We're still trying to pinpoint the exact location as to where it may have gone down." Rafe explained.

"So you're calling me because Will was on that jet, wasn't he?"

"Yeah. Yes, sorry to say he was." Rafe said.

"Okay. Thanks for letting me know." Marlena hung up and sighed. She told John about the plane. "I knew Will getting mixed up in that Kiriakis DiMera circus was a mistake. I swear- it's Sami and EJ all over again."

"He wanted to help Sonny. You couldn't have stopped that." John said.

"I should have tried." Marlena said.

"Doc, I understand how you feel. When Brady went after Nicole to Canada, I was afraid he wouldn't come back, he did. Will's going to come back too." He sighed. "I can't believe I'm leaving tonight and our grandson's out there missing."

Marlena tried not to look too downcast. "You know what, the moment he turns up I will track you down. I will find you."

John shook his head. "You won't have to do that Doc. I'm not going back to the ISA."

Marlena was surprised. "What about your mission?"

"I've got a bigger mission. It's called finding our grandson. That's exactly what I'm going to do." John said with determination.

"I'll come with. They might need a doctor." Marlena said, standing up.

"All right, I'll tell the boys and meet you at the airfield."

XX

"You don't have to do this."

Paul was at Brady's bedside. He helped him eat dinner and helped him get ready for bed.

"You're my big brother. I want to take care of you." Paul said. "I'll bring Tate by tomorrow morning."

"Thanks. Appreciate it." Brady replied, smiling.

"You're welcome." Paul said. "Good night."

"'Night."

Paul left the room and quietly closed the door just as John walked up. "Hi. He's just getting to sleep."

"Oh. Thanks for taking care of your brother." John said.

"No problem." Paul nodded. "So, you off to your ISA mission."

"No. I pulled myself off the mission." John replied. "Sonny flew his family's plane to Greece. He was flying back, but the plane went missing earlier today."

"What?" Paul asked, shocked.

"Yeah. A bunch of other people were on it: Will, JJ, Lani, Eli, Gabi, and Chad." John replied. "Doc and I are going to find them."

"Okay. Good luck and be careful." Paul said.

John smiled and hugged Paul. "We will."

XXX

"I'm so sorry, I shouldn't have left you." Chad said to Gabi as Lani presses a compress on Gabi's head.

"I should have stayed. Maybe then we'd know who did this." Lani said.

"Someone else is on this island, but why would they want to hurt Gabi?" Sonny asked.

"Maybe whoever did this wasn't in their right mind." Lani supplied. JJ, Will, and Sonny returned.

"I'm guessing you guys didn't find Eli." Gabi said.

"No, we didn't." JJ replied, shaking his head.

Gabi tries to sit up but can't. "Gabi, Gabi, sit down. You might have a concussion." Chad said.

Eli walks up with a bloody bandage tied around his arm.

"Eli!" JJ exclaimed.

"Thank God." Lani breathed.

Eli sees Will, frowned angrily, and pulls his gun. "You son of a bitch!"

"Whoa, put the gun down." Chad said. "Tell us what happened."

Eli raises his gun. "He tried to kill me!"

"Don't shoot. Don't shoot." Sonny said, raising his arms up at Eli. Will takes off.

Eli prepared to shoot, so Sonny tackles him to the ground.

It was pandemonium. Chad pulls back Sonny, JJ pulls back Eli.

"I won't let you hurt him." Sonny cried, then got a sense of deja vu.

"You let him get away!" Eli shouted. "Sonny, don't you get it?! He tried to kill me. You need to stay away from him."

"Why would he try to kill anyone?" Sonny asked.

"He's probably the one who hit Gabi with that rock." Chad realized.

"What? That doesn't make sense. He was with you when I was hit." Gabi pointed to Sonny.

"Sonny, tell me he was with you." Chad said, turning to his friend.

Sonny doubled over to catch his breath, then stood straight. "He wasn't. He was thirsty. We split up at the bottom of the path. He wanted to get something to drink."

JJ turned to Eli. "Okay tell us exactly what happened."

"I was trying to get the satellite phone working when suddenly someone came up behind me and just starting choking me." Eli said. "Luckily I was able to fight him off. That's when he came and smashed the satellite phone. And he had a knife, that's how I got this." He gestured to his arm.

"How'd you get away?" JJ asked.

"I bolted back to the plane to get this." He lifted his gun.

"I saw blood on Will earlier." JJ remembered. "He said it was from cutting fish."

"That was no fish." Eli said.

Sonny shook his head slowly. "I still can't believe Will would do this."

"Well he's not exactly himself right now." Chad said.

Lani nodded in agreement. "It's Jungle Madness."

"Jungle what?" Eli asked, confused.

"JJ and I found a diary of a woman whose husband got it here on the island. She wrote how he went from feeling not well to being totally out of his mind and violent." Lani explained.

"She also wrote that he ended up killing the doctor who'd come to save him." JJ added.

"We also think he took out his wife, too." Lani said.

"Will wasn't feeling well." Sonny realized. "He attacked Eli and Gabi. Does that mean he has this..."

"Jungle Madness." Lani repeated.

"If that's the case it's not good for any one of us." Chad said.

JJ and Lani told the rest of their story.

"You found a human skull." Sonny repeated.

JJ nodded. "And a shelter that looked like it had been torn apart by some wild animal."

"That's where we found the diary." Lani said.

"Did the woman say how her husband contracted this Jungle Madness?" Eli asked.

"A mosquito." JJ said.

"What?!" Sonny exclaimed.

"She wrote that her husband had been bitten by a mosquito and that's how he got it." Lani replied.

Sonny sighed and nodded. "I thought I saw a mosquito bite on Will's neck."

"Oh God." Gabi gasped. "Well, we have to find him."

"Maybe we don't."

"Chad!" Gabi exclaimed.

"Does anyone on the island have a cure that I don't know about.?" Chad asked.

Sonny took a deep breath. He had a point. "We'll keep him quarantined until we're rescued."

"If we're rescued." Chad corrected.

"The guy is like the Hulk when it comes to strength, and he's totally out of his mind." Eli said.

"What are you saying?" Lani asked.

"I'm saying it might not be as easy as it sounds to contain him." Eli said.

"What if we can't contain him?" Gabi asked.

"He might just kill us all." Eli said.

"You want to contain Will like he's an animal?" Sonny asked, aghast.

"Sonny, the fever's given him paranoid delusions." Chad reasoned.

"He's sick, Chad! He's not a killer." Sonny argued.

"Who knows what's in that man's head." Eli said. "I mean look what he did to Gabi and me."

"Sonny, he's not in his right mind anymore." Chad said.

"He needs our help. I'm the only one that can get through to him." Sonny said.

Eli scoffed. "What are you going to do?"

"What do you think? I'm going to go find him." Sonny started heading towards the woods, then JJ grabs him.

"Sonny you can't do this."

"The hell I can't, JJ." Sonny snapped.

"You won't get through to him, man. It's like he's on drugs." JJ said calmly. "If you approach him he could try and kill you."

"You don't know that." Sonny shook his head.

"But I do." Chad spoke up. "Look, like I told them, my brother Peter had Jungle Madness. It's the same thing written in the diary and if I'm right about it, anyone who gets in Will's way while he's like this...they're going to end up dead. If Will has this disease, he's acting on amped up survival instincts. He thinks everyone and everything is going to be a threat, one that he has to destroy if he wants to survive. On top of that he's producing crazy amounts of adrenalin in order to help him do it. So essentially he's Ironman."

Eli nodded. "Damn right. I don't know how I outran him."

"You're making him sound like a creature. He's the most decent, kindest person that I've ever met." Sonny said defensively.

"Sonny he's not that anymore." Chad said. "He's sick and it's making him dangerous."

"Okay, what do we do?" Lani asked.

"The good news is he's not like this all the time. It comes and goes, which is why you were probably able to run away from him." Chad turned to Eli. "But it's going to mess with his memory so he probably doesn't even know that he hurt the two of you. Will could come in here and be the guy that we know, but he could turn on a dime. If that's the case, it's going to be us or him."

Eli waves his gun. "I won't be putting this down."

"Eli, what the hell? He is your cousin!" Sonny exclaimed angrily.

"I know. And believe me, this is the last thing I want to do, but-"

"But nothing! You are not going to shoot him. I won't let you." Sonny said firmly.

"Guys, guys, break it up." JJ said, raising his hands to calm them. "We're all worried about Will. Remember what was in that diary, there's something about a cure."

"There is, but, we don't have one and it's not something we can find on the island." Chad said.

"So what happens to Will?" Sonny asked.

"Look, if he's not treated it could be fatal." Chad said.

"Look, I think we should all go back to the plane together." Eli said. He turned to Lani and JJ. "You two grab your weapons and keep them on you at all times. Gabi, can you make it back to the plane?"

Gabi shook her head. "It seems like a really far walk. I don't think my ankle could handle that."

"I'll stay back with her." Lani offered.

Eli gave her his gun. "Here, take my weapon."

"I'm going to stay here with them. If Will comes back maybe I can get through to him." Sonny said.

Chad walked up to Sonny. "From what my father tells me, Peter did some really terrible things to a lot of people he cared about, so be careful."

XX

Later, Gabi hobbles over to Sonny. "Do you want water or something?"

"No thank you, I'm fine." Sonny said, not looking at her.

She sat next to him. "Listen I know Will didn't mean to hurt me."

"He wouldn't hurt anyone. This is such a nightmare." Sonny ran his hands through his hair.

"I know."

"Like it's not bad enough we're stranded on this island, we can't even get hold of anyone to come find us." Sonny vented. "Did you hear what Chad said? This thing that Will has, if it goes untreated, it could be fatal."

"You would never let that happen." Gabi assured him.

"How do you know that?"

"Because you delivered Arianna in the middle of nowhere in a shed with a crazy man on the hunt for us, that's why." Gabi replied, smiling. "In my book, you can do anything."

Sonny laughed softly. "I was so scared that night."

"So was I. We were both scared but we got through it and you didn't even like me back then so..." Gabi shrugged.

"I remember the first time I held Arianna." Sonny said, smiling. "It was like a miracle you know. She was so beautiful. God I miss her so much."

"Yeah, which is why we have to keep it together, okay? We're going to keep it together because we're going to get back to her and we're going to get through this and so is Will." Gabi said.

"I love him."

"I know."

"You know, after my breakup with Paul, I never thought I could love anyone, but, I love Will so much." He stands up.

"What are you doing?" Gabi asked.

"I've got to go find him." Sonny said.

Gabi stood up. "No, please, you can't."

"I can explain to him that he's sick. I can talk to him." Sonny insisted. Lani walked over.

"No. If he hurt Gabi, he'll only do the same thing to you."

"You heard Chad. This thing comes and goes right? So what if I find him and he's not like he was?" Sonny asked. "I can talk to him."

"Even if all that happens Sonny, it won't last." Lani said.

"He won't hurt me because he loves me." Sonny said.

"Probably what Kyle's wife thought, too before he probably took her out." Gabi put in.

"Can I stop you from doing this?" Lani asked.

"No, but if he comes back here, I need you to promise me that you will not shoot him." Sonny said.

"If he comes after Gabi and me, I can't promise you that, but I will only try to stop him, not kill him." Lani replied.

"Thank you."

XX

Sonny used the flashlight on his phone to light his way. He saw broken branches and footprints all over, but it could have been himself or Chad, JJ, and Eli. He heard rustling in the distance and headed towards the sound. He walks up to JJ, Lani, and Eli who had their guns drawn.

"Hey, put down the guns." Sonny said, raising his arms out.

JJ sighed. "Please, man, come back to camp. You're not safe out here by yourself."

"He's wandering around. He's sick. Do you know how scared he must be?" Sonny asked. "He's got to know there's something wrong with him."

"Sonny, we all want to help Will, okay? But this is dangerous for you, and I'm not just talking about Will. It's dark here. You could fall off one of the cliffs, trip on something, and hurt yourself really badly." Lani said.

"We'll all stay together tonight and tomorrow at first light, we'll start another search." Eli said.

"Come back with us, try and get some sleep." JJ pleaded.

"Like I'm going to sleep." Sonny scoffed.

Eli sighed quietly. "I shouldn't have said that I'd shoot Will. That is the last thing I'd ever want to do."

"Then why would you say it?" Sonny demanded.

"'Cause I have to look after the good of the group, and so do you." Eli replied. "You can't do anything reckless. Will is going to need you."

Sonny gave in. "As soon as it's light, we go looking for Will."

JJ nodded. "Absolutely."

"I have one flare left. We'll set it off and go back to camp." Eli said. They set off towards the plane.

Sonny spotted a plant that looked familiar. He bent down to feel and smell it. JJ stared at his cousin. "Uh...what are you doing?"

"I recognize this plant." Sonny said. He tore off a few stems. "It's lemon balm! Crush up the leaves and rub it all over your skin. It'll keep mosquitos away. They can't stand the smell."

Eli snorted softly. "Kinda wish we discovered this plant twelve hours ago..."

XX

Sonny grabbed a couple branches for Chad and Gabi and they all headed back.

"What's that?" Gabi asked as they all walked into camp.

"A plant that keeps insects away." JJ answered as he rubbed it all over his arms.

"Lemon balm. Crush up the leaves, rub it all over your skin. It'll keep the mosquitoes away." Sonny explained. "They don't like the smell. It also has healing properties."

"I hope there's lots of this." Gabi said.

"There is. It's an invasive species." Sonny said. "The only reason I came back is because they agreed that first thing tomorrow morning we'll go look for Will."

Eli sat down. "But tonight, we should all take shifts sleeping so someone is always keeping watch. I'll go first."

Sonny sat by the fire staring off into space. How could this happen? Of all the islands to land on, they land on the island with disease carrying mosquitos. What if they don't get rescued? What if they do and they can't find a cure? How would he explain to the kids what happened to their daddy? All this worrying made Sonny emotionally exhausted. He finally lay his head down to sleep.

XXX

The next morning, everyone split up after eating breakfast. JJ and Sonny walk through a clearing. "Okay, Eli and Lani went west. North is looking pretty ragged, but we've got to check it to be sure."

"We have to find Will before the others do. I'm the only one who can get through to him." Sonny said, almost desperately. "He will listen to me."

"Sonny, Will isn't in his right mind." JJ reminded him. "He's sick. This jungle madness makes people violent, out of control. We read it in the diary. Chad explained about his brother Peter. Talking to Will won't work."

Sonny exhaled sharply. "So that's it? We just condemn him?"

"Of course not. But we have to protect ourselves." JJ said.

"Well, you protect yourself, JJ, but me, I've got to help Will." Sonny said.

"I get it. I want to help you, and I will, but you need to understand that if Will does try to attack one of us again, and we can't somehow subdue him, we've got to do what we need to to keep the others safe." Replied JJ.

"You'd take him out? No way in hell." Sonny said firmly.

JJ raised a hand to calm him. "Sonny, I pray to God we don't have to resort to extreme measures. But this disease, this jungle madness, it made Will violent."

"He doesn't know what he's doing, JJ." Sonny snapped.

"That doesn't make him any less dangerous." JJ shook his head. "What are we supposed to do Sonny? Let Will take us out one by one?"

Sonny was getting tired of arguing. "You know what, I've heard enough. I'm going to find Will on my own. Why don't you go back to camp? I'll see you later."

"Sonny..." JJ grabbed Sonny's arm, but Sonny shrugs him off.

"Get off me." Sonny growled, then stormed off.

"Sonny!" JJ called after him, helplessly. He groaned. "Well, that went well."

XXX

After what felt like hours, Sonny found Will in anouther clearing. Will was crouched, ready to attack. Sonny tried to remain calm.

"Will, hey, it's me. I'm so glad I found you. I've been worried about you. I bet you're thirsty and you're tired. Why don't we just go back to camp?" Sonny said.

Will clutched his knife. "I'm really scared."

"I know, but I can help you." Sonny said, inching closer.

Will backed away, looking distressed. He started breathing heavily. "I don't feel right. I'm all alone- I'm all alone. There's no one!"

"Hey, it's me. It's Sonny." Sonny said, reaching out.

Will took shuddering breaths. "What's wrong with me?"

"I can help you."

"No. Stop. I don't think you can. I don't think anyone can." Will brandished his knife.

"Give me your hand, it'll be okay." Sonny said calmly.

"It won't because it won't stop." Will vented. His mind started going fuzzy. "Where am I? What's wrong with me?"

"You're sick." Sonny explained. "Look at me. You have an infection. I can help you, but in order for me to do that you have to prove to everybody that you're not dangerous."

"But I am. I am!" Will said. "There's these moments ... I black out and I don't know what's going on. I don't mean to hurt anyone. I don't, but I can't stop myself."

Sonny reaches for him "Will..." Will grabs him into a chokehold and holds the knife to his neck. "What the hell? WILL! WILL! Will, Will, Will, listen to my voice. You don't have to do anything that you don't want to do. You're sick. Your brain...you have an infection. You have an infection. You're fighting it. I know this is not you Will. You have an infection. I know you're going to beat it. We can do this together. You have to put down the knife, please. Put down the knife."

"I can't." Will replied.

"Will, you can trust me. I know your heart and you know mine. Please, please." Sonny whimpered. "You know how much I love you, right? I love your smile. I love your laugh. I love what a great writer you are, how hard you work, how smart you are. You know what's most important to me? is how kind you are. You're the nicest person I've ever met. That's what I love most so please put down the knife. Please. It's going to be okay. I promise you."

"Sonny!" Chad exclaimed as he ran up. His eyes widened when he saw Will holding Sonny at knifepoint. Chad aimed his gun at him.

"No, no, no, no! Please! Don't shoot him. Don't shoot him." Sonny cried, panicked. "Chad, don't make things worse. Stand down."

"No. Not until he lets you go, Sonny." Chad said. "Will, step away from Sonny. Now!"

Will squeezed Sonny's arm behind him in a vicelike grip. "Ah! Will, it's me, it's me!" He started crying.

JJ and Gabi walked into the clearing and saw Will holding Sonny at knifepoint and Chad aiming a gun at him. JJ pulled out his own gun and aimed it at Will. "Will, drop the knife."

"No, no, no, no!" Sonny shouted. "Just, everyone, shut up! Shut up! Everyone, get out of here! I need to be alone with him so I can talk to him."

Gabi took a few steps forward, but JJ stopped her.

"Will, listen, I'm not going anywhere." Sonny said calmly. "It's gonna be just you and me, and we're gonna talk about this. It's gonna be okay, I promise you. It's gonna be okay 'cause they're gonna leave us alone." Chad and JJ didn't budge. "Now!"

"Put the guns down, or I'll kill him, I swear!" Will growled. They still didn't budge. "I said put the guns down...now!"

Chad glanced at JJ who nodded. He growled in frustration, and he and JJ put down their guns. "Okay. Okay. We did what you want, all right? Just let Sonny go."

"Will, please let him go." Gabi pleaded tearfully. "We love Sonny very much and we love you. Please let him go."

Will pushed Sonny down, and his head hit a rock.

Gabi screamed. "No, Sonny!"

JJ and Chad charged for Will, but he brandished his knife at them. The three men wrestle for the knife, while Gabi tiptoes around them to get to Sonny, who's just coming around.

"Sonny, oh my God." Gabi whimpered as she tried to turn him around. "Sonny, it's gonna be okay. It's gonna be okay."

Sonny woke up. "Ah. What happened?"

"It was Will." Gabi replied.

Sonny lifted himself up. "Is he okay?"

Chad and JJ had Will on the ground. Chad noticed that Will is unconscious. "Whoa, whoa, hey, hey, get up, get up." He said to JJ. "Take it easy."

JJ climbed off of Will and felt his forehead. "He's burning up."

Chad started lightly slapping Will's face. "Hey, Will? Will, Will, Will, Will, hey!"

Sonny sat up and noticed Will unconscious. "Will! Will!"

"Okay, Sonny..." Gabi grabbed his arms gently to prevent him from leaping towards Will.

"I have to get to him." Sonny said.

"No, Sonny, you have to sit here. You have to rest." Gabi pulled him back into a sitting position. "He'll be okay."

"JJ, I don't know, man." Chad said.

JJ checked his pulse. "His vitals are strong."

"If he's like this, he's not going to hurt anybody." Chad said.

"Let's get him back to camp. We need to restrain him before he wakes up." JJ said. The two of him lift him up and start dragging him away.

"Don't hurt him!" Sonny yelled. "Please!"

"Okay, it's okay. They won't hurt him." Gabi assured him. She helped him up, and helped him walk back to camp.

XX

Will woke up as Chad and JJ dragged him back to camp and tied him up. "Wait, what are you doing?" He asked. JJ and Chad lay him against a small boulder. "Stop, stop, stop, stop."

Chad patted Will's chest. "Hey, hey. It's okay." He turned to JJ, who tied Will's feet together. "You got him?"

"Yeah."

Sonny walked up to them. "How is he?"

Chad felt Will's forehead again. "His fever's breaking."

Sonny exhaled in relief. Will, it's me, Sonny."

"Please don't. Please..." Will muttered.

"We have to do something. We have to help him." Gabi exclaimed.

"We will. I have an idea." Sonny replied.

"What?" Gabi asked.

"For now, we treat this like a normal fever...and we can use the lemon balm to make tea and have him drink it." Sonny said. "We can also soak a cloth in it and use it to bring down the fever even more."

"That's not a bad idea, actually." Gabi replied. "I'll get started. Wait, we don't have a lot of fresh water."

"You can boil seawater to dissolve the salt and bacteria." Sonny said.

Gabi chuckled and shook her head. "It's a damn good thing you weren't the one who was infected."

"Really." Sonny chuckled. Sonny got a water bottle and squeezed some lemon juice into it, and gave it to Will, who shook his head slowly.

"Please..."

Sonny set the water down and gently brushed the lemon-soaked cloth over his brow. "Will, hey, can you hear me?"

"I'm going to go look for Eli and Lani, let them know we found Will." JJ announced. He walked off.

Sonny set the cloth down. "You know, I was thinking about that first year we met. How we started that Salem Sports website and accidentally stumbled onto a gambling ring. We brought them down. That was before we were even a couple." Will was slipping in and out of consciousness. "Look at what we've accomplished since then: we saved Nick and Gabi from Nick's rapist, we raised a beautiful daughter together with Gabi, we...unwittingly brought down Ben after he killed those two women, saving your mom from Andre's wrath, that monster virus, bringing down the Trio of Terror, taking the fight to Deimos, found Nicole and Holly. You saved me from being killed after I was kidnapped the second time. You and I- we're conquerors. We've come through so much together. All the lying and cheating...me spending our entire savings on a club that was doomed from the start. But you and I can get through anything. Our love gets us through. Please come back to me." Sonny kissed Will's forehead. "Please come back to me." He soaked the cloth in lemon water again and start wiping his brow. "I know you never meant to hurt Gabi or Eli or me. You are the kindest, gentlest person I know."

Will remembered getting stung and knocking Gabi out, strangling and stabbing Eli, throwing Sonny down on the rocks, and the struggle with JJ and Chad. He gasped quietly and stared at Sonny in horror. "What have I done? I hurt you. How will anyone forgive me? How will you forgive me Sonny?"

"I already have, Will. We just need to get you better and we will." Sonny notices Will's legs are bleeding from the tightness of the rope. "Oh my god, I'm so sorry." He started untying the rope.

"No, it has to be this way. This disease is still inside of me." Will said.

Sonny stroked his hair. "You're better now. I see the man that I love."

"Sonny, don't be ridiculous." Will replied. He had never known Sonny to be so blinded by love like this. "If you love me you will keep me tied up for everyone's sake."

Sonny swallowd and nodded. "Let me at least stop the bleeding." He gently pushed some cloth under the ropes. Will passed out again. "It's going to be okay, Will. It has to be."

Gabi hobbled up to them and knelt down. "Hey. Let me take over for a while."

Sonny shook his head. "It's fine."

Gabi grabbed the lemon cloth. "Sonny. Take a break. Clean your wound. Eat something."

Sonny sighed and gave in. "Okay." He stood up, ran his hands through his hair, exhaled sharply, and walked over to Chad. "I just promised Will that everything would be okay. I don't know if I can keep that promise. What are we going to do, Chad?"

"I don't know. I'm just glad we're here with the people we love." Chad replied, putting a supporting hand on Sonny's shoulder.


	111. Rescued

Paul lay awake in his bed. He couldn't understand how the Greek authorities haven't found the missing plane yet. Isn't there usually smoke from a wreckage that usually lasts a while? He got an idea. It was a long shot, but it's something. He quietly got out of bed and carried his laptop and phone to his living room. He called the Greek version of the FAA.

"Hi. This is Paul Narita. I'm helping the search for the missing Kiriakis jet. I was just wondering if you could tell me exactly when you lost contact with that plane? ... Okay, thanks. I appreciate it. ...Bye." He hung up and opened up a flight plan website. They lost contact two hours after takeoff from Athens. So, they would be looking at a 500-mile haystack. If there are survivors and they haven't reached civilization yet, then they must be stranded on an uncharted island. He relayed the information to John.

"All right, we'll fly out of Athens for two hours, then we'll circle around. Good work, kid." John said.

"Thanks. Good luck." Paul replied.

XX

Eli walked over to Will and Sonny. "Hey. How's he doing?"

"It seems like he keeps getting better, then worse." Sonny replied.

Will looked up at his cousin. "Eli...there are no words."

"Hey, man, don't worry about it. You...you weren't in your right mind." Eli replied.

Sonny gave Will some water. "Hey, drink some water. ...A little bit more."

"Thank you." Will said weakly. "Thank you."

Sonny felt his forehead. "He's burning up."

"But he's himself again." Eli said almost optimistically. "Lucid."

"Yeah, but his physical symptoms seem to be getting worse." Sonny said. He felt Will's pulse. "If only we could untie him."

"No. No, no, no, no." Will said. "I don't know what I'll do."

Sonny and Eli avoided eye contact. "You're lucid now, though."

"No, if you...if you release me...it won't matter if you take me to the other end of the island." Will replied. "We all know what the diary says about this disease. When I'm...when I'm in the grips of it...I will hunt you all down and kill you." Sonny turned away. "So, please...if it comes to me or all of you, please, Sonny...Sonny, please look at me." Sonny slowly turned to his husband. "Don't let me hurt anyone again. Even if you...even if you have to go as far as to kill me when I'm in the grips of it. When I'm a threat again. Promise me."

Sonny shook his head. "I will not let that happen. I'm going to get you well, and I'm going to get you off this island. I'm not going to let you hurt anyone, and no one is going to hurt you. I promise."

Will passed out again, and Sonny wiped sweat off Will's forehead. Eli spotted Lani and JJ walking into camp and stood up. "Hey, you find Chad and Gabi."

"Yeah. They're...resting." Lani said a little uncomfortable. She walked over to Sonny. "Hey, how's Will?"

"His fever is spiking." Sonny replied. "I'm trying to keep him hydrated as much as possible."

Will drifted off to sleep. The group went a few feet and just started talking. Eli noticed Will is awake and walked over to him.

"It's starting again." Will said. "I can feel it."

"You want water?" Eli asked, reaching for a water bottle.

"No, no. No water." Will replied. "I've already peed myself like five times since yesterday."

"O...kay, I did not need to know that." Eli said. He backed up a few inches.

"Eli, listen to me." Will said.

"I'm listening."

"Kill me." Will said.

Eli sighed and slumped his shoulders. "If the time comes and if it's necessary..."

"You will do just that." Will said.

"I will do just that." Eli replied.

Will started exhaling unevenly. "Thank you. Thank you."

Eli smiled and covered him with a blanket. "You're a good man, Will. Willing to sacrifice yourself."

"Well...I was told once I am self-sacrificing."

Eli chuckled. He sobered up. "If I have to...I promise you, I'll make it quick."

"You'll make what quick?" Eli turned to see Sonny, Lani, and JJ behind him. He sighed and stood up. "He asked me to kill him if he comes after us due to his jungle madness."

Sonny turned to Will, who nodded to confirm it. "No, no, we are not going to do that."

No one wanted to argue with him. Lani and JJ headed off. Eli walked over to Sonny. "Sonny...you heard what he wants us to do. Maybe we should respect his wishes."

"Respect his wishes?" Sonny snapped. He stood up and glared at Eli.

"Yes."

"The disease is called 'Jungle Madness' for a reason. It makes its victims insane!" Sonny snapped. "Meaning we do not respect his wishes. We ignore them. We disregard everything he does and everything he says and we do everything we can to make him better."

"We don't have the means to make him better, Sonny." Eli argued. "That man is suffering right now."

As the two men argued, Will's jungle madness was acting up again. He managed to free himself from the ropes.

"So you wanna euthanize him? Is that what you wanna do? Put him down like a rabid dog?" Sonny asked, aghast. "Your own cousin."

"I understand you're in pain right now," Eli said. "but there are other people to consider."

"Well then you consider all those people." Sonny said simply. "'Cause my concern right now is helping Will. Look at him. He is in agony and he doesn't deserve to be, because he's one of the best men I know, and I will do whatever it takes to save his life. We're not gonna respect his wishes. He is not in his right mind!"

"Sonny, please be reasonible here! What would you do if the roles were reversed?" Eli asked. Suddenly, he heard a distant rumbling. "Wait...do you hear that?"

Chad and Gabi appeared eating fruit. The rumbling was getting louder.

"Is that an airplane?" Gabi asked. They looked up in the sky. Sure enough, an airplane was approaching.

"Guys, started jumping and yelling!" Eli instructed. They did so.

"Hey!"

"HEY! WE'RE OVER HERE!"

"HEY!"

The plane flew over them. Gabi huffed. "Do you think they saw us?"

"It looks like it." JJ said. "They're circling the island. Probably looking for a place to land."

"Or they saw the SOS sign and Sonny's plane." Lani suggested.

"Oh my god, you guys! We're gonna be rescued!" Gabi exclaimed. Everyone cheered happily and hugged each other.

"Okay, so, should we look for the rescue team or should we let them find us?" Chad asked.

"Well, we left footprints pretty much all over, so hopefully they'll pick the right set that leads here." JJ said. Eli and Lani nodded in agreement.

"See, guys? We don't have to kill Will. We're gonna be rescued anyway!" Sonny exclaimed.

"We're very lucky." Eli said.

XX

About ten minutes later, they heard someone calling out for them. "Hello? Anyone there?"

"Over here!" Lani shouted into the woods. "We're out here!"

They heard footsteps and John and Marlena appeared from the trees. "Oh my God!"

Gabi and Chad ran to hug them. "It's a miracle!"

"I've never been so happy to see anyone in my life!" Lani cried, half-sobbing, half-laughing, and hugging Marlena tight.

"Let her breathe, Lani." JJ said, smiling.

Lani pulled back and cleared her throat, embarrassed. "Sorry."

Marlena laughed. "It's fine. So, everyone's okay?"

"Whoa, kid, what happened to you?" John asked Sonny, noticing his still bleeding wound.

"Where's Will?" Marlena asked.

Just then, Will shot up and grabbed for Eli's gun. Gabi started screaming and JJ and Lani rushed to help Eli.

"No, no, no, no, no!" Sonny cried.

"Will, what the hell is wrong with you?!" Marlena shrieked.

Eli and Will fell to the ground, still struggling for the gun. John jumped in and pulled Eli away. "Okay, that's enough! Enough! What the hell is going on here?!"

"Will caught Jungle Madness." Sonny explained.

"What?!" Marlena and John exclaimed. By this time, Will had passed out again.

"He caught Jungle Madness." Sonny repeated.

"Oh my gosh, it's the same disease Peter Blake had." Marlena gasped. She knelt down and started going through her medical bag.

"He tried to kill us so we had to tie him up to restrain him." Eli explained simply.

"We gotta get him to a hospital." Marlena said.

"Thank God we can." Sonny laid Will's head on a backpack. "How the hell did you guys find us?"

"We tracked the jet's last location before losing communication and just started flying around." John explained. "Then we saw your SOS sign and you all jumping up and down, then we saw the wrecked Kiriakis jet. Then when we landed, we saw a set of footprints leading through the woods, so we tracked them and found you guys here."

"So we had a lot of luck on our side." Marlena said. "We've gotta get him to a hospital now."

"All right, I'll make contact with our plane. We're pretty close to Malta, so we'll head to a hospital there, then we'll head home." John said.

Sonny smiled and cradled Will's head in his lap. "Hey, Will, come here. Come here. Did you hear any of that? We're gonna be rescued. We'll take you to a hospital and everything's gonna be okay." Sonny kissed Will's forehead. "Everything's gonna be okay."

Marlena gave Will a sedative and turned to Sonny. "I just gave him a sedative, so he should be resting. He'll be asleep until we get him back to the mainland."

"They need to give him the antidote." Sonny said.

"They will." Marlena assured him. "And when we give it to him, he's gonna be just fine."

John walked up. "Just got word back from the plane. They're gonna relay the news of our rescue back to the States."

"That's great news." Sonny said with a hand over his heart.

"Sonny, thank you for taking care of my grandson." Marlena said.

"Absolutely." Sonny said. "You know, I just felt...felt so powerless just sitting around here, watching and there was nothing I could do to help the people that I love."

"Oh, I know what that's like." Marlena said. "You just keep loving them and try to accept whatever fate gives you."

"Yeah, well...I'm not sure I can do that." Sonny admitted.

XXX

Later, everyone packed up their stuff. The men made a makeshift stretcher out of long firewood and the blankets from the plane.

"Hey, where's Chad and Gabi?" Marlena asked.

"Oh, they're right over..." John turned around and saw that they weren't there. "Well, they were right over there. Where's Sonny?"

"He had to pack a few more things." Marlena replied.

XX

Sonny silently followed Chad and Gabi to a clearing away from camp.

"I don't think I can do this. This is worth a lot of money." Chad said as he held the amulet over a hole they dug. He sighed. "But, this is a lot more trouble than it's worth. I mean, this island..."

"So, you're a believer now?" Gabi asked, half-joking.

"I may be headed there." Chad dropped the amulet in the hole. "Can you do it? I can't..."

"Bye-bye." Gabi sang as she buried the amulet up. "I know it's hard, but it's for the best."

Chad sighed heavily. "I know. Come on. Let's go before I change my mind."

Gabi giggled as she climbed onto Chad's back. Chad walked off, carrying Gabi. Sonny appeared from behind a huge boulder. He walked over to the mound of sand, looked around, and dug the amulet up. He smiled and stuffed it into his pocket.


	112. Meet The New Boss

They stopped in New York City to refuel the plane. There was an ambulence waiting there for Will. They didn't have an antidote, but they gave him something to control the symptoms. Lani rented a hotel room nearby just so she could shower. JJ, Eli, Gabi, Chad, and Sonny followed suit. Chad, Gabi, and Sonny headed to a restaurant for some dinner.

"I cannot tell you how relieved I am to be back to civilization." Gabi said

"Right? I can't wait to get back home, though." Sonny said.

A short, brunette waitress came to their table. "Hello and welcome to Maurice's. I'm Mia and I'll be your waitress for this evening."

"Mia?!" Chad and Gabi both exclaimed. Mia was none other than Mia McCormick.

Sonny looked between Chad and Gabi. "You know her?"

"We sure do! Mia was my girlfriend in high school. Then Will's." Chad replied.

"Chad? Gabi?" Mia said in surprise. "Wow! It's been so long!"

"It has. You dyed your hair." Gabi commented.

Mia absentmindedly ran a hand through her hair. "Yeah. I just needed a change."

Gabi glanced at Sonny. "Oh. Where are my manners? This is our friend Sonny Kiriakis."

"Nice to finally meet you, Mia." Sonny greeted, extending his hand.

"Nice to meet you, too." Mia said, shaking his hand. "By any chance, are you related to Victor Kiriakis?"

Sonny nodded. "My great-uncle."

"Sonny is also stepfather to my daughter." Gabi explained.

"Oh. How long have you two been married?" Mia asked.

Gabi and Sonny chuckled. "No- we aren't married. Will and I had a baby together, then Will realized he is gay, and he and Sonny started dating and eventually got married."

Mia was shocked. "Will is gay?"

"Oh, yeah." Gabi nodded. "We named our daughter Arianna Grace."

"After Grace?" Mia asked, emotional.

"Yeah." Gabi pulled out her phone and pulled up a picture of her and Ari and showed it to Mia.

Mia smiled warmly. "She looks so much like Will. How old is she?"

"She just turned four last month." Gabi replied.

"Will and I also have twin boys- DJ and Leon." Sonny spoke up. "They were born in October of last year."

"That's great. I'm glad Will is happy." Mia replied. "Where is he right now?"

"He is sleeping right now. Long story." Sonny replied.

"Oh." Mia nodded. She turned to Chad. "How about you, Chad? What have you been up to these past seven years?"

Chad chuckled. "Well, I married Will and Sonny's cousin Abigail and we have a baby together."

Mia raised an eyebrow at Sonny. "You married your cousin?"

Sonny laughed. "No. Abigail's mother is my aunt on my mom's side and also Will's aunt on his dad's side."

"Oh." Mia nodded again.

"So, what have you been up to these past seven years, Mia?" Chad asked. "You married?"

"Divorced." Mia replied. "I have triplets."

"Oh." Chad replied.

Mia cleared her throat. "So, what would you guys like to drink?"

XXX

Justin, Adrienne, Lucas, Jennifer, and Abe all drove to the airport in seperate cars. They walked through the lobby by security. John and Marlena walked through the gate followed by the crash survivors.

"Daddy!" Lani cried. She ran into Abe's arms and hugged him.

Jennifer and Adrienne both hugged their sons tearfully.

"It's okay, Mom. I'm home." Sonny said.

Adrienne sobbed harder, but smiled. "You have no idea how much I wanted to hear you say that."

Justin hugged Sonny next. "I'm glad you're okay."

"Me, too." Sonny replied. He hugged Lucas next.

"Where's Will?" Lucas asked.

Sonny took a deep breath. "He caught Jungle Madness."

"What?" Lucas asked, panicked.

"He's sedated. They're taking him to the hospital right now." Sonny replied.

Lucas exhaled sharply. "Oh, man..."

XXX

Will woke up feeling the hospital bed and gown. He opened his eyes and saw Lucas and Sonny smiling down at him.

"Hey." Will greeted.

"Hi." Lucas replied. He hugged his son. "I'm so glad you're okay, man."

Will hugged back. "Me, too. How are the kids?"

"They're great. They miss you." Lucas said.

"The boys haven't started crawling yet, have they?"

"No. I think they're waiting for you two." Lucas looked between Sonny and Will who laughed. "Anyway, Adrienne's looking after them right now."

"Okay. I will go see them. I'll leave you two." Sonny kissed Will's forehead. "I'll be back." He walked out of the room and saw Marlena walking towards him.

"Oh Sonny, hi. How's Will?" Marlena asked.

"He's good. Lucas is with him now. The antidote's going to take a little while to fully kick in but he's doing much better, seems like himself." Sonny replied.

"I'm glad to hear that. And have you been checked out?"

Sonny nodded. "Yeah, clean bill of health."

"Good and emotionally?" Marlena asked.

"I'm good." Sonny said, mostly convincing himself.

"Good. Well I'm going to go and visit with Will. If you need anything, you know where to find me." Marlena goes into Will's room.

"Welcome home, nephew."

Sonny turned around to see Deimos smirking at him. "You don't belong here."

"I just stopped by to give my regards to Will." Deimos replied. "How is he?"

"None of your business." Sonny snapped. "You should be in jail."

"For what?" Deimos asked nonchalantly.

"You hired Xander to kidnap Nicole and Holly and then you murdered the man who was willing to testify against you." Sonny replied.

"You have no proof of any of that, do you?" Deimos asked. "Personally, I'd like to think of it all as one big misunderstanding. And since I'm here speaking you, it would seem that the police and DA agree."

"You don't think there's going to be consequences for your actions? You will pay for what you did." Sonny growled, pointing a finger at him.

"Like I said, the police-"

"I'm not talking about the police. I'm talking about me." Sonny replied. "Soon, I will be in charge of Titan and when I am, I am going to crush you."

Deimos just laughed. "Wow. Look at you trying to act all grown up. You think pushing me out of Titan makes you powerful? You're going to need a hell of a lot more than a title to be a threat to me."

Sonny stepped forward. "I will ruin you. I will not stop 'til there's nothing left of you."

"Oh yeah, good luck with that. You may have Titan, but I'm building something bigger and more dangerous than you ever could have imagined." Deimos replied.

"And what's that?"

Deimos shook his head. "All in good time nephew, but for now you should know that declaring war on me was the biggest mistake of your life."

"If you're done with your empty threats, you should leave. I'm here for my husband." Sonny said.

"And how is dear Will?"

"As if you care."

"I do care. After everything I've read about this Jungle Madness, it sounds like a really nasty disease." Deimos replied, folding his arms. "You know Sonny, if I were you I wouldn't worry about running Titan right now. I mean after all who knows how much time Will might have?"

"Don't you talk about Will like that." Sonny said angrily.

"I'm just trying to help." Deimos said, shrugging. "Look, I can't even imagine how difficult it must be for you to run a company and mourn the sudden death, the loss of the man you love."

"Shut the hell up. Shut up!" Sonny was getting angrier now. He grabbed Deimos' jacket.

Deimos noticed a crowd of onlookers. "It's alright, it's a family disagreement." He grabs Sonny's head with both hands and shakes it. "You're going to regret this."

"I'm not afraid of you." Sonny declared.

"Oh really? Well, you should be." He shoves Sonny to the floor. Deimos noticed an amulet fell from Sonny's pocket. Sonny grabbed the amulet, shoved it into his pocket, and stood up. "So, you all done here? The last thing on my agenda today was to get in a shoving match with a little child."

"Or this child is too much for you to handle." Sonny retorted.

Deimos scoffed. "You keep trying to convince yourself of that. I've already proven that you lack the temperament to run Titan. You'll prove it to yourself and the rest of the world before long."

"We'll see."

"Yeah, we'll see. Say hello to your husband for me, will ya?" Deimos smiled and walked off.

XXX

Marlena walked up to Sonny. "Will is resting."

"How did he seem to you?" Sonny asked.

Marlena sighed. "Well, he's tired and he's not going to be okay immediately, but we're all very hopeful."

"Me too." Sonny nodded. He looked forlorn.

Marlena noticed. "Is something wrong?"

"I'm just worried about him, that's all." Sonny shrugged. "Almost losing Will made me realise just how much I love him."

Marlena nodded. "He loves you, too."

"You know, I...I feel like a different person now." Sonny said. He didn't know why he was saying that to Marlena of all people, but, he just needed to vent.

"How so?"

"I don't know." Sonny exhaled sharply. "I just think I was more naïve about how the world works."

"You know, we all have tragedies. They tend to devastate us." Marlena pointed out. "The point is to not let those things change us, change who we are. We can't let them make us unkind or uncaring."

"And does Will think that's happening to me?" Sonny asked.

"No honey, Will thinks you still have the wonderful loving heart he fell in love with." Marlena assured him.

Sonny smiled at Marlena. "Thanks."

XXX

Sonny took a bus to the Pub and ran upstairs. Adrienne and the boys were on the floor by the couch. Sonny walked over and picked his boys up and hugged them. "Hi! Oh, I've missed you!" The twins babbled happily. Sonny set them down. "Let me look at you. Nope, you haven't changed a bit."

"Daddy!" Ari ran towards Sonny, who yelled excitedly. Ari tackled Sonny with a hug.

Sonny laughed and fell backwards, and sat up. "I missed you! Did you miss me?"

"Yeah." Ari replied. "Where's Da?"

"He is not feeling well, so he's at the hospital." Sonny explained. "He'll be home tomorrow."

"Oh. Where's Mommy?"

"Your Tio Rafe is coming to pick you up to take you to your mommy." Sonny replied. "She's at Chad's house."

Ari nodded. "Okay."

XXX

The next morning, Will was discharged from the hospital. Lucas came with the boys in tow. Will hugged his boys. "Hi! I missed you guys so much." He stood up. "Where's Ari?"

"With Gabi. They're at Chad's." Lucas replied.

"Oh." Will said, his eye twitching.

"Are you okay?" Lucas asked, concerned.

"I'm fine. Why do you ask?"

"Your eye just started twitching. Do you not like Ari going over there?" Lucas asked.

"Not if Andre's there." Will replied.

"Good point." Lucas replied. "So, you're discharged?"

"Yep. Back to a hundred percent." Will replied, smiling.

"Aw, that's great." Lucas and Will hugged.

"Yeah, thank God for modern medicine." Will said, smiling. "I thought I was going to be quarantined here for months."

"So did I. I'm so relieved that you're alright." Lucas said. "I don't think I can thank John and Marlena enough for all they went through to find you guys."

"Ditto. John's actually leaving on another ISA mission today." Will announced.

"Seriously? That guys old enough to retire!" Lucas exclaimed.

"Not til next year, actually." Will said.

"Is he gonna retire next year, then?"

"I'm not sure." Will replied. "I'm sure Grandma Marlena would love that."

"How did she take John leaving again?"

"Sad as always, but she's accepted it." Will sighed. "Maybe I should take a lesson from Marlena, be more accepting of Sonny's new job and all the demands that come with it."

"Oh, yeah. Adrienne told me that he was made Titan's new CEO. That's a lot of pressure." Lucas said.

"Tell me about it."

"I've got to ask you this. How did Deimos take the news that he was being unseated by his great-nephew?" Lucas asked.

"How do you think he took it?" Will asked, raising an eyebrow. "Not well."

"Well, I hope he doesn't take it out on you or the kids." Lucas said.

"Me, too."

Lucas folded his arms. "So, since he's CEO, could he give Countess W back the money Deimos stole?"

"I told you, Dad: Deimos is not the one who hacked into that account." Will replied. "Both Paul and Sonny kept a sharp eye on Deimos. They would have noticed something."

"People make mistakes." Lucas pointed out.

"I know they do. Doesn't mean Paul and Sonny did." Will replied.

"I'm going to meet Adrienne for coffee. Want to join us?" Lucas asked.

"I would, but Sonny and I are moving the kids and all our stuff into the Kiriakis mansion." Will replied.

"You're moving into the Kiriakis mansion?" Lucas asked, surprised.

Will nodded. "Yeah. Deimos no longer lives there, so we're moving back in for good."

Lucas smiled and nodded. "Well, much bigger spaces for the boys to learn to crawl. And they'll get their own rooms when they're older."

"Exactly." Will nodded.

"Doesn't sound like this new job is interfering too much." Lucas replied.

"You know it's not so much what it's doing to us, it's more what it's doing to Sonny." Will replied.

"How do you mean?"

"I feel like the power's already gone to his head. We talked and he plans on firing 50 people right off the bat." Will announced.

Lucas was astonished. "Why would he do that?"

"Because they were hired by Deimos." Will said simply.

"That's it? No other reason?"

"These are good people. They're hardworking people who could be just as loyal to Sonny as they were to Deimos, but no, he doesn't want to take any chances." Will said. "This is all Ben's fault."

Lucas was perplexed. "What does Ben have to do with this?"

"Sonny hired Ben to work at TBD, then he betrayed him by framing Chad for murder and trying to kill me, Sonny himself, Paul, Chad, Grandma, Gabi, and Abigail." Will said. "Sonny has trust issues because of that."

Lucas sighed and shook his head. "Sonny's a good kid, he'll sort it out."

"I just feel that he's out to prove that he can be just as ruthless as Deimos." Will said.

"You know, it's like you've said. He's been through a lot these past few years starting with finding out you cheated on him to the plane going down." Lucas said. "I've got a feeling once he feels more comfortable and hits his stride he'll find the right balance again not only in life but in love."

"I hope you're right."

"Sonny's got a lot of people around him that will help pull him through, right? People who love him like you." Lucas said.

XXX

Will spent most of the day packing up the apartment above the Pub and rented a U-Haul to drive all that stuff to the mansion. He had Henderson and a few of the staff help carry the boxes upstairs and unpacked everything in his, Sonny's, the boys', and Ari's old rooms. He ran downstairs as the doorbell rang.

"I'll get it, Henderson!" Will called. He opened the door to Gabi and Ari.

"Da!" Ari jumped up and hugged Will.

"Hey! Oh, I missed you!" Will replied, hugging back.

"Da, don't go away again. You and Daddy and Mommy always get lost."

Will and Gabi laughed. "Okay, we won't."

Gabi looked at Will as if she wanted to talk to him about something. "Hey, Ari, why don't you go upstairs and visit with the boys and Emma?"

"Okay!"

"Do you remember where it is?" Gabi asked.

"Yeah." Ari said over her shoulder as she ran upstairs.

"Okay, what's up?" Will asked.

"Nothing. It's just that...Chad asked me to move in with him." Gabi replied.

"Oh. Okay. That's fine."

Gabi was surprised. "Wait, really?"

"Yeah. Then I can have primary custody of Ari and you only get to see her every other weekend and holiday." Will said.

"What?!" Gabi exclaimed.

"I don't want Ari living in that mansion. Not with Andre there." Will said.

"Will, come on! Do you really think I'd put our daughter in danger?" Gabi asked. "Besides, your grandma Kate and Chad won't let anything happen to her either. They care about her."

"I don't care. I'm not taking chances." Will said firmly. He sighed. "Look, why don't you move in here? It's a few blocks away from Chad's house. You and Ari can go visit with Chad and Thomas any time. As long as Andre's not there."

"Will, I got kidnapped from this house. I don't feel comfortable-"

"Oh, come on. You also got kidnapped from the middle of Horton Town Square the day Ari was born and a few months ago, you got kidnapped from the private area of the square. You still hang out there." Will pointed out. "Why should this place be any difference? Look, you shouldn't let one bad experience keep you from going anywhere." Gabi exhaled slowly and threw her head back. "Look, I think all of us living here would be what's best for Ari. We won't have to worry about a custody arrangement, we have maids and cooks so you won't have to cook and clean. And we have limos and drivers."

Gabi shook her head. The more she thought about it...she didn't want to worry about a custody arrangement, either. "Okay, fine. You had me at maids and cooks."

Will laughed happily and pulled Gabi into a hug. "All right!"

"Yeah. Maybe I'll just avoid the living room until I'm over it." Gabi said.

"Sounds good." Will nodded. "I still have the U-Haul if you want to borrow it to pack up your stuff."

"Thanks. That'd be great. Let me just say good-bye to Ari."

"Okay."

They headed upstairs to the playroom where Ari was playing with Tate and Emma.

"Mommy! Da!" Ari ran over to them, waving a paper. "Look what I drawed!"

"Oh, that's beautiful, sweetheart." Gabi said. It was a picture of an outline of a big house with her, Will, Sonny, and the kids living inside. "You know, it's funny that you should draw that, because you and I are going to move in here with your daddies and brothers."

"Really?" Ari asked, hopefully. She glanced at Will, who smiled and nodded. She hugged her mom, causing her to laugh. "Thankyouthankyouthankyou! This is the best day ever!"

Will chuckled. "I'm glad."

"Ari, Mommy has to go pack up all our stuff and bring it back here." Gabi said. "She'll be back soon."

"Okay!" Ari said happily.

XX

On her way to her house, Gabi called Chad. "Hey."

"Hey, you ready to move in?" Chad asked.

Gabi sighed quietly. "Actually, I'm not moving in with you."

"But I thought Kate-"

"Well, I went over to Will and Sonny's house. They're moving into the Kiriakis mansion." Gabi explained. "Will does not want Ari living at your house- not while Andre lives there."

Chad huffed. "So you're just gonna listen to him?"

"Yes. Because thanks to your brother and my dad I am already on thin ice with Will as far as Ari is concerned." Gabi replied hotly. "I do not want to do anything that's gonna make Will take Ari away from me. So I am moving into the Kiriakis mansion as well."

"Wow, Will's less of a pushover than I thought." Chad said.

"Well, I can't blame him. When he was a pushover, Ari was almost taken away from him and it also caused problems with him and Sonny." Gabi replied. "Look, the mansion is a few blocks away from your house. Ari and I can come visit or you and Thomas can come over to my house."

"Okay. Fine. That sounds good." Chad said.

"Awesome. I'll see you later."

XXX

Sonny came home and walked into the living room where Will was pouring him a glass of wine. "Hey, you're just in time!"

Sonny smiled and took a glass of wine from Will's proffered hand. "How are you feeling?"

"I feel better than when I first got back." Will said.

"That's good. You look better." Sonny nodded.

"Thanks. You don't." Will said, noticing his husband's forlorn expression. "You look really stressed."

"Well, dodging shooting daggers will do that to a man." Sonny sighed.

"What happened?"

"Just got back from the Titan office where there were 50 recently terminated employees packing up their stuff." Sonny explained.

"So you went through with the firings?"

Sonny nodded. "Absolutely, I had to. I couldn't risk it. They still might be loyal to Deimos. I just didn't know I'd feel like such a creep about it. I did however give everyone a huge severance package."

"Well, I'm sure they would have preferred to keep their jobs." Will said.

"I'm a terrible person." Sonny sighed in despair and slumped on the couch.

Will sat next to him. "No, you're a good person. The fact that I'm still here is proof of that. You risked your life to save mine many times."

"That wasn't a tough decision." Sonny said, smiling.

"Now that you're Titan's CEO, you're going to be faced with nothing but tough decisions and hopefully you'll be able to make them without losing who you really are." Will said.

"That's easier said than done." Sonny looked away.

Will patted his thight and squeezed it. "I have faith in you. Follow your gut and you'll do what you feel is right."

"So, you don't hate me?"

"No, not even possible." Will pulled him into a kiss.

"You know, looking at you now, it's hard to believe you were ever as sick as you were." Sonny said.

"Seems like a really bad dream." Will said. "The only thing missing was Gilligan and Skipper."

Sonny laughed. "It's crazy how that little mosquito caused so much pain."

"Yeah. It made me so psychotic, that my friends almost had to put me out of my misery." Will said. "My own cousin."

"I would never let that happen." Sonny assured him.

"No, you'd only save me, not only from the others but it was your love that pulled me back from the brink. Made it possible for me to hold on to whatever sanity I had left." Will said. "Thank you for never giving up on me."

"I could never give up on you, I love you too much." Sonny replied.

"More all the time." Will said. "Hey, um...how would you feel about Gabi moving in with us?"

Sonny bit his lip thoughtfully. "Well, it would make things easier for Ari. But, I thought she was too traumatized byDeimos to want to move here."

"Well, it took a little convincing, and it was either move here or into the DiMera mansion with that serial killer whale, but, in the end she decided to just avoid the living room." Will said. "But, if you're not okay with it..."

"No, it's fine." Sonny replied.

"Great!" Will smiled. "I mean, I know you had your heart set on just living with me and the kids, but..."

"But I have accepted it." Sonny finished. "Gabi can live here as long as she wants."

"Awesome!" Will laughed and hugged Sonny. "Everything's working out great."

"It is." Sonny replied. "So, since this is your house too, feel free to want to make changes to anything, add food to the grocery list that you want, and I'll give you the driver's number and schedule."

"Thank you! I'll get started right away." Will stood up and looked around. "That piano needs to go."

"Oh, yeah. I'm selling that and Deimos' sheet music on eBay." Sonny announced proudly.

"Sweet." Will left the living room.

Sonny walked over to his desk and pulled out the amulet and smiled. "'Cursed', huh? Is that why everything's working out for the best?" He scoffed. "Come on..."


	113. Super Cool Party People

Later that evening, Will and Sonny got ready for the party. Sonny made a phone call much to Will's irritation.

"I want the best possible candidates for each job." Sonny was saying. "No I'm not expanding. I fired everyone that my Uncle Deimos hired. ... You can't do anything before 1 o'clock?! I need to start this first thing-" Will cleared his throat. Sonny sighed inwardly. "I don't have time to argue with you. Just be at my office at 1 o'clock."

"Please tell me that was the last phone tonight." Will said impatiently. Sonny's cell rings and Will takes his phone and shuts it off.

"What are you doing?" Sonny demanded.

"I wanted an uninterrupted minute before we leave for the party." Will explained calmly.

"What's so important?"

"I wanted to tell you that I love you." Will said.

Sonny smiled. "I love you, too."

"Let me fix your collar." Will said. He adjusted Sonny's collar and felt something hanging around Sonny's neck. "When did you become the necklace type?"

"I don't know what you're talking about." Sonny replied.

Will sees the amulet. "Are you kidding me?"

"Will..."

"Sonny, no. Tell me this isn't what it looks like. Tell me this is some kind of joke!" Will said half-angry, half-panicked.

Sonny raised his hands and stepped back. "Okay, okay. It's the amulet."

"How did you find it?" Will asked.

"I saw Chad burying it before we left the island." Sonny explained.

"And you dug it out." Will said, exasperated.

"Will, I can sell this for a fortune." Sonny insisted.

"If you're still alive." Will exclaimed.

"I don't believe in the curse, and I can't believe that Chad would bury this because he believes in it." Sonny said.

"Maybe he doesn't want to take any chances with his life." Will said. "Sonny, please take it off and put it in the safe."

"I haven't changed the combination to the safe, and Deimos knows what it is." Sonny said.

"Deimos is on the run!"

"Hey, relax." Sonny rubbed Will's arms. "Let's go to the party and have some fun."

Will exhaled sharply. "Sonny, if something happens tonight..."

"Then you can tell me 'I told you so', because I know how much you love doing that." Sonny finished. "Can we go to the party?"

XXX

The party was in full swing by the time the husbands got there.

"I was getting ready earlier tonight, and it hit me what a great invention the shower is!" Sonny was saying.

"And the blow dryer." Lani added.

"Clean bed sheets." Will added.

"Indoor plumbing!" JJ exclaimed.

"Oh. You win." Eli said. They all laughed. "So Sonny, you start your new job at Titan today?"

"Yes, by getting rid of everyone that Deimos hired." Sonny said proudly.

"What I can't figure out is when a dude is mean and nasty, why do people treat him like he's smarter than a nice guy?" Lani asked.

"That's a good question, but I do have some ideas to get the company back in the black." He absentmindedly fiddled the amulet under his shirt and tie.

"Hey how's the investigation going on Deimos?" Will asked.

"Rafe and Hope briefed us right before we came over here." JJ said.

"And?" Sonny pressed.

"They were hoping forensics would find something in the lab that got raided, something that might tell them where he is." Lani said.

"It didn't work out that way." JJ said, shrugging.

Sonny sighed. "I can't believe it. They have the goods on him, but they don't know where he is."

"It wouldn't take much to get the Bureau in on this." Eli spoke up.

"Talk to Rafe." JJ said. He turned to Lani. "Want something to drink?"

"Diet anything." Lani said.

"I'll be right back." JJ said. He, Sonny, and Will head to the bar.

A few minutes later, Julie walked to the middle of the room. "Everyone, ladies and gentlemen, may I have your attention please?" Everyone turned to her. "On behalf of everybody here, I want to welcome back from the God forsaken island Gabi, Chad and Lani and JJ and Sonny and Will and my grandson Eli." Everyone cheered. "Also, I want to announce that Eli has accepted as a gift from Doug Williams and myself the Martin house. Eli plans to turn this place into a residence for young people, so soon these old walls are just going to be vibrant with life and promise." Everyone clapped again. "In addition, this is a night to honour the Horton Center, and if you have a few minutes, Eric Brady..." She saw Eric across the room. "There he is. The handsome Eric Brady is going to make a little speech and tell you more about the Horton Center and then he's going to lead us in a toast to the wonderful work the Horton Center does. So everybody have a beautiful evening because we have so much to be grateful for." Once again, everyone applauded, then went back to talking.

Sonny and Will walked over to Chad. "I heard Kate took over DiMera while we were gone."

Chad shrugged. "Well, she married Andre."

Will just stared at Chad in shock and horror. "What?!"

"You didn't know?" Chad asked, surprised.

"No, I didn't know! Why the hell would she do that?!" Will demanded loudly.

"First of all, keep your voice down." Sonny said. "She must have really wanted the job."

"I can't believe she would do this to me." Will stormed out of the room.

"Will!" Sonny called after him. He sighed. "I'm sorry."

XXX

Kate enjoyed a martini as she flipped through a magazine. She heard a car door slam. Then she heard the front door being kicked open.

"Grandma!" Will yelled angrily.

"Living room." Kate called, calmly. Will stormed into the living room looking angrier than Kate had ever seen him. "Let me guess: you heard that I married Andre."

"How. The. Hell. Could. You. Do. This. To me?!" Will demanded, through gritted teeth.

"Okay, first of all, this has nothing to do with you." Kate stood up. "Second of all, I only married him so I could be a DiMera again. Chad was missing. DiMera enterprises needed a CEO in case Chad was dead, and they needed one now. They didn't want Andre to be CEO, so he and I had a quickie marriage ceremony."

"To hell with everyone else, right?" Will hissed angrily. "After everything he has done to me, to my dad, to Sonny? What about what he did to you, your husband- my grandfather, and your daughter? Or Uncle Philip and Victor? Doesn't any of that matter to you?!"

"It's called forgiveness, sweetheart, you should try it sometime." Kate said.

"Oh, yeah, I'm gonna forgive that mentally unbalanced, fat, fugly...to call him a bastard would be an insult to all those bastards out there!" Will snapped, sarcastically.

"Will, it's only for six months until Chad can appeal again." Kate assured him.

"I don't care!" Will shouted angrily. "You betrayed me. You betrayed everyone you care about by even associating yourself with that thing! You know what, fine. Fine! If you want to waste the rest of your life with yet another DiMera, fine. I'm over it. You are dead to me. You are never going to see my kids or my sister ever again, and you and your chubby hubby are banned from Brady's Pub, and I will see to it that you are also banned from every Kiriakis-owned business within a fifty mile radius!"

"That's a little overdramatic, don't you think?" Kate asked.

"Well, not as overdramatic as those freaks on the DiMera Enterprise board." Will said.

"...Okay, you've made a good point." Kate said, giving in.

Andre walked into the room. "Ah, William. I heard screeching in here earlier, I thought your mother barged in here."

Will chuckled humorlessly. "That's really funny. How long did it take for you to come up with that- two days? Three?"

"Cheeky, are we?" Andre asked. "I'm guessing you heard the good news."

"You're dying of cancer?" Will asked.

"Okay, break it up, you two." Kate said warningly. "Look, Will, it was my idea to get married, so-"

"Oh, I know." Will interrupted. "After all, Andre sucks at thinking under pressure especially when there's a time limit."

"Excuse me?"

"You are a joke. A fat, mentally challenged, useless, pathetic, ugly, old joke!" Will went off. Kate held him back from attacking Andre. He rounded on Kate. "And you! Clearly you have a type: hardened criminals from a family of rapists, killers, and kidnappers."

"I resent that comment." Andre said, angrily.

"Well, it's true. After all, just recently, you kidnapped my husband." Will said.

"So that's what this is about." Andre guessed. "I'll admit- not my best plan. I figured that if I of all people care about my family- especially someone I once wanted dead- to the point where I put my health at risk to attack his kidnapper...then Deimos would, too. Heh. I guess that makes me a better person than Deimos, wouldn't you say?"

Will continued glaring at him. "I hope you give each other STDs that can't be cured."

"We're not going to." Kate scoffed.

"Good point. There is nothing but sand in both your genitals." Will said, smirking.

"You know what, that is disgusting and vulgar!" Kate snapped.

"So are you." Will said smartly.

"We are not sleeping together. We don't even share a room!" Kate exclaimed.

"Gee, I wonder how long that will last, you desperate, gerontophilic, whore!" Will yelled. Kate slapped Will across the face so hard, he nearly fell over. Will exhaled sharply and rubbed his cheek. "Sure. Slap your grandson but not his attempted murderer. I never want to see you again." He stormed out.

"Gee, I wonder how long that will last!" Kate retorted in a slightly mocking tone.

Will slammed the front door so hard, the glass shook. He stormed back to his car, climbed in, and slammed the car door shut. He hit the steering wheel a few times to vent out his anger. He sighed and drove back towards the Martin Mansion.

Will parked in the huge driveway and took a few deep breaths to calm himself down. After what felt like an hour, he went back inside. It was pretty quiet. He walked into the living room where Lani and Eli were passed out on a chair. JJ and Gabi were both passed out on the couch. "What the hell?" He stepped away from the living room and pulled out his phone to call Sonny. His phone went to voicemail. Was Sonny passed out, too? He walked upstairs and looked down each hallway and found Sonny passed out near Abigail's room. He ran over and knelt next to his husband. "Sonny. Hey, Sonny." He lightly slapped Sonny, who woke with a start. "Hey. Are you okay?"

"Mm..." Sonny groaned, a little groggy. "Mm-hm." He sleepily hugged Will's torso, then passed out again.

Will sighed. "Okay." He looked around and lifted Sonny up, bridal-style and leaned against the wall to steady himself. He carried Sonny to the nearest empty bedroom and gently set him on the bed and lay next to him.

XX

A couple hours later, Sonny woke up, groaning. "What happened last night?" He sat up and clutched his head. He looked around, and it took a minute to recognize where he was. He saw Will fast asleep next to him. He checked the clock- just after one in the morning. He shook Will awake. "Will. Will, wake up."

Will blinked his eyes open and yawned. "What time is it?"

"It's just after 1:00 AM." Sonny replied. "Will, what happened earlier tonight?"

"What's the last thing you remember?"

"Uh...your Uncle Eric made a toast. I drank my champagne, then...nothing." Sonny said. "Next thing I know, I'm waking up next to you."

Will sighed and sat up. "I left before Uncle Eric made his toast. I was pissed about Kate marrying that giant bag of pudding, so I went over to the DiMera mansion and yelled at them. It took a while for me to calm down enough to come back here."

"I love how Andre is literally the only one of our enemies you trash every chance you get." Sonny muttered. "When did you come back here."

"Around eleven." Will replied. "Eli, Lani, JJ, and Gabi were all passed out in the living room. I tried to call you, but it went to voicemail. I figured you were passed out, too, so I went to look for you. I found you passed out in the hallway and carried you in here to sleep."

Sonny smiled wryly. "You know, if you were a lesser man, then this night would have taken a very dark turn."

Will laughed, then climbed out of bed. "Let's go see if anyone else is awake."

They left the room as Chad left his room. "Will, Sonny."

"Chad. How did we end up here?" Sonny asked.

"I don't know. I just woke up in Abby's room. Everything's foggy." Chad replied. "Do you remember anything?"

"The party. We were in the living room. Eric was giving a toast." Sonny said.

"That was a hell of a toast. Let's go down and see what's going on." Chad replied.

"Okay."

XX

The trio headed down to the living room.

"My head hurts so bad." Chad groaned. "What time is it? How long..."

"A couple of hours." Will replied. "I went to your house uh, for a few minutes, then I drove around before coming back here."

Chad nodded and looked at JJ and Gabi and Lani and Eli still passed out. "Look at these guys."

Hope and Rafe come in. "It happened to you guys too?"

"What happened?" Chad asked.

Hope starts giggling. Rafe cleared his throat. "We went to the square for a little walk. Things got a little fuzzy and we walked back here and woke up in the garden."

Hope looked at her watch. "A big chunk of time is missing. Wow, look."

"Are you okay?" Rafe asked.

"I feel fuzzy." Hope said, rubbing her forehead.

"Join the club." Sonny replied.

"You're not the only members." Chad points to Gabi and JJ.

Rafe goes to Gabi. "Hey sis."

"What?" Gabi said, groggily.

"You were out cold." Rafe said.

"Chad." She looks and sees JJ. "What? What's going on here?" JJ wakes up. "I'm sorry Chad, I can explain. Actually I can't explain. I don't know how I ended up on the couch with..."

"Me?" JJ finished. "I don't remember how we got here, either."

"What is going on?" Gabi asked.

"I'm not sure. It happened to all of us." Chad said. He points to JJ. "I woke up with your sister."

"In Abigail's room?" Gabi asked.

"Nothing happened." Chad assured her.

"Yeah nothing happened between JJ and me either." Gabi said.

"How would you know? You don't remember." Chad argued.

Gabi raised an eyebrow. "Do you?"

"No." Chad admitted.

"Hey! What happened happened to all of us so just..." Rafe sighd. "I want to know what the hell happened!"

"I think we need to wake up the others." Hope suggested. "Where are the others?" She walked over to a still passed out Lani and Eli. "Lani. Eli."

Lani woke up. "What? What? Why are you all staring at me like that?" She sees Eli and jumps out of the chair. "What are you doing?!"

Eli woke up and shook his head. "Wait, what?"

Lani turned to JJ. "JJ what is this?"

"We don't know yet." JJ said. "All of us were passed out around the house."

"I don't remember anything after Eric's toast." Lani said.

"We all blacked out." Eli replied.

"I only had a few sips of champagne." Lani said.

"I didn't drink much, either and I just woke up in a bed in one of the many bedrooms." Sonny said.

"Listen, none of us drank that much for it to affect us like this." Hope spoke up.

"Okay then how did we all get knocked out?" Rafe asked. "Did it happen to everyone at the party?"

Sonny looked around. "Wait, where's Paul?" Paul staggers into the doorway. "Paul, are you okay?"

"Deimos was here. He was the one behind this." Paul said, panting. "Just as Eric was finishing his toast, I noticed one of the waiters was staring at him so I moved closer and I saw that it was Deimos in disguise. I'm sure it was him."

"Did he see that you saw him?" Rafe asked, now in detective mode.

Paul nodded. "He must have noticed me because he immediately ducked out into the garden."

"Did you follow him?"

"Yes, but as soon as I got outside someone hit me from behind. The last thing I remember is waking up behind the gazebo just now." Paul replied.

"Son of a bitch!" Sonny yelled in frustration.

Chad stammered. "He's got some guts to show his face here."

"I don't believe he planned on showing his face, but he was definitely up to something." Paul said.

"Paul, come sit down." Sonny suggested.

Paul shook his head. "I'm okay. I'm just pissed I let him get away. Nobody else saw him?"

Sonny shook his head. "We all just woke up, Paul."

"What do you mean you just woke up?" Paul asked, looking around.

"Everyone that is in this room has been passed out for the last couple of hours, and we can't remember anything." Gabi explained.

"Okay listen. Let's try to trace..." Hope's voice trailed off as she starts getting short of breath.

"Are you okay?" Rafe asked, concerned. He helps her sit down.

"I'm fine." Hope said, stubbornly. "Since we know that Deimos was dressed as a waiter it's not that big of a leap to assume that he drugged us all."

"That would explain all the blackouts." JJ said.

"It was Halo." Lani realized. "The affects were a little different than the last time I got dosed, but we know Deimos had access to it."

"He probably spiked the apple cider and the champagne before the toast." Eli added.

"This makes no sense. Deimos hates all of us, why would he make us pass out? I don't understand." Gabi asked, slightly freaked out.

"We all know if you ingest enough Halo it can be fatal." Lani said.

"And Deimos knows the affects very well, which means he knew just how much to give us." JJ added.

"If he was willing to take the risk to get caught, there must have been something he really wanted." Chad pointed out.

Will looks at Sonny and checks for the amulet. "Sonny, you have to tell them."

Hope snapped up. "Wait, what are you whispering about? What did you say?"

Sonny sighed in resignation. "Deimos came here for the amulet. I had it around my neck, now it's gone."

Chad was dumbfounded. "How did you have the amulet when I buried it on the island?"

"I saw you bury it, and when you left I went back and dug it up." Sonny admitted.

"You dug it up after all the misery that thing has brought us?! Why?!" Gabi asked, angrily.

"Because I wanted to sell it." Sonny replied.

"Hang on. What is this amulet?" Rafe asked.

"It's an ancient artifact." Chad explained. "Deimos wanted to steal it because it's worth a lot of cash."

"Wait, how did Deimos know that you had the amulet?" Hope wanted to know.

"Because we got into a fight at the hospital when I was visiting Will." Sonny said. "It fell out of my pocket and I wasn't sure if he saw it or not."

"I guess we know now." Rafe said.

"Deimos has the amulet." Sonny realized.

"But it wasn't yours to have," Hope said to Sonny, then turned to Chad. "or yours...it was stolen."

"It wasn't even about the money for me. I was keeping it away from Deimos." Sonny said.

"But Deimos is one step ahead of us, and he's gotten away with it again." Chad said.

Eric and Nicole come in. "Deimos has gotten away with what?"

"We think that Deimos drugged all of our drinks last night so he could steal a valuable artifact that Sonny had in his possession." Hope explained.

"What?" Nicole exclaimed. "Deimos did this. He's the reason..."

"Listen okay, everyone?" Rafe spoke up. "We're going to get Deimos, okay? We've got him on drug charges. We're going to find him."

"We can put the whole night behind us." Chad said. Abby is now there. "Yeah."

"Sounds like a good idea." Gabi said.

Everyone just started talking amongst themselves. Sonny and Will brought Abigail up to speed.

Then, suddenly, they all heard a bloodcurdling scream and turned towards the French doors. Gabi was on the floor. On top of Gabi was Deimos, a knife sticking out of his chest.


	114. Who Killed Deimos Kiriakis?

Everyone turned to see Gabi on the floor with Deimos' body on top of her. She kept screaming.

"Get him off of me!"

Rafe, Eli and Chad rush over and roll Deimos off of her. Gabi runs into Chad's arms. JJ and Lani return.

"Gabi, you okay?" JJ asked. They see Deimos.

Hope checked for a pulse. "He's dead."

"Everyone stay were you are. This a crime scene, and we need to keep it preserved for Forensics." Eli said.

"That's right." Rafe spoke up. "And nobody touch anything and don't leave."

Abby had a hand on her heart. "So one of us must have killed him?"

"There's a light blood trail on the curtains, it starts over there." Eli noticed.

"So it looks like whoever killed him, did it in this room." Rafe said.

Hope called it in. Everyone else called their families to let them know what's going on.

"Hey, Dad." Sonny said over the phone.

"Sonny. It's late. Where are you?" Justin asked, wearily.

"I'm at the Martin Mansion." Sonny explained. "Long story short, Deimos drugged everyones' drinks, we were all passed out for a couple hours, and now Deimos is dead."

"What?!"

"We discovered his body...he had been stabbed." Sonny announced.

Justin exhaled sharply. "Do they know who did it?"

"No. Everyone at this party- well, except Paul, who had been knocked out by Deimos and Will, who left early, then came back- was drugged with Halo." Sonny explained. "No one remembers seeing Deimos."

"Okay. Do you need a lawyer?"

"No, I don't think that's neccessary." Sonny replied. "I just wanted you to know what was going on."

"All right. Thanks for letting me know."

XX

After paramedics took Deimos' body away, Raines addressed the room. "As you've all probably figured out, you're all suspects in this murder. We're going to have EMT's go around and check each of you out then we're going to question you individually. If you would like an attorney present that is your right. As of now I need this room cleared so my people can do their work."

"Great, so we can go home then." Chad said, hopeful.

"I'm afraid not." Raines said. "You can go anywhere on these grounds, but you can not leave this property."

"For how long?" Sonny asked. "'Cause this night has been hell for all of us. Can we just come down to the station in the morning?"

Raines stared Sonny down. "You are to stay on the premises, Mr. Kiriakis. Despite the questionable character of the victim, this is still a murder investigation. Someone stuck a knife in Deimos Kiriakis' chest and whoever did is going to be charged and prosecuted to the full extent of the law."

XX

Paul went upstairs to his room and silently opens the door. Derrick was sound asleep in their bed. He took his jacket and shoes off and slowly climbed into bed. Derrick stirred.

"Hey." Paul whispered.

"Hi." Derrick yawned. "How was the party?"

"Well, it started out great, but then Deimos showed up disguised as a waiter." Paul replied. He explained what had happened from getting knocked out to discovering that everyone was drugged, and Gabi finding Deimos' dead body.

Derrick was shocked. "Wow. Huh. I can't believe I slept through all that."

"What time did you get home?"

"Around midnight. It was quiet, so I figured the party was over, so I came up here." Derrick replied. "You weren't here, obviously, so I just went to bed."

"Where did you think I was?" Paul asked, trying not to sound irritated.

"I thought maybe you were dropping somebody off or something. I'm sorry." Derrick said, noticing the expression on his boyfriend's face. He sighed. "I should have tried calling you, and I should have looked for you. I feel terrible."

Paul sighed and shook his head. "Don't. It's not your fault."

"Are you okay, though? I mean, you were out for quite a while from what you told me." Derrick said, running a hand through Paul's hair. "You could have a concussion."

"I'm fine, babe. Really." Paul assured him, smiling. "I'm sorry I woke you. Go back to sleep."

"Okay." Derrick snuggled up to Paul and they fell asleep in each other's arms.

XXX

Will followed Sonny through a hallway. "Where are you going?"

"Home." Sonny said simply. "They can't force me to stay here."

"You do realize how serious this is, right? A man has been murdered." Will said seriously, pointing to the side.

"Yes, I couldn't be happier." Sonny smiled.

Will shushes him and looks around to make sure no one heard. "If Commissioner Raines hears you talking like that, he's going to put you at the top of his suspect list."

Sonny scoffed. "Okay, fine. I'll keep my mouth shut."

"Sonny, I need to know: do you remember anything that happened after Deimos drugged everyone?" Will asked. "The police didn't find the amulet on Deimos. Are you sure that he's the one that took it from you?"

Sonny nodded. "It had to have been him. Maybe he lost it. I don't really remember, okay?"

"Are you sure about that? You never saw him? Think hard."

Sonny recalls Deimos taking the amulet. "No, I don't remember seeing Deimos at all."

XXX

The next morning, everyone returned to their homes after the police questioned them. Sonny and Will bathed their babies one at a time. Sonny dressed DJ.

"All right, looking good." Sonny picked DJ up and lifted him up and down. "Whoo!" DJ laughed. "Hey, you know what Daddy did today? He laid the groundwork for a better, more legit Titan. Yes, he did. And when you're old enough, you'll be running things. Hun? Would you like that?"

"Oh, god, please don't tell me you're gonna be one of those dads who have a plan for their son, instead of letting them have their own dream." Will half-teased as he walked into the room, carrying Leon.

Sonny laughed. "No, I'm not. This is just wishful thinking."

"Good. 'Cause you never know. He and Leon might want to run the Pub or Horton Center or University hospital or the Salem Police Department." Will said.

"Wouldn't it be awesome if we had two more kids and every one of them runs each of those businesses?" Sonny asked.

"Our kids would be running Salem." Will grinned. They both laughed. "I'm glad things are returning to normal."

"Me, too." Sonny replied.

XXX

Later, Will walked into the living room and heard Sonny muttering to himself.

"Is it possible that I...? No, no, I would have remembered if I had."

"Remembered what?" Will asked from the doorway.

Sonny whirled around. "How long have you been standing there?"

"Long enough to see that something's bothering you." Will walked into the room. "You want to tell me what it is?"

"It's just work." Sonny lied.

"Not planning on doing another mass firing, are you?" Will asked, raising an eyebrow.

Sonny shook his head. "No. As strong as I felt about getting rid of the people Deimos hired, it's hitting me now how jarring that was for the company, and I need to be extremely careful with the decisions that I make moving forward."

Will smiled. "I knew you were going to come back to me."

"Yeah. Where'd I go?" Sonny asked.

"To the mothership, I thought." Will teased, folding his arms. "I was starting to think that the Sonny I knew had been taken over by aliens."

"Come on, I wasn't that bad." Sonny rolled his eyes.

"Maybe, but standing here spouting logic and reason is a far cry from the power hungry despot who wanted to take over the world and didn't give a damn who he trampled along the way." Will said.

"Luckily I have you to keep my ambitions in check." Sonny smirked.

"I'm glad I'm here and I'm glad I'm good for something." Will said. They hugged.

"You're good for a lot of things, Will." Sonny assured him. He pulled away looking sad.

"What is it?" Will asked, noticing Sonny's expression.

"I don't want to lie to you."

"Then don't." Will said simply.

"I remembered something from last night."

"Uh-huh." Will said apprehensively.

"I was arguing with Deimos in the corridor, and he ripped the amulet from my neck." Sonny explained.

"Then what?"

"Nothing. I can't remember past that. I don't know." Sonny sighed.

"Okay, maybe you didn't argue at all." Will suggested.

"What do you mean?"

"Because of the drugs, maybe your mind conjured up the memory." Will theorized.

"But either way..."

"You said you were arguing with him in the hallway but they found Deimos killed in the living room." Will said. "There's a time gap, someone could have stepped in."

"To finish the job, is that what you mean?"

Will shrugged. "Maybe. You haven't shared this memory with anyone?"

"No, only you. I want to keep it secret. I'm just worried that JJ is being held under false pretenses." Sonny said.

"No, I called Aunt Hope. They barely have a case." Will assured him.

"Does that mean he could be released?" Sonny asked, hopefully.

Will nodded. "Maybe by the end of the day. Unless things change let's just keep this memory between us."

"Of course." Sonny nodded eagerly.

"Now...on a lighter note: the fourth of July barbeque at the Pub." Will smiled.

Sonny sighed quietly. "I can't. I'm too swamped with work."

Will deflated. "Oh. It's just...it's the boys' first fourth of July, so I thought...but, never mind. I guess I should have expected this."

"I'm sorry. I can still make it for the fireworks." Sonny assured him.

"Okay. See you then." Will kissed him.

"Oh- by the way, I read over your list of things you wanted to improve at the mansion." Sonny said. "Go for it. I like all your ideas."

Will chuckled and folded his arms. "You sure you're not just saying that to make me feel better?"

"No. Well, yes and no." Sonny replied.

"Just making sure."

XXX

A few minutes after Sonny left, Chad arrived at the mansion looking irate.

"Hey, Chad. What's up?" Will asked casually.

"I just came from talking to Andre and your grandmother." Chad said. "They told me you barged in last night and tore both of them down viciously."

"Okay." Will shrugged.

"I have had enough of you constantly insulting my brother, especially about his weight and his mind!" Chad snapped angrily. "Do you have a death wish, Will?"

"So, Jugs the Clown needs his baby brother to protect him?" Will folded his arms.

Chad scoffed and shook his head. "I just spent the last hour convincing Andre not to take action against you."

"Like what? Kidnapping someone I don't care about and having them beaten up?" Will asked lightly.

"Oh. My. God! You are infuriating!" Chad yelled.

"Oh come on. Like Andre is really gonna do anything to me." Will rolled his eyes. "I have gone up against your father, EJ, Andre, and Victor; and none of them have killed me or seriously hurt me yet."

Chad smiled and nodded. He'd been waiting a long time to drop this bomb. "Okay, you know what, Will? Truth time: the only reason you're not dead at my family's or Victor's hand is because you are family, and no other reason. You have not intimidated them one bit."

Will was taken aback by that revelation. "That's not true. Take it back!"

"Can't, it's truth time." Chad said simply. "Your mother is married to EJ, who is also the father of your brother and sister. Your grandmother married both my father and brother, and not only did you marry Victor's favorite nephew, he married your great-aunt, his sons and grandson are your uncles, his grandson, granddaughter, and great-granddaughter are your cousins."

"Them not killing me has been the foundation of my confidence for five years!" Will snapped angrily.

"Well, consider that tanked." Chad said simply. "Leave my brother alone or I will charge you with harrassment and elderly abuse. I'm dead serious." With that, he turned around and left.

Will exhaled sharply, flung everything off the coffee table and flopped on the couch. All this time he thought his bravado and intimidation were the reasons he's still alive...he's really only alive because of his family? Really? He remembered telling Paul family love can save your life. He scoffed and shook his head in dismay. "Yeah, really..."

"'Yeah, really' what?" Will turned to see Victor walking into the living room holding a newspaper.

Will sighed. "If I ask you something, will you promise to be honest?"

"Depends on what it is." Victor replied.

"Is the only reason I'm alive because I'm family?" Will asked.

"Yeah, pretty much." Victor nodded. "Why? What brought that up?"

"Chad was here earlier telling me off about insulting Andre constantly." Will explained. "I didn't think that Andre will do anything to me, 'cause...well, no one did, really. Not Stefano or EJ and not you. That kind of destroyed my confidence."

"Well, I'm sorry, but he's right." Victor shrugged. "I don't see why you're sad about that. It just means you have a lot of connections with people, and those people care about you enough to keep you alive."

"Still..." Will sighed.

"Hey, you want my advice on how to be intimidating?" Victor offered. Will turned to him and nodded. "Stop whining and stop moping."

Will chuckled. "Always good to talk to you, Vic."

XXX

Sonny is in the living room on his cell. "Okay, I should go. No I completely understand." Will walks in. "Okay, can you just text me with the updates, please?"

"Is everything okay?" Will asked.

Sonny shook his head. "No. My Dad just told me JJ is being formally charged with the murder of Deimos."

"Damn, that's awful." Will said. "We can't really say that we didn't see it coming, right?" Sonny looked away, remembering that night. "Sonny, you're thinking about your argument with your Uncle Deimos, aren't you?"

"Will, we agreed we'd not say anything to the police if JJ would go free, but now he's not." Sonny said sadly.

"Sonny, you argued with him in the corridor. They found Deimos dead in the living room." Will reminded him. "You didn't kill him."

"Well... I don't know. I'm still worried about JJ." Sonny replied. "I don't want him railroaded on some circumstantial evidence."

"I don't see how they could do that though. He wasn't in his right state of mind. Deimos drugged everyone, tormented every single guest at that party." Will said.

"Yes I know."

"Not a single one of us has any clear memory of what happened. The truth is any one of us could have killed Deimos." Will shrugged.

Brady comes into the living room. "Where the hell have you been?"

"Right here working and recovering from Deimos' Halo cocktail." Sonny answered, a little irritated with Brady's attitude. "Oh that's right, you didn't have the pleasure of that experience, did you?"

"I've had plenty with that man, thank you." Brady said. "Sonny, I've been dealing with your mess and cleaning it up this morning."

"Aaaand that's my cue." Will stood up fromt he couch.

Sonny raised a hand to stop him. "No, you don't have to go, Will. What mess?"

"I've had rolling calls from HR all morning about the massive firing you made at Titan." Brady explained.

"I refuse to be saddled with Deimos' people." Sonny said, folding his arms.

"Did you think for one minute to talk to any of these people individually?" Brady asked. "No, let me answer that for you. No you didn't. But if you did you would have realised that this overreaction was probably a mistake. But hey, who cares because you're the boss now."

"That's right. I am the boss thanks to Uncle Vic."

"I understand that. Listen, boss, you should know that there are a lot of ex-employees out there who are considering filing a lawsuit for termination without cause." Brady said angrily. "While I'm dealing with lawyers and vetting new hires company resources are stretched awfully thin around here."

"Why are you telling me this?"

"Because your office- no, more importantly, you- are not handling it, Sonny. It's not my job to clean up your mess, you understand me?"

"I didn't ask you to, Brady!"

"Then handle it. You handle it, okay?"

"I will." Sonny replied.

"Thank you."

"Is that it?" Sonny asked, annoyed.

"No. I want to say this to you. You're technically my boss, I understand that, I'm actually fine with it." Brady said more calmly. "You are an upgrade from Deimos in my book, but if you think for one minute I'm going to sit by and watch you run this company into the ground under your command Sonny, you're mistaken. You understand me?"

"Do your job and I'll do mine." Sonny said simply.

"I have no problem doing my job, but I expect you to step up and do right by our company."

"I'll handle the HR issues. In fact I'll make sure no one bothers you again." Sonny snapped.

"That would be a good idea." Brady said as Sonny left the room.

Will sighed, stood up, and walked over to Brady. "Hey, mind taking it easy on Sonny? He's never held a position with so much responsibility. He's going through a lot."

"I'm aware of that. I know."

"Okay, so, what was that all about?" Will demanded.

"Will, I'm a little on edge about what happened at the Martin house." Brady explained. "I probably took it out on Sonny a little bit."

"The Martin house?" Will asked, confused. "You weren't even there."

"No I wasn't." Brady said bitterly. He sighed. "Look, man, I know that Sonny is under a lot of pressure. I get it- it's rough. It's not going to get any easier for him."

"Sonny's a good guy. He's going to do the right thing." Will insisted.

"So why did he fire all those people just because Deimos hired them?" Brady asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Being screwed over by Chad, Gabi, Victor, his dad, Ben Weston, and...well, me over the last few years gave him trust issues." Will folded his arms. "He didn't want to take the chance of those fifty people screwing him over."

"But he's still married to you, and still friends with Chad and Gabi!" Brady exclaimed.

"I know. Because we all made up for screwing him over." Will replied.

"He can't give those fifty people he fired a chance to prove themselves?" Brady asked. Will didn't have a good response to that. Brady sighed. "Okay. Fine. Whatever. It's his life." He left.

Sonny comes back into the living room. Will smiled. "Hey, did you get everything situated with HR?"

"For the moment yes." Sonny replied. "I'm really sorry you had to witness that exchange."

"Brady's just worried about you. He even felt bad about the way he came down on you." Will said.

"We've butted heads before, but never like that." Sonny said.

"Something's clearly bugging him. He wouldn't tell me what it is." Will replied.

"I know the feeling. I've been so distracted I haven't been at the top of my game. Brady has every right to call me out." Sonny said.

"If it isn't work, then what's got you so distracted?" Will asked.

"I think something happened last night. It's been eating me alive, Will." Sonny admitted.

"What?" Will asked, concerned.

"I'm pretty sure I killed Deimos." Sonny nodded.

Will's eyes widened. "Do you really think that you killed Deimos?"

"I know I did."

"Just because you argued with him doesn't prove that you actually killed him." Will insisted. "Everyone at that party had a reason for wanting him dead."

"I didn't just argue with him, I fought with him." Sonny argued. "And then later I remember standing over him. He was dead on the floor with a knife in his chest. It's all blurry but it had to be me. I killed Deimos." Sonny sank down on the couch. "They arrested the wrong guy. JJ didn't kill Deimos, I did."

Will sat next to him. "Slow down."

"No. I'm not going to slow down. I'm not letting JJ go to prison for something that I did." Sonny cried.

"You don't know that you did it. And even if you did, you were under the influence of that drug just like everybody else at the party was except for me and Paul." Will replied. "So, no matter who stabbed him, the only person responsible for Deimos' death is Deimos."

"I didn't need to be drugged to know that I wanted him dead." Sonny said.

"But that doesn't mean that you did it." Will repeated. "Let's just start at the beginning. Tell me everything that you remember."

Sonny sighed and leaned back. "I remember arguing with him. We were in the upstairs hallway and he was trying to take the amulet away from me."

"Okay, so you were in the upstairs hallway, but he was found in the living room downstairs." Will recounted.

"I was there, too, so I must have followed him." Sonny replied. "And then I remember standing over his dead body and there was a knife in his chest. I was there. It had to be me."

"Okay, do you remember holding the knife? Do you remember stabbing him?" Will pressed.

"No I don't remember stabbing him, but it had to be me, Will because there was no one else there." Sonny replied.

"No one else that you remember." Will said. "Besides, look, if you killed him, you would have also taken the amulet, and you don't have it."

"No I don't have the amulet. I looked everywhere for it." Sonny replied. "Maybe I hid it that night, I don't know."

"You're just guessing." Will said.

"I know you don't want this to be true, but this is more than a memory. It's me knowing how badly I wanted him dead, how much I hated that guy." Sonny said. "You know, every time I say something like 'I never hated anyone so much in my life', someone worse comes along!"

"Hey... everyone else at that party hated him, too."

"Not like me." Sonny insisted. "JJ did not do this. He did not kill Deimos because I did. You're always telling me to do the right thing and the right thing is for me to come forward and take responsibility for what I did."

"You don't know what happened," Will said as Victor walks in the room. "but if you think you killed Deimos then you need to come forward."

"You'll do no such thing." They turned to see Victor standing in the doorway. "Excuse me Will, I need to talk to Sonny alone."

Will nodded, stood up, and left the room. Victor closed the doors behind him. Someone knocked on the front door. Will answered.

"Hi, I came by to see Sonny." Adrienne greeted. "Is he doing okay?"

Will tried to act natural. "Yeah, he's doing alright...physically."

Adrienne nodded in understanding. "Just upset about JJ. We all are. I mean you know what, I really can't believe he did it. I mean JJ didn't hate Deimos anymore than anyone else in this town. Is Sonny in here?" She went to open the door to the living room. Will stopped her.

"Adrienne, don't, okay?"

"What's going on?" Adrienne asked apprehensively.

"He's talking to Victor."

Adrienne scoffed. "Oh God, what does that man want from my son now?"

"I just think it's best if you let them talk for a while."

XX

Victor sat down in his chair. "Will's absolutely right, you know. You can't be sure you killed Deimos if you can't remember stabbing him."

Sonny started slowly pacing. "It had to be me. There is no other possible explanation."

"How many people do you think know Deimos? That's the number of possible explanations there are about his murder."

"I am not letting JJ pay for something that I did." Sonny declared.

"JJ is not going to pay for anything." Victor asserted. "If for some strange reason this thing goes to trial, he'll never be convicted."

"You're missing the point. If I don't come forward, JJ might actually think he did it." Sonny said.

"Sonny, there is evidence that he, meaning not you, had actual physical contact with Deimos." Victor retorted. "You sort of think that maybe you did it because you really sort of kind of wanted to and cause you're always so damned noble."

"Don't be condescending to me please, not about this." Sonny said wearily. "I did have contact with Deimos, that is pretty clear. And I am definitely clear that I wanted him dead."

Victor shrugged. "As did everybody at the party. Look I don't mean to be glib about this but what does it matter who killed him. He drugged an entire house full of people without any regard for any of them. Nobody's responsible for Deimos' death but Deimos."

"I think that's evasion, Uncle Vic."

"Well, think about this." Victor said. "Think about what it's going to do to your parents, your brothers, to our family, to Will and your children. It will be as if Deimos won after all."

"But what if I did do it Uncle Vic?"

"All I want is for my family to be safe. You're the future of our family. I'm depending on you. Please don't let me down." Victor said almost desperately.

Sonny sighed quietly. "I need some air." He left through the garden.

A few minutes later, someone knocks on the living room door. "Who is it?" Victor called.

Adrienne comes in. "Where's Sonny?"

"He left through the garden, said he needed some air." Victor replied.

"Is he okay?"

"I hope so..." Victor said, distant.

Adrienne looked towards the garden and sighed. "Okay, I guess I'll give him some space. I was going there to head to the station to meet Jen, anyway. Will you please tell Sonny I'm looking for him, though?"

"Sure." Victor replied. She steps out of the room as Will walked in. Victor stood up and walked towards him. "You love Sonny?"

"You know I do." Will nodded.

"Apparently you were the only one at that party that wasn't under the influence of that drug. Whatever you say is going to carry a lot of weight." Victor said.

"I think I know what you're asking me to do." Will said, folding his arms. He had flashbacks of Sami and Rafe telling him not to tell the police Sami shot EJ, then of Sami and EJ telling him not to tell the police about the video of Sami attacking Bernardi.

"I'm not asking, I'm telling you. If you want any kind of a future with Sonny, you'll forget about what he said before." Victor said.

XXX

Sonny drove to the Martin Mansion in hopes of jogging his memory. After remembering seeing Deimos' dead body and Victor's and Will's contradicting advice, he drove back home with a heavy heart. Each step upstairs felt heavy and slow. He turned at the corner of the hallway of their wing and saw Will carrying the boys towards their room.

"Oh, hey, you're just in time. I was about to put the boys down." Will said.

Sonny managed a smile. "Would you mind if I did that?"

"No." Will said.

Sonny took his boys in his arms. "Hey, buddies." He walked into the nursery and set DJ down in his crib and sat down. "Do you know how much Daddy loves you? He wants you to have great lives. A functional family...but most important, he wants to set a good example for you. Even if it means he won't see you again for a long time. I love you guys so much." He hugged them again and sniffed. "Take care of each other. And take care of your da and big sister, okay?"

Will watched from the doorway and sighed quietly. Sonny stood up and turned to Will, who mouthed "bedroom", then left. Sonny turned on the sound soother, turned off the lights, and left the room quietly. He sighed and went to his bedroom where Will was waiting for him.

"Your mind's made up?" Will asked. Sonny nodded. "What was the deciding vote?"

Sonny gestured to Will. "You, actually." He sat on the bed and leaned against the headboard. "I remember you telling me about you shooting EJ and letting your dad take the blame...and how you've always regretted not coming forward and how it always came back to haunt you. And that whole drama after your mom shot EJ...how it lead to Gabi and Rafe's sister Arianna's death. I don't want to go through that."

"I don't want you to, either." Will replied quietly. He swallowed back a sob. "And...as much as it kills me to say this...I think you're doing the right thing. I...I'm proud of you." Sonny pulled Will into a tight hug. "Victor told me to lie for you. I can't do it. After everything I've gone through, how could I let you go through the same thing?"

Sonny smiled sadly. "Uncle Vic told me to do the same. I don't want you to lie for me. And on top of that...JJ has done so much for the both of us. How could I betray him by not coming forward?"

Will nodded. "Plus jail would be far more difficult for him than it would be for you, since he's a cop."

Sonny chuckled tearfully. "True."

"What am I going to tell the kids when they ask why you don't live with us?" Will asked.

Sonny closed his eyes in thought. "You can tell them that all actions have consequences. That...although I've done a bad thing, at least they're safer now."

Will smiled and nodded. He sobered up. "How am I supposed to raise our kids without you? How am I supposed to live without you? I mean, what do I have?"

"You have you." Sonny assured him. "And that's better than anyone else on the planet as far as I'm concerned. And you have our families."

Will blinked away tears and pulled Sonny into a kiss. They continued kissing and took each other's clothes off and made love.

XXX

They were quiet on the way to the police station. Sonny stared out the window and took in the scenery. Who knows when he'll see it again? Will took Sonny's hand and squeezed it.

Once they arrived, they headed to the detective area. Sonny stopped at the end of the hall and took a deep breath. Will squeezed his shoulders from behind. "You can do this."

Sonny nodded, took a deep breath, and they walked into the detective area. Justin, Paul, Adrienne, and Jennifer were all there trying to boost JJ's spirit.

"JJ, there's no reason to give up. The charges are based on circumstantial evidence and a whole lot of supposition. No one has a clue who killed Deimos." Justin was saying.

"That's not true. I did. I killed Deimos." Sonny confessed. Everyone looked at him, shocked.


	115. Is This As Hard As It Gets?

Everyone looked at Sonny in shock.

"What are you doing?" Asked Adrienne, apprehensively.

"Why would you say something like that?" Justin asked.

"I'm saying it, becau-"

"No, don't-don't answer that." Justin interrupted. "I reacted like your dad and not your lawyer. I need a moment alone with my client."

Adrienne stepped up to Sonny. "This is a mistake."

"I don't know." Everyone turned to Raines. "You seemed pretty sure of yourself just now. Want to talk about your uncle's murder? I'm ready to listen."

"Dad, it's okay. I have nothing to hide." Sonny assured Justin, who held his hand up to silence him.

"Sonny. Sonny, come over here." Justin pulled him aside. "You are not gonna talk to anyone until you tell me first, why you are doing this."

"What am I supposed to do? Let them pin this on JJ when I'm the one who did it?" Sonny asked. JJ, Will, Adrienne, and Paul joined the two.

"Are you absolutely sure?" Justin asked.

"How can you be?" Adrienne asked.

"Sonny, come on. You were drugged. You can't be sure what happened." JJ jumped in.

"Please, go someplace and talk to your dad." Adrienne said firmly. "You don't want to do something you can't get out of."

"If I try to get out of it when I know I did it, I'm no better than Deimos." Sonny replied.

"You don't know for sure you killed him, though." JJ said.

"Please, talk to your dad." Adrienne said. "Do it for me."

Sonny thought for a minute. "Okay, you can be there when I talk to Raines."

"Sonny-"

"No, I am not letting JJ take the rap for this. End of story." Sonny interrupted his father, and headed over to Raines. Justin followed. "I'm ready to give my statement."

"Don't go anywhere, JJ." Raines said.

"Wouldn't think of it." JJ replied. Raines, Justin, and Sonny headed to the conference room.

"What is he doing?" Adrienne demanded.

"Being the honest, decent man I always knew he was." Will replied.

"He can't throw his life away like that! He has a family!" Adrienne exclaimed.

"I understand what you're saying." Will said calmly. "I said the same thing to Sonny this morning and he still showed up and said that JJ didn't kill Deimos."

"I love that he thinks he's doing the right thing," Adrienne said. "But if he doesn't remember every second of sticking that knife in Deimos, I wish that he'd kept his mouth shut."

"So do I." JJ admitted.

"JJ, I didn't mean that I think Sonny should let you just twist in the wind." Adrienne insisted. "It's just that he doesn't know for sure, and Justin said that the DA doesn't have a case against you."

"Aunt Adrienne, it's okay. I know what you meant." JJ assured her. "And Deimos drugged everybody in that house."

"Yeah, he knocked me out." Paul spoke up.

"So we're all just guessing." JJ said. "And Justin's right- everything they have on me is circumstancal."

"Well, Sonny's the one who found Deimos with the knife in his chest." Adrienne said. "So he automatically thinks he put it there."

"I know- he's trying to do what's right- but he shouldn't be talking to Raines." JJ said. "He should be talking to Justin. He could be throwing his life away right now."

Adrienne shuddered and whimpered a little. Will hugged her. "I'm sorry. It's gonna be okay."

"I just don't understand what made him do this." Adrienne admitted.

"He didn't want to let anyone go to jail for something he did." Will explained. "He would have regretted it for the rest of his life."

Adrienne took a deep breath. "How can you be so calm?"

"We talked about it earlier today. The shock is almost gone." Will replied.

"I suppose this is all my fault." Adrienne lamented. "Back when I got Sonny immunity for that Bernardi-Sami video, I should have made it so he had immunity for all future crimes."

Paul was confused. "Wait, what?"

"Let's not get into that. It's too painful." Will replied.

JJ nodded and turned to Will. "Can you tell me exactly what Sonny said he saw?"

"Okay, uh...it started coming back to him in pieces." Will said. "Sonny said the first thing he remembered was looking for me."

"And you were at your grandma's house?" JJ asked to be sure.

"Yep. Sonny said that he ran into Deimos upstairs at the Martin House, and um...they got into it." Will explained. "Deimos took the amulet, then Sonny went after him, but then Sonny must have passed out. I found him in the hallway. He woke up a couple hours later, along with everyone else and we went downstairs to the living room."

"Oh, wait, hold on." Adrienne spoke up. "So Sonny stabbed Deimos while he was passed out?"

"Well I said things started coming back to him in pieces." Will replied. "I mean, this afternoon Sonny remembered standing over Deimos' dead body with a knife in it. That's when he started thinking that he could have done it."

"But he doesn't remember stabbing Deimos, and nobody else saw him do it?" JJ asked. Will shook his head. "That's not enough."

They all turned to the conference room window. The blinds were drawn.

"Can you tell what Raines is saying?" Adrienne asked JJ.

"No, I can't." JJ replied. "Justin looks happy."

"If Sonny's clear, Justin will work his butt off for you." Adrienne told JJ.

"Will, what time did you come back to the Martin house?" JJ asked.

"Around 11:00." Will said. "I walked into the living room and I didn't see Deimos' body, but I did see Lani and Eli and Gabi and you passed out."

JJ sighed. "According to Lani, the medical examiner placed Deimos' time of death around 10:30. Then you walked in at 11:00. That should be enough time for Deimos' killer to kill Deimos and hide the body, then Gabi, Eli, Lani, and I walked in and apparently passed out."

Will exhaled sharply. "If only I was a half hour earlier...I could have witnessed the murder."

"Then his killer probably would have killed you, too." JJ pointed out.

"Or I would have killed him in self-defense or at least knock him out." Will replied.

Sonny and Justin walked out of the conference room. Sonny pulled Will into a hug.

"What's going on here?" Justin asked Raines, who was with the waiter from the Martin house party.

Raines turned to the waiter named Hewitt. "You sure that's the man you saw?"

"Saw? When?" Justin asked.

"I'm positive." Hewitt said. He pointed to Sonny. "It was him."

"What? What do you...?" Adrienne asked.

"Mr. Hewitt saw Sonny standing over Deimos' body." Raines explained. "He heard him say 'got what you deserved, finally'."

Adrienne exhaled sharply and shook her head.

"Get a revised statement from Mr. Hewitt." Raines told the police officer.

"Will do." The officer said. He and Hewitt walked off.

"Commissioner, telling a dead man he got what he deserved is not an admission of guilt." Justin said.

"That's for the DA to decide." Raines replied. "Sonny Kiriakis, you're under arrest for the murder of Deimos Kiriakis. You have the right to remain silent. Anything you do or say will be used against you in the court of law. You have a right to an attorney. If you can't afford one, one will be provided for you." Everyone just stared sadly. Sonny nodded to show he understood. "Do you understand the rights that have been given to you?"

"Yes." Sonny said in a small voice.

"I don't want you to say another word." Justin pointed at Sonny and gave him a warning look. "You understand, Sonny?"

"Sonny's been forthcoming so far." Raines said. "It can only help him going forward."

"So what happens now?" Sonny asked.

"We'll process you. File all the necessary paperwork." Raines answered.

"I'm going to request that you be released on your own recognizance." Justin told Sonny. "You'll be home before you know it."

"He's being charged with murder, counselor." Raines reminded him. He turned to Sonny and pulled out handcuffs. "Your wrists, please Sonny."

"Come on, is that really necessary?" JJ asked. "He's not dangerous or a liability."

"You know the procedure." Raines said as he cuffed Sonny's wrists.

Adrienne snapped. "No, please, please! Please, you can't do this!"

"Come on, Raines." JJ implored.

"Please!" Adrienne cried as she squeezed Sonny's shoulder. "No, this isn't right!"

"Ms. Johnson..."

"Sonny didn't kill Deimos!" Adrienne exclaimed. "He wouldn't kill anybody! I don't know why he got this in his head. Justin, do something!"

"Mom, it's gonna be okay." Sonny assured her.

"Adrienne, trust me: I'm not gonna let anything happen to Sonny." Justin insisted.

"Let's get the paperwork started." Raines said before Adrienne could retort. He turned to JJ. "Detective Deveraux, as soon as I start processing your release, you are free to go. Mr. Kiriakis, come with me."

"No, wait, I want to go with him." Adrienne said.

"That's not a good idea." Justin advised.

"We've got to do something. He needs us!" Adrienne cried.

"Adrienne-"

"I'll be okay, Mom." Sonny said over his shoulder. "I promise you."

"Commissioner, can I go with my husband? Just until you're done booking him." Will requested.

"Yeah, it's okay." Raines nodded. "Let's go."

Will followed Raines and Sonny into the interrogation room. Once Raines closed the door, Sonny finally broke down, sobbing. Will sat Sonny down, pulled another chair over, and held him. Sonny took some calming breaths. "I'm sorry. It's just...I just became CEO of Titan. Something I've wanted for a long time. I have a family, and...I just threw it all away. Not by confessing, but by killing Deimos. I killed my own uncle."

"You think you did. You don't know for sure." Will reminded him. "It's okay to cry. It just shows that you have feelings."

Sonny smiled weakly. "Thank you so much for being here."

"Where else would I be?" Will replied. Sonny stood up and leaned against the wall.

Sonny exhaled. "Oh, God. I just hate seeing my mom like that. Especially with everything she's gone through this year. It's terrible."

JJ walked in and closed the door. "What are you doing, Sonny?"

"Just waiting for Raines to put me in the system, I guess." Sonny said simply.

"Why did you confess?" JJ demanded.

"I was just telling the truth, JJ." Sonny replied.

"You didn't-you didn't kill Deimos." JJ said. "You're not capable."

"You don't know that."

"And you don't know that you did." JJ argued.

"I'm just glad they're letting you go." Sonny said.

"I don't want to be let go, man." JJ said. "Not if it's gonna be because you're locked up."

"We're gonna get him off." Will said positively. He turned to Sonny. "Hey...talk to my grandma. She can hypnotize you just to be doubly sure you didn't kill him."

"This should never have happened." JJ said. "Sonny, we don't know what went on that night!"

"I know I saw Deimos' body on the floor- dead." Sonny reminded him.

"That's not proof." JJ said.

"No, but what about the waiter?" Sonny asked. "He saw me leaning over the body. He heard me tell Deimos 'you got what you deserve'."

JJ folded his arms. "Were you also laughing maniacally?"

Sonny was confused. "What?"

"Pop culture reference. Sorry. Couldn't help myself." JJ cleared his throat. "Anyway, he did. That's not credible. You are not going to prison for this. I did not risk my ass saving you when you were kidnapped only for you to end up in jail not even six months later!"

"I think my ass was even more at risk..." Will said.

"Whatever! My point still stands." JJ snapped.

Just then, Raines entered the room. "Detective, can I have a word with you?"

JJ nodded at Raines, shot Sonny one last look, then silently left the room.

"He's right." Sonny said sadly. "But I couldn't let JJ go down for Deimos' murder. Not when I have information that could clear him."

"He is right about another thing, though: you don't know if you killed Deimos." Will pointed out. "Even if you were on drugs, I don't think you're capable of stabbing someone in the chest."

Sonny nodded. "At the risk of alienating you...I didn't think you were capable of cheating, either."

"I think murder is a bit stronger than aultery." Will raised his eyebrows. "Even on drugs. Then I guess it would be manslaughter."

"You really think I'm innocent?" Sonny asked.

"With all my heart." Will replied. "Sonny...you are the best man I've ever known. You make me a better man. Despite my Sami Jr. persona." He laughed softly. "If our kids ever look up to me as a role model, it's because of you."

"You make me a better man, too." Sonny said.

"I love you, Sonny. So much." Will said. "And I'm gonna stand by your side the same way you stood by mine. When we were on that island, I could have died. Or worse, I could have hurt you or even killed you, but you never gave up on me. You saved me. And I am going to do whatever it takes to save you."

Sonny was touched to tears. Will pulled him in a comforting hug. Sonny leans his head on Will's shoulder. The door opened again and they pulled apart.

Adrienne walked in carrying a can of soda. "Sorry. I just thought you might be thirsty."

Sonny took a deep breath. "Thank you."

"I'll be right outside if you need me." Will rubbed Sonny's arm.

"I know." Sonny said.

Will walked out towards the detective area. Lucas was there talking to Justin.

"Take Adrienne out of here." Justin said.

"Come on, Justin. You know she's not gonna want to leave Sonny." Lucas said.

"I know." Justin replied. "But we both know that this stress is not good for her health. So just take her somewhere. Just try and distract her."

"All right."

"Get her something to eat." Justin said. He hesitated before saying "I can't tell you how to do it, but I've seen how you are with her. You make her laugh. You make her happy."

"All right, I'll do it, I'll do it." Lucas said, nodding. "You concentrate on Sonny, and I'll-I'll take care of Adrienne."

Justin nodded and walked off. Lucas turned to see his son looking extremely upset. Lucas went to hug him. Will let out a few sobs. Lucas rubbed his back. "It's okay. It's gonna be all right. Hey...remember when your mom was arrested for Bernardi's murder? She got off despite all evidence pointing to her and EJ planting false evidence in her favor! If Sami Brady can get off of that, Sonny Kiriakis sure as hell can. Especially with Justin as his lawyer."

Will smiled and nodded. "Yeah..." He sniffed. "And Nick and Uncle Eric both got out early on good behavior, and Gabi got out on a technicality. So, maybe the same will happen to Sonny."

"That's the spirit." Lucas said supportively. They saw Adrienne walk out of the interrogation room. Adrienne and Lucas hugged and walked off.

Will sighed and turned to Justin, who just walked up. "So...what happens after they book him?"

"Well, they have to take his effects- his watch, his wallet, his keys, his cell phone- then give them to his next of kin...you." Justin explained. "Then he'll have his mug shots then his fingerprints...then they'll escort him to Statesville. Until his trial, people are allowed three one-hour visits a week. Since you two have small children, there's a mini day care area where you can play with your kids. I'll also make sure he gets email privileges."

"So, basically the same as with Gabi." Will nodded. He hesitated before asking "Justin...what about the guy who kidnapped Sonny earlier this year? Isn't he in Statesville, too?"

"I already checked. He got into a huge fight with some inmates and landed in a coma." Justin revealed. "As soon as he wakes up, he'll be put into solitary confinement for a few months."

Will sighed in relief. "What about Clyde and Ben?"

"Clyde is in a max security facility in Florida and Ben is still in the jail for the criminally insane." Justin assured him.

Will nodded. "Okay. Well, he'll have a bit of an easier time, then."

"Hopefully." Justin agreed.

"Do he and I also have the same rights as straight married couples in court?" Will asked.

"Yes. You won't be asked to testify against him." Justin replied.

"Okay. Good." Will replied.

Justin squeezed Will's shoulder comfortingly. "Don't worry. He'll be cleared before you know it. Just as long as we do this by the book and that means...?"

"Nothing illegal." Will finished. "I'm not my mom or EJ."

"Good." Justin said. He looked towards the interrogation room where Sonny and Raines came out. Justin grabbed his son in a tight hug and patted his back. Sonny then turned to Will, who grabbed his face into a passionate kiss, then hugged him tight. Sonny leaned against Will's shoulder for a few more seconds, then let Raines lead him away. Sonny glanced back at his father and husband, who looked on distraught after Sonny.


	116. Jailbird

Will drove home in a stupor. As he trudged into the house, Ari came bounding down the stairs followed by Gabi.

"Da!" Ari exclaimed.

Will pushed down his depression, smiled, and picked Ari up. "Hey, sweetheart."

"Mommy, Chad, and I are going to Playtime Pete's! Wanna come?" Ari asked.

Will sighed quietly. "You know I'd love to, but Daddy has to stay here with the boys."

"Brady, Maggie, Victor, and Emma are all here." Gabi said. "They can watch them."

Will was about to answer when there was a knock on the door. He opened it. Two policemen were standing there. "Can I help you?"

One of the officers pulled out a piece of paper. "Sir, we're here to look for the amulet. We have a search warrant."

Will looked at the warrant, nodded, and stepped aside to let them in.

"All right, start downstairs. I'll look up here, then I'll go to the third story, and you search the second story." The first police officer said to his partner, who nodded. They seperated.

Chad walked in. "Hey, guys. Why is there a police car here?"

"They're looking for the am-oo-let." Ari answered.

"Hey, Ari, why don't you go with Chad to the car?" Will set Ari down.

"Okay!" Ari said. She ran to Chad, took his hand, and dragged him out.

"Okay, what's going on?" Gabi asked.

Will took a deep breath. "Sonny confessed to murdering Deimos."

"What?!" Gabi exclaimed in surprise. "But he couldn't have."

"He remembers standing over Deimos' body and there was a witness."

"So did this witness actually see him plunge that knife into Deimos' chest?" Gabi asked.

"No."

"Then how can they convict him? And even if he did, he wasn't in his right mind." Gabi went on.

"I know." Will said. "Justin's working on it."

Gabi nodded and hugged Will. "I'm sorry."

"Thanks." Will replied. They heard a horn honking and pulled away.

"Um...let me know if you need me to watch the boys." Gabi said.

Will nodded. "I will."

Gabi left as an extremely irate Victor stormed out of the living room. "Really, Will? You had one job."

"Victor, he wants to take responsibility for his actions." Will reasoned. "We have to respect that."

"Screw taking responsibility!" Victor stormed off, pulling out his cell phone.

Will sighed quietly. By this time, the police were done searching the house. "Did you find it?"

"No. We searched everywhere." The police officer said. "Thank you for your time and cooperation."

"Sure." Will said as the policement left. His cell phone rang. "Hey, Justin."

"Hi. I was able to get Sonny out of his cell for a few hours, so if you want to come down and visit at the station, you can." Justin said.

"Really? That's great! I'll be down soon." Will replied, happily. "Thanks, Justin. Um, Ari is with Chad and Gabi, so I'll let them know, too."

XXX

A while later, Will drove down to the police station and headed to the interrogation room. Sonny sat at the table and stood up when he saw Will. They hugged.

"I didn't think I'd see you again so soon." Will whispered.

"Me, neither." Sonny replied, chuckling.

They pulled away. Will took Sonny's hands in his. "How are you holding up?"

"Fine." Sonny replied. "I mean, it's lonely, but it's better than Statesville, I'd imagine."

"That's good." Will said, nodding. "I sent a check to the comissary for you as well. You should have money in a week."

Sonny smiled. "Thanks. Chad and Gabi stopped by with Ari. They went to Playtime Pete's. I really wish I could have gone."

Will smiled and put his arms around Sonny's shoulders. "Well, when you're cleared of this murder charge, going to Playtime Pete's will be the first thing we'll do. I also brought you a couple things." Will reached in his bag and pulled out a book and a photo of their family. "The book is to pass the time."

"Ah. The surefire way to get me to read: jail time." Sonny joked. They sat down. "Thanks. I am going to tape this picture to the wall next to my bed so it will be the first thing I see when I wake up and the last thing I see before I go to bed."

"I hope so." Will half-joked.

Sonny sobered up. "Uncle Vic also stopped by."

"Oh. Let me guess: he's disappointed that you confessed." Will replied.

"You guessed correct." Sonny nodded. "I told him not to protect me from this, but something tells me he won't listen."

"Well, since you didn't listen to him..." Will joked and laughed as Sonny glared at him. He took Sonny's hands. "Don't worry. Your dad and I will make damn sure Victor doesn't do anything to jeopardize your case."

"I know you will." Sonny said, smiling. He walked over and sat in Will's lap, put his arms around his torso, and his head on Will's shoulder. Will held him tight.

XXX

The next morning, Will took the boys to the Pub and met with Marlena, who hugged him. They sat down.

"How are you holding up?" Marlena asked.

"Okay. I think." Will sighed. "I mean...nobody wants to believe Sonny killed Deimos, but he remembers standing over his body."

"But does he remember actually stabbing Deimos?" Marlena asked.

Will shook his head. "No."

"Well, honey, I can hynotize him. It worked with JJ, Lani, and Gabi." Marlena offered.

"That's actually what I wanted to ask of you." Will smiled. "Sonny has to get settled in at the prison first, then if you're free later this afternoon..."

Marlena pulled out her calendar and checked it. "As it happens, I do have some time after lunch."

"Great! I'll get a hold of Justin and let him know." Will texted Justin. "Thanks, Grandma. I really appreciate it."

"You're welcome."

"So, what's going on with you?" Will asked, wanting to change the subject.

"Well, your grandma, aunt Kayla, Dr. Grant, and I had a girls' night last night." Marlena announced. "Your grandma had some interesting news."

"Oh, about her marriage to Satan?" Will asked.

"Yep." Marlena nodded. "And she told me that you confronted her and Andre."

"Oh, that." Will cleared his throat.

"I know you don't like Andre, but, damn, did you have to be so mean?" Marlena asked, increduously.

"Well, if it makes you feel better, I regret it. But only because I could have witnessed Deimos' death or prevented it." Will said simply. "And Chad read me the mother of all riot acts yesterday."

Marlena scoffed. "Well, not that you deserved it, but...what did he say?"

"Just the usual protective brother crap- insult him again and I'll make your life a living hell." Will sighed. "And he told me that the only reason I haven't been brutally murdered at Stefano's or Victor's hands is because I'm family."

Marlena was shocked, but not surprised. "Well, I hate to play devil's advocate, but...there is some truth in what he's saying."

Will exhaled sharply and threw his head back.

"Will, think about it: if Victor killed you, he would be alienating his wife, his grandson- his only reminder of his dearly departed daughter, who loved him unconditionally, his granddaughters, his other grandson who hates him enough already, and his two surviving- well, one, now- sons." Marlena reasoned. "If Stefano had you killed, then Stefano would have alienated his three grandchildren, his youngest son, and Kate. And if EJ had you killed, then he would have alienated Chad and Sami, and she would have made sure he never saw his kids again. And if Andre has you killed, then he would be alienating practically the only family he has left, and then Kate would divorce him and DiMera Enterprises would crumble."

Will folded his arms and glared off into space. As much as he hated to admit it, she had a point. He sighed in defeat. "Well...then...I hope the boys didn't inherit their fathers' weaknesses. And I genuinely hope no one hurts Ari or the boys, especially since their dads obviously aren't tough enough to be taken seriously."

"Oh, Will, is that what you're worried about?" Marlena asked. She squeezed his hand. "Honey...you are not weak. The main things it takes to be tough are just to not let other people get to you, learn to defend yourself, stand up for others, and don't be a bully."

Will took a deep breath. "Okay. Fine." He looked around. Kayla was behind the bar.

"So, Kayla's back working here, huh?"

"Yeah. She was suspended from the hospital for botching up her patients' medications or something." Will replied. "I don't understand how someone who's worked in the medical field for over thirty years could mess up like that."

Marlena shrugged. "Well, your Uncle Steve thinks someone's sabotaging her."

"Oh. That makes sense. But who would do that?" Will wondered.

"I don't know." Marlena shook her head slowly. "Anyway, I've got to go. I will see you later."

"Bye." Will said after her. As he turned around, Anne sat across from him. "Hi. Can I help you?"

"Actually, yes. I am planning on writing an article about your husband's arrest." Anne said as she pulled out a pad and pen.

"Really? Even though he hasn't been formally charged yet?" Will asked.

"Well, it'll be kind of a rough draft, but once he's convicted..."

"If he's convicted." Will corrected her.

"...I'll update it and publish it." Anne finished.

Will sighed and shook his head slowly. He knew Anne would do something like this. "Okay...Anne, here's what's gonna happen if you write and publish an article about this: you're gonna spin the story to make out like Sonny's a greedy villain who killed his uncle to get his job. Then, not only is Adrienne- his mother- going to fire you, Victor will hunt you down and have you killed after he takes a flamethrower to the Spectator. If Victor doesn't have you killed, he will have you fired and will make sure you never write for another newspaper in this country, as well as having you banned from every Kiriakis-owned or sponsored business in town, and you will be ostracized by pretty much the entire town. Still wanna write that article?"

Anne blinked in shock. For once, she was speechless. "Uh...you know what? I'll get back to you on that." She cleared her throat, stood up, and ran out of the Pub.

Will laughed softly. "That got her."

XXX

Sonny's first night in prison wasn't too bad. The bed was a bit stiff and the blanket was thin, but he still managed to have a good night's sleep. The more he thought about it, the more he was sure he was in the same cell as Sami was when she was arrested for Bernardi's murder.

"So...how was your first night?" Will asked.

Sonny was dressed in his business suit, sitting across from Will in the interrogation room. "Not too bad. There is hardly any light in my cell, the food sucks, the shower is always cold, I am stuck in this small, claustrophobic cell, and aside from the guards who feed me and escort me to the showers, it's lonely. And I will only see you and the kids every other weekend."

"I know." Will squeezed his hands. "But, it would be ten times worse for you if you were just thrown into the general population."

Sonny nodded. "I know. And I'm willing to make the best of it. It'll be like I'm on sabbatical."

"Right?" Will smiled and chuckled.

"Any word from Brady about how things are at Titan?" Sonny asked.

Will nodded. "He says he's got everything under control."

"That's good." Sonny nodded in response. "Helps that he's done the job before."

"He's made it clear that he wants you back sooner rather than later." Will assured him.

"Yeah, well, tell him not to hold his breath, okay?" Sonny replied. He looked down.

"Hey, look at me. Listen," Will leaned forward and put his hands on Sonny's. "The man that I love is not a murderer."

"I know you want to believe that."

"The only reason why you confessed to anything was because you don't want JJ to go to prison for something he didn't do." Will reasoned.

"That's not the only reason."

Will understood what he meant. "Just because you remember arguing with Deimos does not mean you killed him."

"Doesn't mean I didn't."

"Sonny, you are innocent." Will said firmly. "I have no doubt in my mind about that. I talked to Paul. He said he talked to the woman who was walking her dog by the party that night."

"Did she remember something new?" Sonny asked.

"Unfortuneately not. Neither did the other neighbors who live on the block. Sorry." Will answered.

Sonny nodded. He noticed bags under Will's eyes. "Will, you're tired. You probably haven't eaten. You've put your life on hold for me and you're sorry?"

"Well, I just wanted to cheer you up with some good news today." Will explained.

"You being here is good enough for me." Sonny said, smiling.

Justin and Marlena walked into the room and Will stood up. "Bad time?"

"No. No, come in." Sonny replied.

"Hi." Will greeted Marlena.

"Hi. Thought you might be here." Marlena said. She sat down across from Sonny. "Hi, Sonny. How are you?"

"Hanging in there." Sonny replied.

"Marlena has agreed to hypnotize you now, if that works for you." Justin announced.

Sonny nodded. Marlena put her purse on the table and pulled out a recording device. "Since this is a police investigation, I'll need your permission to record this session."

"Should we leave?" Justin asked.

"Well, that's up to Sonny." Marlena replied.

"Yeah, it's okay. There's nothing that would come out that I wouldn't tell you, anyway." Sonny replied.

"All right. Let's get started." Marlena said.

It didn't take long for Sonny to fall into hypnosis. He remembered running into Chad and they moved Deimos' body because they were afraid they'd get in trouble. Marlena then brought Sonny out of hypnosis.

Sonny sighed sadly. "Well, so much for thinking I'm not capable of murder."

"That's still not definitive proof that you did it, Sonny." Will insisted.

"That's right." Justin spoke up. "Those memories could have been caused by the drugs you were on."

"Dad, the waiter said that he saw me standing over Deimos' body telling him that he got what he deserved." Sonny said.

"Even if you did kill Deimos, I'm sure it was in self-defense, Sonny." Justin replied, trying to keep calm.

"I'm just not sure." Sonny shook his head.

"I'm not giving up." Justin said.

"Hey, neither am I." Will replied. He turned to Sonny. "And neither can you."

"I appreciate the support," Sonny said. "but we know what happened."

"What you think happened." Justin reminded him.

"Yeah, you were under the influence of Halo." Will said.

"Yeah, but I still..."

"No, no, no. You didn't." Will interrupted. "I know you didn't."

Sonny just looked around. "I think Hope and Rafe are gonna want to put me back in my cell now."

"Hey, I'm gonna make another phone call. Sonny, we are gonna beat this." Justin hugged Sonny. "You understand? You just gotta hang in there."

Sonny sighed. Will kissed him and pulled him into a hug.

XX

After Sonny was escorted out, Will went out to the detective area towards Hope and Rafe.

"I'm sorry. I know you thought Xander killed Deimos." Rafe was saying.

"What did you just say?" Will asked. Rafe and Hope turned around. "I'm sorry. I couldn't help but overhear that last part."

"We didn't want to get anyone's hopes up until we got the results from the lab." Hope explained.

"No, but it makes total sense that Xander is the one who killed Deimos." Will said. "After all, he's the one who took the fall for Nicole's kidnapping."

"And Deimos walked." Hope said.

"They must have struck some sort of bargain," Will continued. "and Deimos backed out or something once Xander was behind bars."

"You know, you'd make a good detective." Rafe commented.

"Thanks." Will replied.

"You know, there's a million reasons why Xander would want to kill Deimos." Hope said.

"Yeah. Except for the fact that he was locked up in a Greek prison when Deimos was killed." Rafe spoke up. Hope grabbed a magazine wrapped in a plastic bag, and she and Rafe walked off. But not before Will caught the title.

He pulled out his cell phone and called Paul. "Hi. I need your help with something."

XXX

Paul caught up to John and Marlena in the Square.

"I've got a lead that might clear Sonny." Paul announced.

"Couldn't you ask Steve to help you with this?" Marlena asked politely.

"I did, but, he's got his hands full trying to prove that Kayla wasn't negligent." Paul replied.

John was confused and surprised. "What are you talking about?"

Marlena turned to John. "I'll fill you in later. So what do you know that might help Sonny?"

"Okay, there was a key card found at the crime scene and the cops traced it back to a room at the Salem Inn." Paul explained. "Now whoever it was checked in with a phony name. In the room, they found pornography, the same kind that Xander liked. There were no fingerprints and the DNA was inconclusive, but I think that Xander's involved."

"Wait a minute, isn't Xander in prison in Greece for trying to kidnap Nicole?" Marlena asked.

Paul nodded. "Yeah, but I think that he got out to get his revenge on Deimos for letting him take the fall for kidnapping Nicole."

"And then he returned to the Greek prison. That's quite a stretch." John said. "He couldn't have done that without help."

"Who'd help? He's as bad as Deimos is." Marlena commented.

"Okay, there a lot more questions than there are answers, that's why I need your help. And that means I'm going to be taking him away from you for a while." Paul said to Marlena. "I'm really sorry but I need Dad to go to Greece with me. We have to prove that someone Xander got out of that prison. That somehow Xander was the one who killed Deimos. I'm in over my head here and this is right up your alley. You know I'm right about that."

Marlena nodded. "I do."

"I know that this couldn't have come at a worse possible time, but I'd understand if you said no." Paul said.

John smiled. "Will loves him and they have three kids. I know what it's like when your spouse is accused of murder. I can't say no. Sweetheart, I just keep thinking what if this was one of our kids facing what Sonny's facing. What the hell are Adrienne and Justin going through right now?"

"I'll leave you two alone." Paul walked away and texted Will that he's going to Greece, then called Derrick.

"Hey, perfect timing. I'm on break." Derrick greeted.

"Hey. Listen, I have to go out of town for a case for a few days." Paul announced.

"Oh. Okay. Where to this time?"

"Greece. Long story." Paul chuckled softly.

"Well, have fun and be careful. I'll miss you."

"Aw. I'll miss you, too." Paul smiled. "I'm sorry I have to leave you."

"Hey, don't apologize. It's work, I understand." Derrick replied sincerely. "I love you."

"I love you, too."

XXX

The next day, Paul called Will with an update.

"So it doesn't look like Xander was the one who killed Deimos." Paul announced. "But he hinted another possible suspect."

"Really? Who?"

Paul sighed. "You're not gonna like it. It's Victor."


	117. What A Tangled Web We Weave

Will was struck dumb. "Victor? Come on. That's crazy! I mean, Victor's got a rap sheet a mile long, sure, but he would never let his family- especially Sonny- go to jail for something he did."

"You mean like Deimos?" Paul asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Well, I mean he'd never do that to Sonny, who has been nothing but loyal and respectful to Victor and forgiving of everything he's done." Will replied. "For God's sake, he gave up his inheritance for Victor!"

"To help Maggie, you mean?" Paul asked.

Will exhaled slowly. "Good point. So, what now?"

"Well, I have a plan to suss him out." Paul announced. "But I'm gonna need your help."

XXX

Derrick sat down at a table at the Pub and sighed. He had been tired a lot lately. Will walked up to him.

"Hey, Derrick. The usual?" Will greeted as he pulled out his pad and pen.

"Yes, please." Derrick nodded and smiled.

"All right. Coming right up." Will left.

Derrick pulled out his phone and smiled at a text from Paul. He responded "I miss you, too, but absence makes the heart grow fonder."

"Well, well, well."

Derrick froze as he recognized that voice. "No..."

A tall man with brown hair and green eyes walked over to Derrick and sat across from him. "I thought I recognized you, Derrick."

"Simon." Derrick spat with distaste. "What are you doing here?"

"Ah, I was just in the neighborhood. Thought I'd check this place out." Simon replied.

"Really?" Derrick folded his arms and shook his head in disbelief.

"So...I haven't heard from you in forever." Simon said, conversationally.

"Considering you kicked me out and broke my heart, I'd say that's not surprising." Derrick said, simply.

"You broke mine first." Simon retorted. "So, what have you been up to?"

"I have a great job and a great boyfriend." Derrick replied. "I'm an administrative assistant at the hospital."

Simon laughed. "Really? Wow. Does this boyfriend of yours know everything about you?"

Derrick glared at Simon. Will walked out of the kitchen with Derrick's food and coffee and saw Derrick talking to this strange man. Derrick looked uncomfortable. Will walked to their table and cleared his throat.

"Hey. Is everything all right here?" Will asked.

"Everything's fine." Simon replied.

"Thank you, but I was asking Derrick." Will said coolly.

"Everything's fine, Will." Derrick replied.

"Okay. If you're sure." Will replied. He turned to Simon. "Would you like to order something?"

"No, I'm good." Simon replied. Will nodded and walked off. "So, who is the lucky guy? Not Will, is it?"

"No." Derrick shook his head.

"Then who...?"

"Why do you want to know?" Derrick snapped.

Simon raised his hands in surrender. "Easy, Der. I was just curious. No need for hostility."

"Can you blame me for being hostile after what you put me through?" Derrick asked through gritted teeth. "You dumped me and abandoned me when I needed you most!"

"You know damn well why I did that!" Simon hissed back. Derrick absentmindedly rubbed his stomach. "But hey...history has a way of repeating itself. Once your boyfriend figures out who you are...he's never gonna want anything to do with you again."

Simon walked off as Will walked up. He set Derrick's food down in front of him. "Let me guess: ex-boyfriend?"

Derrick rubbed his eyes and sighed. "Yeah. I would appreciate it if you didn't tell Paul. I don't want him to worry."

"Okay, I won't tell him. But you should." Will said. "Take it from someone who's been there. You don't want Paul to be caught off-guard."

"All right, I'll tell him eventually. Just not now." Derrick promised. "Let's talk about you. How are you doing?"

"Okay, I guess." Will shrugged and sighed. "I told Ari that Sonny is out of town on business, but I don't think she believes me. People avoid eye contact or look at me with pity in their eyes. I swear- when I get my hands on whoever let Sonny take the fall, I will smash them in the face."

"Whoa, dude."

"Sorry. It's just..."

"I know."

XXX

Will went home to check on the kids. Ari watched a movie and the boys were napping. He went downstairs to the living room where Victor sat on his armchair, drink in hand.

"Hello, Will." Victor greeted.

"Hi." Will replied. He walked over to the liquor cart. "I visited Sonny earlier. I swear, he looks worse each time I see him."

"Jail can do that to a person." Victor commented.

"Yeah. And I just keep thinking, what if he's convicted?" Will asked, turning around.

"That's not gonna happen." Victor declared.

"I hope not. I read a few articles about gay men in prison. It's not a pretty picture." Will said. "They are tortured, beat up, and raped almost daily. I think one of them killed himself because he couldn't take the torture."

"Sonny would never kill himself." Victor said.

"Oh, I know that." Will replied. He sighed and sat down.

"I will make sure he's out of jail before long." Victor assured him. "You know how much I love the boy."

"I know that, too." Will nodded. "I can't blame you- he's the most and sometimes only truly loyal family member you have. Remember when he sold his inheritance to help you and Aunt Maggie out?"

"Yes." Victor answered, avoiding Will's eye.

"Yeah." Will sighed. "He's been through so much over the last few years, hasn't he? Screwed over by practically everyone he knows- including me. I just hope that if he isn't the one who killed Deimos, the person who let Sonny take the fall isn't someone Sonny is close to. Being betrayed by someone he's close to again...that just might kill him. Hmm." Victor still looked away from Will, silently. Will could tell Victor was getting uncomfortable and...was that a look of guilt on his face? Will smiled and patted Victor's shoulder. "Thanks for letting me vent. You're awesome." His phone rang. "Excuse me, I better take this." Will left the house and leaned against the door. "Hey, Paul. Perfect timing."

"You talked to Victor?" Paul asked.

"I did. I laid it on a little thick. He looked nervous by the end of our conversation." Will announced.

"I see. Well, I have one more trail to follow. I'll let you know where it leads." Paul replied. "Are you gonna tell Sonny?"

Will sighed. "No. Not until I know for sure that it was Victor."

"All right. I'll call you later."

"Yeah, bye." Will hung up. Just last year, Brady accused Victor of kidnapping Tate. Now both he and Paul are about to accuse Victor of killing Deimos. His phone rang again. "Dad. Hey, what's up?"

"It's Abigail. She was hit by a car."

"What?! Is she okay?" Will exclaimed.

"She's in surgery. They're doing everything they can." Lucas replied.

"Okay, I'll-I'll be right there."

XXX

Will stepped off the elevator and rushed over to JJ, Gabi, and Chad. "Hey, is she okay?"

"Yeah. She made it out of surgery, but it's still pretty serious." Chad replied.

"What happened, exactly?" Will asked.

Chad took a deep breath and explained how Dario tricked Abigail into marrying him by saying his green card was getting revoked, then Dario blackmailed her into staying with him and going into witness protection with him, and a car came zooming towards Chad, then Abigail pushed him out of the way and she was run over.

Will exhaled slowly. This was a lot to take in. "Wow. God...I wish I could have been there for her."

"Sonny had been arrested. You had enough on your plate." Chad reasoned.

"Still...I should have paid more attention." Will lamented.

"Dude, you can't blame yourself for every single bad thing that happens." Chad said.

"I know. It's been a habit of mine for years."

Chad laughed softly. They saw Jennifer walk out of the room. JJ headed in. Will went in after Chad. He sat on a chair and pulled it up closer to the bed and took Abigail's hand in his.

"Hi. So, Chad told me what happened. I'm sorry you went through all that. I wish I could have helped you, know? But, I was too focused on Sonny and the kids lately." Will sighed deeply. "I promise you, from now on, I will try to find a balance between worrying about Sonny and the kids and worrying about my other family and friends."

XXX

Will headed to the park off the square. He saw Andre and Gabi talking, and hid behind the gate to eavesdrop.

"So, you're telling me Chad killed Deimos?" Gabi asked. Will was shocked.

"It was a shock to me too." Andre said.

Gabi shook her head. "You're wrong because he couldn't kill anyone."

"Perhaps not in his right mind, but that night..."

"If something like that happened, he wouldn't keep it from me." Gabi insisted.

Without thinking, Will pulled out his phone and started recording their conversation.

"He didn't tell you or anyone else because he doesn't remember doing it." Andre replied.

"Then why are you so sure?"

"Because there's a photograph."

"Photograph of what?" Gabi asked.

"A photograph of Chad leaning over Deimos' body."

"Okay, so?" Gabi asked.

"So, he was wiping the knife clean that killed Deimos."

Gabi was dismayed. "What?!"

"I want you to help me protect Chad." Andre said simply.

"You want my help now?" Gabi asked in disbelief. "I asked you what was going on, and you shut me out like always."

"I will find a way to clear Sonny, but right now you need to find a way to stop Chad from throwing his life away." Andre said.

Will scoffed quietly. 'Like hell you will.'

"Well, you mentioned there's a photograph, so if the police have it, I can't..."

"They don't and they won't." Andre insisted.

"How are you so sure?"

"Because your brother took the photo."

Gabi was a bit confused. "My brother took the photo?"

"Yes, but it doesn't exist anymore thanks to Abigail." Andre said.

Gabi sits down on the bench. "Yeah... it's all making sense now. Abigail leaving Thomas, leaving her Mom and JJ. Dario was making her do this."

Andre sat next to her. "Yes he was, but she was never going to leave her son. She told you that because I convinced her to stall until we were able to delete that photograph and I did."

"Imagine if you hadn't been able to." Gabi shook her head. "She would have given up everyone she loves. She would have gone off with Dario. She would have done it all for Chad. When Abigail told me she was leaving with Dario, she told me to love Thomas as if he were mine. I made her a promise and I meant that."

Andre sat next to her. "I know you love Chad."

"I do."

"He needs you now more than ever," Andre continued. "so please convince him to stay quiet about that photograph."

Gabi rubbed her temples and sighed. "I need to think, okay? I need to think."

"About what?"

"I need to go to the hospital." She gets up and leaves.

Andre sighed and leaned back against the back of the bench. "You can come out now, William."

Will sighed inwardly and put his phone in his pocket, put on a polite smile and walked over to Andre. "Andre."

"So, how much of that conversation did you hear?" Andre asked politely.

"All of it." Will admitted. "Even that part where you say you'll find a way to clear Sonny."

"And I will."

"Actually, that won't be neccessary." Will replied. "Victor's doing everything he can to clear him, and honestly, Andre, I don't approve of your methods."

"Well, everything you heard is just gonna be your word against mine." Andre said, standing up.

"I won't do anything. 'Cause knowing Chad, he's not going to let Sonny rot in jail for something he didn't do." Will replied.

"We'll see." Andre said.

Will smiled and nodded. "Always a pleasure, Andre." He walked off towards the square. He saw Paul walking towards the parking lot and ran to catch up with him. "Hey, Paul!"

Paul turned around. "Will, hey, I was just about to call you."

"You were?" Will said breathlessly.

"Yeah. I found new evidence that leads to Victor killing Deimos." Paul said. "Someone flew the Titan jet to and from Athens the day before and the day after Deimos' murder. Xander was on that plane."

"Really?"

"Yeah. Brady went to confront Victor about it." Paul announced. Will was confused now. He folded his arms in thought. "What?"

"I overheard and recorded a conversation between Andre and Gabi about Deimos' murder." Will admitted. He pulled out his phone and played the recording. Paul sighed and shook his head. "I want to give Chad a chance to confess. And if he doesn't, I want to give this to the police annonymously, but, it might get Abigail and Gabe in trouble, too."

"Good point." Paul said. "Why don't we do this: why don't we see what Brady can get out of Victor, then we'll go from there?"

"Okay. Sounds like a plan." Will replied. This whole thing just keeps getting more complicated every day.


	118. Out Of Jail And Off The Wagon

Will headed back to the police station. After some careful thinking, he called Paul. "Hey. Are you 100% sure it was Victor?"

"Well, 99.9% sure. Why?"

"Because I don't want to tell Sonny unless we're totally sure Victor killed Deimos. It would wreck him." Will said.

"Okay, but we're gonna tell him eventually, right?"

"Of course."

XXX

Sonny was back in the interrogation room. Will walked in and kissed him.

"Two visits in one night. Must be really important." Sonny replied.

"It is." Will replied. "New evidence has come up about Deimos' murder."

"Really? What evidence?"

"Dario took a photo of Chad over Deimos' body cleaning his prints off the knife." Will answered.

Sonny was shocked. "Why didn't he turn it in?"

"Because he wanted to use that photo to blackmail Abigail into marrying him." Will replied.

"What?!"

"Yeah. Abigail had the photo deleted from Dario's phone and computer, and then a car came zooming towards Dario, but he leapt out of the way, but Chad was in the way. Abigail pushed Chad to safety, but was hit herself." Will announced.

"Is she okay?" Sonny asked.

"Yeah. She made it through surgery, but she has a long road to recovery ahead of her." Will nodded.

Sonny exhaled sharply. "Wow."

Paul walked into the interrogation room. "Hey, guys."

"Hey." Sonny greeted. "So...this is either really good or really bad."

"A little of both. Sonny it wasn't you. You didn't kill Deimos and I know that for sure now." Paul said.

"Paul." Will cautioned.

"My God, that's amazing. But, if I didn't kill Deimos then who did?"

"Well that's the bad news." Paul said, ignoring Will's look of warning. "I'm sorry, Will, but he needs to know. We have evidence that your Uncle Victor killed Deimos."

Sonny was stunned. He turned to Will. "That's not true, right? And you didn't-you didn't know about this. Right?"

Will sighed. "I didn't want you to know until we had all the facts."

"Uncle Vic killed Deimos. No, I don't believe that." Sonny said.

"Not with his bare hands. Victor used Xander to do his dirty work." Paul announced.

"Xander's locked up in prison in Greece." Sonny reminded him.

"Your uncle's a very powerful man." Will shrugged. "Maybe he flew Xander in from Greece to do this one thring for him, then flew him back."

"I can't believe Uncle Vic would let me take the fall for this." Sonny said, his voice shaking.

Will squeezed his hand. "Maybe he thought your dad would find a way to get you out."

Sonny shook his head. "I don't know, it just doesn't feel right. I don't think I can truly believe it unless I hear it straight from my Uncle Vic."

"You might not have to wait long." Paul spoke up. "Brady's trying to get a confession out of him as we speak. I'll leave you guys alone." He left.

"You have to make me a promise." Sonny said to Will.

"Anything."

"If my Uncle Vic confesses, if he really did hire Xander to kill Deimos I need you, Paul, and Brady to come to me before you go to the police."

"Sonny, Victor let you get arrested for murder."

"Promise me!"

"I can't believe you're trying to protect him after everything he's put you through." Will said angrily.

"Please, Will."

Will gave in and sighed. "Okay, I promise, Sonny."

"Thank you."

"You're not upset with me for digging up this info, are you?" Will asked, slightly nervous.

"Of course not. I'm so grateful that you've been out there trying to save me." Sonny assured him.

"I'd do anything for you, Sonny, for our future." Will replied.

Sonny smiled. "I love you, Will."

"I love you too, Sonny." They leaned over the table and kissed. "This is going to be over soon."

"I hope so." Sonny sighed. "I really miss the kids. How are they?"

"Good. Ari stopped having nightmares. She thinks you're on a business trip." Will replied. "The boys started crawling. I got this little robot thing to help Leon crawl. He loves it."

"Aww. I can't wait to see that." Sonny smiled longingly.

"I also got these child block gates attached to the stairs leading up to our wing and the second floor where the playroom is." Will replied. He chuckled. "So, guess what? Brady struggled with opening one of the gates, and Ari opened it for him! He was outwitted by a four-year-old."

"Oh my God." Sonny laughed. "Brady always has been a little..." He shook his head. "I can't wait to see the kids again."

"Well, if Brady can get Victor to confess by tomorrow, you won't have to wait that long." Will said with resentment in his voice.

"He will, don't worry." Sonny said confidently.

XXX

The next morning, Will headed to the police station. Justin and Paul were already in the interrogation room with Sonny. "Hey. Sorry I'm late. What'd I miss?"

Sonny sighed. "Uncle Vic was a dead end. He did hire Xander to kill Deimos, but Xander didn't kill him. He was spooked- too many people."

"Oh." Will deflated a little. "So we're back to square one, then."

Sonny nodded. "Unless someone else confesses."

"I'm just wondering why the hell Victor risked a hit on someone who was in the same vicinity as his nephew." Paul commented.

"I don't know," Justin replied. "but I'll make damn sure he never puts a hit out on anyone ever again. Every time he does, Sonny is either stabbed or arrested!" He stormed out.

"He has a point, you know." Will said.

"Why didn't you guys mention Chad?" Paul asked.

Sonny smirked. "Because the last time my dad thought Chad killed someone, two women died, and about a dozen other people almost died, including me."

"That's cold, dude." Will remarked. Paul scoffed quietly and shook his head. "I'll give him til the end of the day. If he still hasn't confessed, I'll blackmail him into it."

"Now that actually works!" Sonny exclaimed half-jokingly. "Why can't Uncle Vic be more like you, Will?"

Will laughed. "No idea, babe."

XXX

Later, Will headed to the hospital to visit Abigail. He walked into her room, holding flowers. "Whoa. Looks like everyone else in town had the same idea."

Abigail laughed weakly. "Yeah. You just missed Aunt Maggie."

"I know. I saw her at the elevator." Will replied. He set down the flowers and sat down on a chair next to Abigail's bed. "How are you, today?"

"Better." Abigail replied. "I might be able to go home romorrow."

"That's great." Will smiled. He paused and sobered. "I overheard Gabi and Andre last night. About the photo of Chad kneeling over Deimos' body, wiping his prints off the knife."

Abigail took a deep breath and closed her eyes for a few seconds. "Look, Will, I tried to come up with a solution that would save both Sonny and Chad."

Will sighed and nodded. "Well, actually, we did find another lead, but it turned out to be a dead end."

"Oh. I'm sorry." Abigail replied. "Chad is on his way to the police station right now to confess."

"Oh. Well, that's good." Will said before he could stop himself. "Uh...I mean, not good for you and Thomas, but good for Sonny."

"Yeah." Abigail nodded. "I really do hope Sonny gets out of jail."

"Thank you. And I hope Chad will be cleared, too." Will replied.

"Thanks." Abigail replied. "You know, when all this is over, you, me, Chad, and Sonny should go on a double date to celebrate."

Will chuckled. "Sounds like fun. We should totally do that. So, do you remember anything else about that night?"

"Mm, no." Abigail replied. "I just remember seeing Deimos in the hall and Chad and I got seperated."

"Well, I really wish I hadn't left." Will vented. "Maybe I could have witnessed Deimos' death."

"You would have been drugged just like the rest of us, I'm sure." Abigail assured him.

"Still..." Will shook his head. He stood up. "Well, I will let you sleep. I'll see you tomorrow."

"'Kay. See ya." Abigail replied. "Thanks for visiting."

"You're welcome." Will walked out of the room. He headed down the hallway and saw Simon walk out of the administration hallway towards the elevator. Will hurried to the elevator and stopped the doors from closing and stepped inside. "Simon."

"You're Will, right? The waiter from the Brady Pub?" Simon asked.

Will nodded. "I saw you coming out of the admin hallway."

"You following me?"

"No. I had just come from visiting my cousin. She got hit by a car, but she'll be okay." Will replied. "I'm assuming you went to visit Derrick?"

"Yeah, but he was already off-duty."

Will nodded and folded his arms. "Either that or he just really did not want to see you."

"Oh, he does, all right."

"You know what, Slimon? He has a boyfriend. So I'm gonna need you to back the hell off." Will said warningly.

Simon scoffed. "You don't scare me."

"Do the Kiriakis and DiMera families scare you?" Will raised an eyebrow. "'Cause I'm connected to both families and they will not hesitate to get rid of pests like you."

The elevator stopped on the main floor. Will walked out without another word. Simon just shook his head in disbelief.

XXX

"Hey, Sonny?"

"Yeah, Chad?"

"Why the hell are we sharing a cell that only has one tiny bed?" Chad wanted to know.

"I have no idea." Sonny shook his head.

"So...like...do we share it, or...?" Chad asked.

Sonny sighed. "No. I can sleep at the desk."

"You sure?" Chad asked.

"Yeah, I'm sure."

"Dude that thing they call a desk is smaller than Ari's play stove." Chad remarked.

"I'll manage, don't worry." Sonny replied, smiling.

"Okay, if you say so." Chad sighed in content as he lay down with his hands behind his head. Sonny sat in the desk chair and leaned it back against the desk.

They were silent for what seemed like hours, then Sonny started singing.

"Nooobody knows the trouble I've seen/Noooobody knows my sorrow..."

"Oh, Sonny, do lighten up." Chad said in a fake British accent. "Sing something with a little more bounce to it!"

Sonny smirked. "It's a small world after all-"

"No, no! Anything but that!" Chad cringed.

"I've got a lovely bunch of coconuts..."

"Dee-dee-dee-"

"There they are a-standing in a row"

"Bom, bom, bom,"

"Big ones, small ones/some as big as your head..."

"I have no idea how the rest of that song goes." Chad said.

"Me, neither."

A few minutes later, Chad started singing "The Lion Sleeps Tonight". Sonny sang the main vocals with Chad doing the background vocals.

"I can't hear you, buddy. Back me up!" Sonny cried. He stood up and struck a pose. "A-weeee-ee-ee-ee-a-pumbaa-bumbah-way!"

A guard slammed the door open and marched in looking irate. "Shut up!"

Sonny raised his hands in surrender. "Sorry, officer."

The guard just shook his head and left the room, slamming the door behind him.

Chad cleared his throat. "I guess singing's out of the question."

"Yeah." Sonny chuckled. He sighed and leaned his chair back again. "I sure hope no one else in my family is sent to prison."

"Yeah, mine, too." Chad nodded.

It took a while, but Chad finally managed to fall asleep on the bed. A few hours later, a resounding crash jolted him awake. He shook his head and looked over to see that Sonny had fallen to the ground, the chair toppled over sideways. Chad threw his blanket off and rushed over to help Sonny, who was groaning and whimpering in pain.

"Dude, you okay?"

Sonny groaned in pain and rubbed his head. "Not really."

Chad helped him up. "Okay...why don't we just share the bed?"

"I don't think it's big enough." Sonny said.

"I'll hold you against me so you won't fall." Chad assured him.

Sonny scoffed. "Okay."

They climbed into bed. Sonny snuggled comfortably against Chad, who threw the blanket over both of them. That position seemed to work for a few hours until Chad rolled over and accidentally pushed Sonny off the bed. Sonny groaned and whimpered again and just gave up and curled up on the floor. Chad had woken up at that point. He sighed and nudged the pillow under Sonny's head and put the blanket over him.

XXX

The next morning, Chad and Sonny were moved back to the interrogation room.

"I made a promise to Abby that I'd come back. I can't break that promise." Chad was saying.

"Hopefully you won't have to." Sonny replied, optimistically.

Chad nodded. "Hopefully."

"As long as the judge takes our recovered memories into account and doesn't feel it's too convenient to be true..." Sonny said as Will walks in.

"What's too convenient to be true?" Will asked.

"I had another memory from the party, so did Chad." Sonny explained.

"And...?"

"We both remembered that neither one of us killed Deimos." Chad explained simply.

Will chuckled, smiled, and nodded. "I knew you weren't capable of killing anyone, even Deimos." He turns to Chad. "Not that I thought that you were."

Chad nodded. "Oh, yeah, sure, except when I was going to be taking Sonny's place. I'm just kidding. It's fine. I would have done the same thing in your position."

"I just hope the judge thinks that what we remember now is strong enough evidence to dismiss both of our cases." Sonny said.

"Well, if they thought your confessions were..." Will commented. His phone rang with a text. "It's your dad. They're at the courthouse. They're ready for you both."

Chad looked pleadingly at Sonny, who smiled, nodded, and raised his eyebrows. "You're up first."

Chad scoffed and stood up. "Fine. We got this!"

XXX

The preliminary hearing went pretty well. The judge believed Sonny's story and cleared him of the murder charge. Both Justin and Will sighed with relief. The only thing that was weird was that Adrienne never showed up.

Will and Sonny head back to the interrogation room. "I still can't believe it's over."

"As soon as your dad comes back in with the release papers, you're a free man." Will said, beaming.

"I didn't think I'd be hearing those words any time soon."

"Well, I always knew that you were innocent." Will assured him.

Sonny shrugged. "Well I wasn't sure because of what Deimos said. He said I was more like him then I was willing to admit. It just kept playing over and over in my head."

Will put his hands on Sonny's shoulders. "Well, he was wrong."

"I did make some morally questionable decisions when I first took over Titan." Sonny pointed out.

"Now you've got a chance to go back and do the right thing." Will said.

"That's exactly what I plan on doing from here on out."

"Are you going to be infallible, never make another mistake, another bad decision?" Will asked, half-sternly.

"Never." They kiss. Sonny cupped Will's face in his hands. "You know, the first thing I want to do when I get out of here?"

"After you see the kids, you mean?" Will smiled and Sonny nodded. "Penthouse Grill, steak dinner and a bottle of wine?"

Sonny shook his head. "Brady's for a bowl of your great-grandmother's chowder."

Will chuckled. "I think that can be arranged."

"The thought of never having that again, the thought of never being able to bring Arianna to the park, watch the kids grow up, or have dinner with my family for Thanksgiving, or being in the Horton Town Square and watch the fireworks on the 4th of July..." Sonny went on. "spending time with you every day, waking up and going to sleep and everything in between."

"You're going to be so sick of me at the end of the week." Will joked.

"I'm never going to be sick of you." Sonny assured him.

"Let me see what's going on with your dad." Will pulled out his phone and it rang. "Oh- there he is. Hey, Justin."

"Hi. I'm on my way with the release papers now."

"Okay, great!"

"Um, one more thing, did Adrienne show up at all?" Justin asked.

"Uh, no, she didn't."

"Okay. I'm getting a little worried. Can you please call your dad to see if he's with her?" Justin asked.

"Sure. See you in a bit." Will hung up.

"What's wrong?" Sonny asked a little nervous.

Will shook his head. "Nothing. We just can't find your mom. Hold on." He called Lucas.

XX

Lucas sat at a table, his head on the table with an empty shot glass next to him. His phone rang. "Heeeey, Will. What's up?" He asked, trying to keep the slurring out of his voice.

"Hey, Dad. Are you okay?"

"I'm fine." Lucas lied. "I'm just spiffy! Adrienne dumped my ass like trash going into the ocean or something, but I'm just..."

"Wait, what?! I don't understand. I thought she chose you?" Will replied, puzzled.

"Yeah...but she was imagining it was Justin and not me." Lucas replied, his voice shaking. "But, you know what? Screw her and her differences. Who needs her, right?"

Will was getting more confused by the minute. Then he realized his voice sounded a little slurry. "Dad, are you drunk?"

"No, man. Come on. I've been sober for like a decade or something. I can't remember." Lucas lied.

Will sighed deeply and closed his eyes. 'Damn you, Adrienne...' "Okay. Where are you? Are you at your apartment?"

"Nope. Horton Town Square."

Will rubbed his forehead. "Okay. They've just released Sonny- long story- but I'll be there in like a half hour."

"Why?" Lucas wondered.

"To make sure you make it home without hurting yourself or other people. Don't drink anymore, please." Will hung up and turned back to his confused husband. "Your mom broke up with my dad and now he's fallen off the wagon."

Sonny was surprised. "What?"

"Yeah. Turns out she was stringing my dad along, thinking of your dad." Will said, a little upset.

"Will, I'm so sorry." Sonny said sincerely.

"Yeah. Speaking of your mom, no one can find her." Will replied.

Sonny took a deep breath. "Probably upset over the breakup."

Justin walked in and noticed the two men looking upset. "Uh, is everything okay in here?"

"Yes for you and Sonny, no for me." Will answered simply. "I'll let Sonny explain. I have to go."

"Will..." Sonny called after him as he left.

Justin held his hands out in confusion. "What's going on?"

"Mom broke up with Lucas last night. Lucas started drinking again." Sonny explained simply.

Justin was surprised. "Really? Huh. I guess that explains why she didn't show up for the hearing."

"Yeah." Sonny nodded, then smiled. "Looks like you have your chance with Mom now."

"Maybe." Justin said. He set the form and a pen down in front of Sonny.

XXX

Will walked through Horton Town Square towards the Mandalay Cafe. He spotted a sobriety chip on the table and recognized it as Lucas'. He looked all around and saw Lucas walking towards Tom and Alice's plaque. He jogged up to him. "Dad! Hey."

"Oh, hey, Will." He replied, taking a sip from his cup.

"That's not alcohol, is it?" Will asked dubiously.

"How dare you say there's alcohol in this cup." Lucas said hotly. He then proceeded to trip over the bench. "Okay, who put that there?!"

Will stifled a laugh and grabbed Lucas' arm and swung it around his shoulders. "Okay, let's get you home."

"Okay, fine." Lucas let his son guide him to the parking lot. "Wow! Everything's so green!" Will helped him in the car, then climbed in himself. They drove off to Lucas' apartment complex. Lucas rolled down the window and stuck out his head. "Is there anything better than the wind blowing through your hair?" A car full of women drove alongside them. "Hey, ladies! Guess what? I've been cuckoodled then dumped!" Lucas slapped the top of the car door and laughed hysterically. The women just shook their heads and continued driving. Will rolled up the window and pulled into a parking space at Lucas' apartment. "Heeeey. Why'd we stop?"

"Because we're here." Will replied. He climbed out of the car.

"Oh." Lucas replied. He looked over to his window and scowled at his reflection. "What are you looking at?" Will opened the door. "Yeah, you run away! Coward." Lucas folded his arms and glared out the windsheild. Will cleared his throat. Lucas jumped slightly and sighed. "All right. I'm coming." He fumbled with his seatbelt and took it off. He stepped out of the car and stood up too quickly. Will caught him before he hit the ground. Will closed the door, locked the car, then half-dragged, half-carried Lucas into the building and to the elevator. Lucas saw all the buttons. "Oooh!" He pushed all the buttons. "It looks like a Christmas tree!"

Once they got to Lucas' apartment, Will dropped Lucas on the couch. "I'm gonna make you some black coffee."

"Mmkay, thanks."

After two mugs of black coffee, Lucas was mostly sober.

"So, I guess you can tell I fell off the wagon." Lucas commented.

Will nodded. He remembered all those times he was drunk when he was little. He never hit him, of course, but he accidentally dropped him and crashed into a tree and the car burst into flames and Will had to have surgery. He also remembered Lucas getting alcohol poisoning. He didn't want his kids subjected to those things.

"I'm not naive, Dad. I knew falling off the wagon would happen eventually. But until you get back on the wagon, I don't want you near my kids." Will replied.

Lucas sighed quietly. "Okay. I understand."

"Good." Will stood up. "Ari already has one major screwup of a grandfather. I don't want her to have two." With that, he left. His phone buzzed with a text message from Sonny.

"I'm at the Pub. Where are you?"

"Just dropped my dad off at his apartment. On my way now."


	119. Two Weddings And A Pregnancy

Meanwhile, Paul was in his and Derrick's room lighting candles and pouring two glasses of champagne. They have been dating for almost a year now. He didn't believe that you could find another true love until he started dating Derrick. He's loving, caring, supportive, a good listener, a great sense of humor... Paul could not imagine his life without Derrick. He pulled out a box containing an engagement ring and smiled.

XX

Derrick walked into the house in a daze. He hadn't been feeling well for a while, so he went to the doctor to get a checkup. He sighed and gently rubbed his stomach. He spotted a trail of rose petals leading upstairs. He followed the trail to his room.

"Paul?"

Paul turned around, smiling and holding two glasses of champagne.

"Wow. What's the occaision?" Derrick asked.

"Us." Paul said simply. "We have been dating for almost a year, and no drama."

"Wow, that is a reason to celebrate." Derrick smiled. Paul offered a glass of champagne. "Oh, um...thanks, but, I'm still freaked out about what happened with Deimos and the Halo 2.0 drugged drinks."

"But you weren't there." Paul said, confused.

"Doesn't mean I can't have nightmares." Derrick smirked.

Paul nodded. "True. Well, all right then. More for me."

Derrick chuckled and took the champagne. "Tell you what: we can toast."

"I was just about to, actually." Paul grinned and raised his glass. "To us. May we have no drama for years to come."

"Hear, hear." Derrick replied. They clinked glasses. Paul drank from his glass and Derrick set his down on the table.

Paul pulled Derrick close and they started kissing. He carried Derrick to the bed and they continued making out. After a while, Derrick sighed in content as he lay on Paul's chest.

"I could get used to this." Derrick said.

"Me, too." Paul replied. He slowly sat up. "I could get used to doing this every day for the rest of our lives."

"What are you saying?" Derrick asked.

"Well, actually, what I'm asking is..." Paul reached over for the small, velvet box and opened it to show Derrick an engagement ring. "Derrick Rutherford...will you marry me?"

Derrick blinked and gaped in shock. This was the last thing he expected. He wanted to marry Paul, but something was holding him back. "I'm pregnant."

Paul was shocked. "Are you sure?"

"Yeah. I just went to the doctor today." Derrick replied.

Paul gasped and smiled. "Oh my God!" He laughed and hugged Derrick tight. "We're having a baby!"

Derrick hugged back and smiled. "So, you're happy?"

"Yeah, I am! Wow!" Paul laughed and smiled broadly. "When's-when's he due?"

"Next May." Derrick replied. "But, Paul, keep in mind that this is a high risk pregnancy. Men aren't built to carry babies. I might..." He swallowed.

Paul sobered and took Derrick's hand in his. "I know. But, there's also the chance that our baby will make it."

"But if it doesn't..."

"Then we will be there for each other." Paul promised. "But, I'm keeping a positive attitude that our baby will survive. After all, Will's baby survived."

Derrick smiled, extremely touched. "In that case, yes. I will marry you." They kissed.

"I can't wait to tell everyone we're gonna be fathers!" Paul exclaimed.

XXX

Across town, at the Kiriakis mansion, Will and Sonny made out in bed. They pulled away.

"There's nothing like making up for lost time." Will said.

Sonny nodded and smiled. "It was almost worth being away from you all that time. Almost."

Will rubbed Sonny's arm gently. "Well it's not going to happen again. You're here and I'm never letting you go." They kiss.

Someone knocked on the door. "Come in!"

"Room service." A maid said as she carried in a breakfast tray.

Sonny gasped. "Breakfast in bed?"

Will nodded. "Mm-hm. I figured we could dine in style...so to speak."

The maid set the tray across Sonny's lap. "Thanks, Ingrid."

Ingrid nodded, bowed, then left.

"You know...the last time I ordered room service, I tripped over the bedspread that was to the floor and spilled the entire contents all over the bed and the floor." Sonny said. He and Will chuckled.

"Well, then it's a good thing Ingrid brought it over, then." Will smirked. Sonny scoffed and swatted Will playfully. They laughed and finished their breakfast.

Sonny hugged Will's torso and lay on his chest. "Mmm. I could stay like this all day."

"Yeah, me too, but, we made a promise to a certain daughter of ours." Will smiled.

"Oh, yeah! Playtime Pete's!" Sonny said. He sat up. "Would it be all right if I invite my parents, or would that be too awkward?"

"No, it's fine." Will replied. "For what it's worth, I'm glad you're happy."

"Thanks. And for what it's worth, I'm sorry about your dad...you know..." Sonny shrugged.

"Thanks." Will replied. "You got a little something..." He gestured to Sonny's chin.

Sonny wiped his chin. "Agh. Guess I better shower. Wanna help?"

"Of course." Will said. They jumped out of bed and went into the bathroom.

XXX

Sonny headed to Adrienne's hotel room. Adrienne opened the door.

"Jackson." Adrienne greeted.

Sonny chuckled. "You haven't called me that in a while."

"Sorry I missed you at the courthouse. So glad you're free though." Adrienne replied.

"So am I. Can I come in?" Sonny asked.

"Of course, come on in." Adrienne stepped aside to let Sonny in.

Sonny noticed his dad was there, too. "Hey Dad, what are you doing here?"

Justin smiled and turned to Adrienne. "You want to take this?"

Adrienne turned to Justin, then Sonny. "Yes. Your father and I realised that we just couldn't fight fate any longer."

Sonny was getting excited. "You mean...?"

Adrienne nodded. "Yup. We're back together."

Sonny hugs her. "What?! That's fantastic." He then hugs his dad. "You two are just full of surprises. I'm so happy. I always knew you two would end up back together. You were meant to be. Wait a second, what about Lucas?"

Adrienne shrugged. "Of course Lucas took the news really hard and I feel just awful about that, but, I had to follow my heart, it ran straight back to your father."

"You know I've always rooted for you two to be together." Sonny said. "Will and I were going to take the kids to Playtime Pete's to celebrate my release. Why don't you two come with? It can be a double celebration."

"Sure. Yeah." Justin and Adrienne nodded. "Let us know when."

"All right. Well, I'd love to stay, but I need to visit Abigail in the hospital."

"Abigail? Right, your cousin." Adrienne replied. She hugged Sonny and patted his back. "Oh honey, that's so sweet of you."

"You kids have fun." Sonny said as he left.

XXX

Paul headed to the Kiriakis mansion. He walked into the living room where Brady and Nicole were talking. "I'm glad you're both here."

Nicole turned around and smiled. "Hi."

"Hey man." Brady replied. "I'm glad Sonny was released."

"Yeah, it's great news." Nicole said.

"At least now all the cops have to do is find the amulet and then they'll find the real killer." Paul said.

Nicole nodded. "I'm sorry, it's getting late. I need to grab my things for work. Bye." She left.

"Is everything okay?" Paul asked, concerned.

Brady nodded. "Yeah it's all good."

"Because the last time you tried to convince me that you thought Nicole was cheating on you. You were about to take a drink." Paul recalled.

Brady held up a hand. "Hold on. I was mistaken. Nicole and Eric were not having an affair."

Paul smiled. "That's great news. She wouldn't do that to you. I told you she loves you, right?"

"Yes, yes." Brady cleared his throat. "So, what brings you to my humble abode?"

Paul grinned widely. "I asked Derrick to marry me and he said yes!"

Brady gasped, smiled, and chuckled. "Really?! Oh my God!" He hugged his brother. "That's fantastic news. Engaged! You and Derrick- you deserve the happiness man. You really do."

Paul smiled and ducked his head, then looked up. "You're the first person I told."

"Well I'm honored about that." Brady replied.

"But, the truth is it's only because I couldn't reach Dad. I left him a message and he hasn't responded yet." Paul admitted.

"If I hear from him, I'll make sure he touches base with you." Brady promised.

"So, are you sure you're all good?"

"Yeah, why wouldn't I be good?" Brady asked. "My little bro's getting married!"

"Well, maybe you and Nicole will be next." Paul said.

XXX

Paul headed to the hospital to visit Abigail. He brought a boquet of flowers and rode the elevator to the fifth floor. Chad was over by the coffee cart talking on his phone.

"Hey, nice to see you somewhere that's not a jail cell." Paul greeted.

Chad jumped slightly and turned around. "Don't sneak up on me like that. What are these things, for me?"

"Not for you, no." Paul shook his head.

"I've got to admit: it was more fun waking up next to Abby although she's going to be happy to see you." Chad replied.

"Yes, but before I go in, I have a question for you." Paul said.

"Well, I have a question for you." Chad replied.

Paul nodded. "Go first."

"No you go first." Chad replied. They both say "Will you be my best man?"

Chad smiled and pointed at Paul. "What did you just say?"

"I asked Derrick to marry me yesterday." Paul replied.

"I asked Abby to marry me yesterday."

"This is crazy!" Paul laughed.

"Not that crazy. It may be the sanest thing you and I have ever done." Chad stated.

Paul laughed and nodded in agreement. "You know what, you're right. Congratulations, you are one lucky man."

"You know what, congratulations! You are one lucky man." Chad said.

"Bring it!" Paul exclaimed. They hug. Paul picked Chad up and swung him side by side a few times, then put him down.

Chad side and patted the side of Paul's head. "Look at how far we have come in the last two years. I once hated your guts for messing up my friends' marriage."

Paul chuckled. "Yeah. I once hated you for being a dick."

"And now look at us!" Chad exclaimed, throwing his arms out. "The sons of John Black and Stefano DiMera- each others' best men."

"Yeah. Stefano must be rolling around in his grave." Paul half-joked.

"Oh, he totally is." Chad said, nodding. "Hopefully, being married will work out for me this time."

"It is a challenge." Paul replied. "I never want to take Derrick for granted."

"Yeah, well that's the challenge, isn't it?"

"Well, I'm determined." Paul nodded in derermination. "Especially since..."

Chad raised an eyebrow. "Especially since...what?"

Paul couldn't help himself. "Okay, I haven't told my family yet, but I am bursting with excitement."

Chad gasped and pointed at Paul. "Dude. You're pregnant."

"Well, Derrick is." Paul beamed.

Chad laughed and smiled. "Dude! That's awesome!" They hugged. "Congratulations! So, dude, this is probably gonna be the first ever gay shotgun wedding!"

Paul chuckled. "Well, the gene has been around for years now, so who knows?"

"True."

"Starting a family so soon, it's everything I've wanted." Paul said. "I won't take that for granted."

"Same with me. And to answer your question, I would be honoured to be your best man." Chad said.

"That's great." Paul said.

"Under one condition, be mine."Chad said.

"You've got yourself a deal."They shake on it.

"Deal."

"It's going to be tough to pick two wedding dates that'll work for everyone." Paul noted.

"It's wedding season, huh?" Chad joked.

"Well we could flip a coin to see who goes first." Paul suggested.

"Or I could set the date since I'm a DiMera." Chad said, smirking.

"Well I'm a retired MLB player." Paul said.

"Why don't we save the feuding, we'll just flip a coin." Chad suggested.

"Yeah. Good idea."

XX

Paul and Derrick headed into the living room of the Martin Mansion. Paul told Derrick of Chad and Abigail's engagement.

"So you and Chad are gonna be each other's best man?" Derrick asked.

"Who'd have thought, huh?" Paul replied, sitting down. "Who are you gonna choose?"

"I was thinking maybe Will. He is the reason we're together, after all." Derrick replied.

"Good idea." Paul nodded, then sighed. "This is just so overwhelming. I mean...five years ago, I never thought that I would ever have a family, yet here I am, engaged with a baby on the way."

Derrick chuckled. "I know just how you feel. So, I called my parents and told them the good news. Have you told yours yet?"

"I told my mom and grandfather- they're excited, but I haven't been able to reach my dad." Paul replied.

"Oh. Is he out of town or something?"

"I'm not sure." Paul admitted.

XXX

"So, are you getting Titan under control?"

Will and Sonny had just woken up. Sonny's hair was completely free of hair gel and now down to his lips.

"Oh, yeah. And I still plan to earn the respect and love of my employees by sending birthday and Christmas cards and congratulations cards and gifts." Sonny replied. "I think they like me a little more now that I've mellowed out as you put it."

"Good." Will studied Sonny's hair. "Now that that's taken care of, you need a haircut."

Sonny was surprised. "What?"

"It's getting really long, babe." Will pointed out.

"What- you don't like long hair?"

"Not on men." Will shook his head.

Sonny scoffed. "Okay, fine. I'll schedule an appointment."

"Thank you." Will said.

XXX

Derrick, Paul, Chad, and Abigail all talked about their weddings. Derrick and Abigail scheduled St. Luke's for the same day, so they all just decided to have a double wedding.

Later, Derrick and Will met in the town square.

"Congratulations, you guys!" Will exclaimed. He and Derrick hugged. "I've been rooting for all of you! But, a double wedding? At St. Luke's?"

"Yeah. Father Louis said that as long as we follow the rest of our religion laws, getting married at St. Luke's shouldn't be a problem." Derrick replied.

"Awesome." Will said, nodding.

"Will, you are the reason Paul and I found each other. I would be honored if you would be my best man." Derrick said.

Will was flattered. "Of course I will." He noticed something different about Derrick. "Are you okay? You seem to be glowing."

Derrick scoffed. "Well, Paul is bursting to tell everyone anyway. I'm pregnant."

"What?!" Will exclaimed. "Oh my God! Congratulations!" They hugged again.

"Thanks. It's due in May." Derrick replied. "And we're getting married on September 29th."

"All right! I'll mark my calendar." Will promised.

"Oh- Will, we would also love it if Ari would be our flower girl." Derrick said.

"I'm sure she'll love that." Will replied. "Now, about the bachelor party..."

"Ohhh no. I'm nervous." Derrick joked. They laughed.

"Why don't we just have it at the Pub?" Will suggested.

"That sounds like a good idea." Derrick replied.

"So, Derrick, how did your parents react to the news?" Will asked.

"My parents and Paul's mom and grandpa are excited and happy for us." Derrick replied. "Paul hasn't been able to reach his dad, though. Have you heard from him?"

"Uh, no. I mean I heard they broke up, but I haven't had a chance to talk to my grandma yet." Will replied.

XXX

Will headed to the private area and ran into Marlena. "Grandma! Hey!"

"Oh! Hi." Marlena greeted.

"So, I heard about the breakup." Will replied.

Marlena rolled her eyes and sighed. "And let me guess: you are upset with me."

"No, I wasn't gonna say that." Will replied.

"You weren't?"

"No. I was gonna say that though you guys had a long history together, and though I'm sad you guys broke up, I will support your decision." Will replied.

Marlena was surprised. "Oh. Thank you. Mind sharing some of that support with your uncles? They were less than thrilled."

"Oh, well, John is Paul and Brady's dad. You can't blame them for being protective." Will replied. "How did my mom take it? I'm sure she was thrilled for you."

"Oh. I haven't told your mother yet, actually." Marlena cleared her throat. Her phone rang. "Excuse for a sec. Hello? ... Yeah, we're still on for tomorrow. ... Of course. No, I'm happy to help. I am a professional. ... Okay. Bye, Andre."

Will raised an eyebrow in confusion. "Andre?"

"Oh- Andre DiMera. He asked me to declare him legally sane in order to claim his position of CEO of DiMera Enterprises." Marlena replied.

Will was even more confused. "And you're helping him? Why? Have you forgotten everything he's done to our family?"

"Refresh my memory." Marlena said.

Will scoffed. "Um, okay, let's see: besides killing your cousin Trista and his own sister and brother, he brainwashed you to become a serial killer and kidnapped half our families and faked their deaths, kidnapped my mother, held me and my husband and daughter hostage, had my daughter dropped in a vat, forced me to shoot my own aunt, tortured Sonny, then a year later, he kidnapped Sonny again and had him beaten up because Sonny's evil uncle Deimos kidnapped Chad and Gabi and gave them 48 hours to surrender the key to the Orwell thing or he would kill them! He was under the delusional impression that Deimos actually cared about Sonny enough to trade him for Chad and Gabi."

Marlena blinked in surprised. "Wow. Uh, thanks for reminding me. Um, it sounds like he makes irrational decisions while under pressure and he's psychotic and delusional. Not the best candidate for a CEO."

"No kidding." Will folded his arms.

Marlena studied his face. He really has it in for Andre. "I'm gonna let you in on a little secret: I have no intention of declaring him sane."

"What do you mean?" Will asked.

"He's going to hold a press conference to announce to the public that Kate is having an affair with Roman." Marlena announced.

"But that's a lie. They only kissed!" Will exclaimed.

"Oh, well, the table is gonna turn on him when I announce that he is, in fact, insane." Marlena replied. "Then I'm having him committed."

Will laughed softly. "No way! But, wait, aren't you worried about jeopardizing your job?"

Marlena shrugged. "Eh, it's time for me to retire, anyway."

Will nodded. "Okay. Well, finally, Andre's being put away."

"Yeah!" Marlena exclaimed. "Well, I have to get back to work, so I will see you later."

"Okay. See ya." Will started to walk off, then turned back around. "Oh- it's your turn on Word Chums, by the way."

"Okay." Marlena smiled after Will, then sobered up. "'Word Chums'? What the hell?" She pulled out her phone again and turned it on. "Oh. It's a game."

"Oh- Hattie! There you are." Adrienne said as she walked through the gate.

Hattie turned to her and smiled. "Bonnie. How's life at the Kiriakis mansion?"

Bonnie groaned loudly and sat on the bench. "This is more difficult than I had planned."

"How so?"

"It turns out the Victor hates Adrienne with a passion," Bonnie replied "so, stealing him from Old Red to get back at her for stealing Mickey from me is looking harder than I thought."

"Oh." Hattie nodded.

"What about you? Any luck on your revenge on Andre DiMera?" Bonnie asked.

"Oh, yeah." Hattie chuckled mischeviously. "I ran into Marlena's grandson Will Horton, and he had a gold mine of information."

"Really?" Bonnie raised her eyebrows. "Wait...Will Horton as in Lucas Horton?"

"Lucas' son, I believe." Hattie said. "Also Sami Brady's son."

"Whoa." Bonnie said, amazed. "He seems so much calmer and kinder than Sami."

"He is." Hattie nodded.

"So, looks like yet another person we're screwing over." Bonnie sighed.

"Yeah, but it'll be worth it in the end." Hattie said.

"True." Bonnie nodded.

"You're not worried about someone at Statesville finally believing Adrienne that she's not you?" Hattie asked.

"Nah. Like you said, I'm a colossal pain in the ass." Bonnie replied, crossing her legs and put her elbow on the head of the bench. "I made myself wildly unpopular with everyone there including the COs, and I may have cried wolf a few times with the warden. And she's hopefully most likely still too insecure about her body to show them her surgery scars."

Hattie smiled and chuckled. "By the way, have you heard of Word Chums?"

"No, why?"

"Will said it's my turn on Word Chums." Hattie showed Bonnie the game on Marlena's phone.

"Oh...oh, it's like Scrabble! You ever play that before?" Bonnie asked.

Hattie shook her head. "I was never good at word games."

"Oh, okay, well..." Bonnie added a word and submitted. "There. That should hold him over."

"Perfect." Hattie said.


	120. Consequences of Revenge

The press conference was a couple days later. Will kept checking YouTube every hour, waiting for it to come on. Finally, Andre was going to pay for what he's done!

"What's got you so excited?" Sonny asked his husband, who was sitting on the bed, staring at his iPad.

"You'll find out in a minute. Hopefully." Will said. "Oh! Here it is!"

Sonny climbed on the bed and leaned against Will's shoulder to see what he was looking at. "A live press conference?"

"Mm-hm." Will nodded.

Andre told everyone that Roman and Kate were having an affair, but Roman stepped in and denied that. It was just one kiss. Then, Marlena stepped up to the mic and declared Andre unfit to run DiMera Enterprises. Andre freaked out and tried to attack Marlena, then he was taken away to an asylum.

Will laughed in triumph. "Good riddance, Tubby!"

Sonny sighed and shook his head. "Let this be a life lesson to everyone: do not seek revenge. You'll be worse off."

"Yeah, really." Will chuckled, then sighed happily. "I feel like celebrating. Champagne and ice cream?"

Sonny laughed softly. "As much as I'd like to, I have to go to work."

"Okay, fine." Will jokingly whined. "Later, then."

XXX

When Sonny came home from work, he heard faint music and little thuds coming from the kitchen. He went to investigate and saw Will shoving a screwdriver into an unplugged toaster with intense force. Sonny tapped him on the shoulder, then jumped back when Will whirled around, brandishing the screwdriver. He sighed, paused the music and took out his headphones.

"Sorry about that." Will replied, calmly.

Sonny held his arms out in confusion. "What's going on? You were in such high spirits this morning."

Will exhaled sharply and threw the screwdiver down on the counter. "The woman who sent Andre to the nuthouse- that wasn't my grandmother. That was Hattie Adams pretending to be my grandmother in order to get back at Andre!"

Sonny was even more confused. "What?"

"Yeah. Years ago, Stefano found someone who looked like my grandmother- that was Hattie." Will explained. "He made her get plastic surgery so she would look exactly like Marlena. Then she fell in love with Andre, who screwed her over somehow. She kidnapped Marlena and had her sent to Bayview in a straitjacket. John tried to rescue her, but he got locked in there, too. Paul, Hope, and Grandpa Roman figured it out just as John and Grandma were about to get electroshock therapy."

"Whoa." Sonny was stunned.

Will sighed and slid against the counter to the floor. "I should have known. I should have known something was off when she said she was going to publicly declare Andre insane. I was too blinded by hatred for Andre to know that my grandma would never do that."

Sonny nodded slowly and sat next to him. "Like I said earlier: don't seek revenge. You'll be worse off."

Will sighed again and dropped his head on Sonny's shoulder. "I guess we'll just have to sit back and take it, then."

Sonny scoffed lightly. "Or press charges and have them arrested."

"True."

XX

Later, Marlena (the real Marlena) came to the Kiriakis mansion. She first talked to Brady, then she went to see Will.

"Hey, Grandma. Wait- what was my favorite candy growing up?" Will asked.

Marlena laughed. "Oh my God, did you, Brady, and Eric plan this? That is the same question they asked!"

"No, we didn't." Will replied.

"Rainbow skittles." Marlena answered Will's question. "You were convinced that that is what rainbows actually taste like."

"Good job." Will said. They hugged. "I'm sorry. I should have realized..."

"It's all right." Marlena replied, smiling. "How are you?"

"I'm good for the most part." Will replied. "My dad fell off the wagon again."

"Oh. I'm so sorry." Marlena said. "I heard that Adrienne broke up with him."

"Yeah. I still don't understand why." Will said, folding his arms. "Adrienne has been acting weird since Sonny's bail hearing. She didn't even show up for that."

Marlena nodded. "I wonder if maybe she has PTSD from everything that's happened in the last two years."

"Probably." Will replied. "Kind of the same situation Sonny had been in this past year. Thinking that he killed Deimos was his rock bottom."

"But he's good now, right?"

Will smiled. "Yeah. He's back to the Sonny I fell in love with. He even cut his hair."

"Oh! Well, that's great." Marlena said. "You know, cutting your hair is also symbolic in some cultures. It means starting anew or severing ties with someone or something."

"Awesome." Will said.

XXX

"I'm really glad you guys are okay."

John, Marlena, Paul, and Derrick sat at a table at the Mandalay Cafe.

John smiled at Derrick. "Thanks, kid."

"Now, on a different note, Derrick and I have an announcement to make." Paul beamed and took Derrick's hand. "I asked Derrick to marry me and he said yes!"

John and Marlena smiled and laughed. "Oh my God, really?" They hugged Derrick and Paul.

"Congratulations, kid." John said to Paul, then he turned to Derrick. "Welcome to the family."

"Thanks. There's more news." Derrick beamed and rubbed his stomach. "I'm pregnant."

"What?" John exclaimed happily. "Aw, congratulations!"

"This is great!" Marlena laughed and hugged Derrick and Paul again. "When's it due?"

"The beginning of May." Derrick replied.

"Well, I can't wait." John said as Claire walked up to them.

"Hi, guys." Claire greeted.

"Hi, Claire." Marlena greeted. "You're working today?"

"Yep. So, what can't you wait for?" She asked.

"Well, Paul and Derrick are getting married." John announced.

"Oh my God! Congratulations!" Claire exclaimed and hugged both Derrick and Paul.

"And we're having a baby." Paul announced. "Derrick is pregnant."

"Really? Wow, that's so amazing! Congratulations!" Claire exclaimed.

XXX

Will started paying more attention to Adrienne. She hasn't spent much time with the kids, she was dressing differently, and she keeps calling Sonny "Jackson". She also hired a new maid. Will wondered if maybe they changed her medication or something. He checked the medicine cabinet in her bathroom and didn't see any prescription meds in there. He decided to talk to Sonny about it.

"Will, my mom has been through a lot in the last two years. Of course she's gonna act out." Sonny replied. "Kind of like what I did this past year."

"Okay, but she is dressing differently-"

"So did I." Sonny reminded him.

"There are no prescription pills in her medicine cabinet." Will pointed out.

"So? Maybe she's getting them refilled tomorrow." Sonny shrugged.

"I'm telling you. Something is really off about her." Will replied.

"Are you sure you're not just mad at her for breaking up with your dad?" Sonny asked.

Will huffed. "Sonny. Come on. You don't notice anything strange about the way your mom is acting?"

Sonny thought about that and sighed. "Okay, yes, she has been acting weird. But...I mean, so have I! I mean, it could be like what I went through this past year."

Will nodded. "Okay, you have a point there."

"Good. So, can we please drop this?"

"Fine. It's dropped." Will said.

XXX

Gabi walked through the mansion and stopped in surprise when she saw Sheila cleaning. "Sheila?"

Sheila turned and saw Gabi. "Oh, wow. What is this place? A halfway house now?"

"Wh...what are you...? Did Maggie hire you as a maid?" Gabi asked.

"No, actually, Adrienne did." Sheila replied.

Gabi was even more confused. "But, how did Adrienne meet you? You've been in prison the entire time she's lived in Salem."

"We met the day I was released from prison." Sheila lied. "She took pity on me and just hired me as the maid."

"Oh." Gabi nodded.

"What you doing here?" Sheila asked.

"I live here. My daughter's dads live here, and we all thought it'd be good for her if we all lived in the same house." Gabi explained.

"Oh. How very Full House of you." Sheila commented. "Anyway, love to chat, but this house ain't gonna clean itself."

"O...kay, then." Gabi turned and left. She headed downstairs and ran into Adrienne.

"Hernandez?!" Bonnie exclaimed in surprise. "Uh- I mean, Gabi! What brings you here?"

"I live here. Will, Sonny, and I all thought it would be best for Ari if all of her parents lived under one roof." Gabi explained. "Didn't Sonny tell you that?"

"He might have mentioned it and I forgot." Bonnie lied. "Freaking Chemo, you know?"

"Oh." Gabi nodded. "So, I heard you and Justin were back together. I'm happy for you."

"Thanks." Bonnie replied.

XXX

Sonny and Will decided to go out to the Mandalay Cafe for their date night.

"I can't believe how normal everything is now." Will commented. "Going on dates without having to worry about Deimos and Titan..."

"Yeah. It's nice, isn't it?" Sonny asked.

"Mm-hmm." Will nodded. He spilled something on his pants. "Crap. I'll be right back." He left for the bathroom and Sonny pulled out his phone.

"There he is. Mr. Sonny Kiriakis!" Sonny looked up to see Lucas unsteadily walking over to him.

"Whoa, Lucas." Sonny stood up.

"Whatcha doing out here? Are you meeting someone? Someone who isn't my son?" Lucas slurred.

"I am with Will. He just went to the bathroom." Sonny explained. "Lucas, let me get you some black coffee."

"Why? What do I need coffee for?"

"Well, it's obvious you're drunk." Sonny replied.

"Obvious to who? Come on, I'm not drunk, man." Lucas said. "You know Gabi also accused me of being drunk? She said I can't see my granddaughter anymore."

"I'm sure she didn't mean it that way, Lucas." Sonny reasoned. "But you're not spending another second with my kids until you sober up."

"'Your' kids? Wow, really? You know what- you can't keep me from my grandchildren. I got rights, man!" Lucas argued. "I got rights! And no bratty Kiriakis is gonna tell me otherwise!"

Sonny was stung by that. "Lucas, I know you're hurting because my mom ended it with you, but-"

"But nothing!" Lucas snapped. He looked around at a few people who were staring. "Look at all of you staring and doing nothing. Just like you did nothing when Justin broke up my wedding."

"So, is this payback for that?" Sonny asked.

"Oh, I don't need payback for that, especially not after you locked me and your mom and dad in a hotel room for two days and your mom passed out." Lucas said. "Because you got kidnapped and held hostage in a hotel room a few months later! And beaten up? Wow, talk about karma."

Will had returned by this point. Sonny fumed and grabbed Lucas by the front of his shirt. Will stepped in and pulled Sonny away. "Hey, hey, Sonny, stop."

"No, hey, let him have it out with me." Lucas interjected. "Although, you may wanna start working out before you pick a fight with someone bigger than you. Remember what happened last time?"

"Okay, Dad, shut up! You have no call to talk to my husband that way!" Will snapped angrily, pointing a finger at him.

"Oh, please, I have all the call!" Lucas argued. "He is a coward. He cops out. Any time there's trouble he just leaves town and abandons you. And sooner or later, he will cuckold you and abandon you and the kids again, just like his mother cockolded and abandoned me. I definitely would not be surprised. Probably misses bed-hopping, anyway."

"Excuse me?" Sonny asked.

"How many boyfriends and girlfriends have you had in the decade before you met Will, huh?" Lucas asked. "One hundred, five hundred?"

"Are you calling me a whore?" Sonny asked.

"Before you answer that, Father, I slept with two men within three months of each other while I was married to Sonny." Will jumped in. "You gonna call me a whore, too? What about you? When you met Mom, you were having a threesome with two strangers, then literally five minutes later, you ask her out. Yes, Sonny dated a lot of guys, but that was because he was trying to find the right guy, just as you dated a lot of women, trying to find the right woman. So the only one who isn't a whore in this little group is Sonny. And as for that 'coward' remark: friendly reminder, he came back. I'm still walking around because of him!"

Lucas stared in shock, then nodded. "Okay. Fine. I keep forgetting: Saint Sonny can do no wrong. Okay. I get it. I just hope he doesn't betray you or screw you over. 'Cause when he does...well...I won't say 'I told you so'." He walked off.

Sonny exhaled sharply, sant down in his seat and put his head in his hands. He held back tears. How could Lucas say those things? Will walked behind Sonny, squeezed, then rubbed his shoulders, and kissed the top of his head. "I'm sorry."

XXX

Sonny and Will walked into the living room of the mansion. "I actually felt bad for Lucas that my mom dumped him. I couldn't care less if the guy is miserable. But now he's back to being a nasty, belligerent drunk insulting people and embarrassing himself. How could he say that stuff to me Will?"

"Look he was drunk. He probably doesn't even remember anything he said." Will reasoned. "He's not in his right mind."

"I don't care if he was in a coma! That's no excuse to take pot shots at me like that!" Sonny snapped angrily. "And he brings up my being kidnapped and beaten up as if I deserved it. I don't care how drunk he was or how much he's hurting and for that I will never forgive him."

Will sighed inwardly. "Come on, you don't mean that. Sonny, people say things they regret when they're angry and drunk. He never would have said that if he was sober. Do not let what Lucas said get to you okay. He's in pain. He was looking at somebody to lash out at, that's all."

Sonny sighed and sat down. "I guess it makes sense that it was me."

"Why's that?"

"Because here I am ranting and raving in outrage, but the truth is he was right about one thing: I did abandon you." Sonny admitted.

Will sat next to Sonny and put his arm around him. "Sonny, you did not abandon me."

"I left. I went to Paris." Sonny vented.

"You had every right to." Will said. "I'd leave me, too."

"I just hate to think about what would have happened had I not chosen that day to come home." Sonny sniffed.

Will pulled him into a hug. "It's okay. You came back and saved me. That's what matters." He rubbed Sonny's back soothingly. They pulled away and Will cupped Sonny's face in his hands and gently brushed away his tears. "Hey...listen to me. The last thing you are is a coward. I speak from personal experience."

Sonny smiled and collected himself. "I love you."

"I love you, too." Will replied. They kissed. "Now, there's still a little time left before we need to put the boys to bed. Let's go play with them. That always makes you feel better."

"Of course." They stood up and went upstairs.

XX

Will and Sonny set the boys in their swing nest and rocked them slowly.

"So, on a happier note: the government is auctioning off Club TBD. This could be your last chance to buy it and restore it to it's former glory." Will said.

Sonny sighed inwardly and shook his head. "That's ancient history. Besides, I love my job at Titan. I make more money than I would at TBD. Our kids will want for nothing."

"Are you sure, I mean, TBD was your baby."

"I know, but now, these two are my babies." Sonny took DJ and Leons hands in his. "And I will not let anyone corrupt or destroy them. No I won't."

Will chuckled softly. "Well, if you ever get tired of Titan, you are welcome to co-manage the Pub with me."

"I'll keep that in mind." Sonny replied.

XX

Sonny and Will settled into bed. "Hey...I am so glad you came back from Paris. And I'm so happy that we're back together."

"Me, too." Sonny replied. "To think we might have ended our marriage. I'm so glad I came back from Paris to be with you, my husband. I love you so much."

"I love you, too." They kissed and fell asleep in each others' arms.


	121. Double Wedding

The press conference was a couple days later. Will kept checking YouTube every hour, waiting for it to come on. Finally, Andre was going to pay for what he's done!

"What's got you so excited?" Sonny asked his husband, who was sitting on the bed, staring at his iPad.

"You'll find out in a minute. Hopefully." Will said. "Oh! Here it is!"

Sonny climbed on the bed and leaned against Will's shoulder to see what he was looking at. "A live press conference?"

"Mm-hm." Will nodded.

Andre told everyone that Roman and Kate were having an affair, but Roman stepped in and denied that. It was just one kiss. Then, Marlena stepped up to the mic and declared Andre unfit to run DiMera Enterprises. Andre freaked out and tried to attack Marlena, then he was taken away to an asylum.

Will laughed in triumph. "Good riddance, Tubby!"

Sonny sighed and shook his head. "Let this be a life lesson to everyone: do not seek revenge. You'll be worse off."

"Yeah, really." Will chuckled, then sighed happily. "I feel like celebrating. Champagne and ice cream?"

Sonny laughed softly. "As much as I'd like to, I have to go to work."

"Okay, fine." Will jokingly whined. "Later, then."

XXX

When Sonny came home from work, he heard faint music and little thuds coming from the kitchen. He went to investigate and saw Will shoving a screwdriver into an unplugged toaster with intense force. Sonny tapped him on the shoulder, then jumped back when Will whirled around, brandishing the screwdriver. He sighed, paused the music and took out his headphones.

"Sorry about that." Will replied, calmly.

Sonny held his arms out in confusion. "What's going on? You were in such high spirits this morning."

Will exhaled sharply and threw the screwdiver down on the counter. "The woman who sent Andre to the nuthouse- that wasn't my grandmother. That was Hattie Adams pretending to be my grandmother in order to get back at Andre!"

Sonny was even more confused. "What?"

"Yeah. Years ago, Stefano found someone who looked like my grandmother- that was Hattie." Will explained. "He made her get plastic surgery so she would look exactly like Marlena. Then she fell in love with Andre, who screwed her over somehow. She kidnapped Marlena and had her sent to Bayview in a straitjacket. John tried to rescue her, but he got locked in there, too. Paul, Hope, and Grandpa Roman figured it out just as John and Grandma were about to get electroshock therapy."

"Whoa." Sonny was stunned.

Will sighed and slid against the counter to the floor. "I should have known. I should have known something was off when she said she was going to publicly declare Andre insane. I was too blinded by hatred for Andre to know that my grandma would never do that."

Sonny nodded slowly and sat next to him. "Like I said earlier: don't seek revenge. You'll be worse off."

Will sighed again and dropped his head on Sonny's shoulder. "I guess we'll just have to sit back and take it, then."

Sonny scoffed lightly. "Or press charges and have them arrested."

"True."

XX

Later, Marlena (the real Marlena) came to the Kiriakis mansion. She first talked to Brady, then she went to see Will.

"Hey, Grandma. Wait- what was my favorite candy growing up?" Will asked.

Marlena laughed. "Oh my God, did you, Brady, and Eric plan this? That is the same question they asked!"

"No, we didn't." Will replied.

"Rainbow skittles." Marlena answered Will's question. "You were convinced that that is what rainbows actually taste like."

"Good job." Will said. They hugged. "I'm sorry. I should have realized..."

"It's all right." Marlena replied, smiling. "How are you?"

"I'm good for the most part." Will replied. "My dad fell off the wagon again."

"Oh. I'm so sorry." Marlena said. "I heard that Adrienne broke up with him."

"Yeah. I still don't understand why." Will said, folding his arms. "Adrienne has been acting weird since Sonny's bail hearing. She didn't even show up for that."

Marlena nodded. "I wonder if maybe she has PTSD from everything that's happened in the last two years."

"Probably." Will replied. "Kind of the same situation Sonny had been in this past year. Thinking that he killed Deimos was his rock bottom."

"But he's good now, right?"

Will smiled. "Yeah. He's back to the Sonny I fell in love with. He even cut his hair."

"Oh! Well, that's great." Marlena said. "You know, cutting your hair is also symbolic in some cultures. It means starting anew or severing ties with someone or something."

"Awesome." Will said.

XXX

"I'm really glad you guys are okay."

John, Marlena, Paul, and Derrick sat at a table at the Mandalay Cafe.

John smiled at Derrick. "Thanks, kid."

"Now, on a different note, Derrick and I have an announcement to make." Paul beamed and took Derrick's hand. "I asked Derrick to marry me and he said yes!"

John and Marlena smiled and laughed. "Oh my God, really?" They hugged Derrick and Paul.

"Congratulations, kid." John said to Paul, then he turned to Derrick. "Welcome to the family."

"Thanks. There's more news." Derrick beamed and rubbed his stomach. "I'm pregnant."

"What?" John exclaimed happily. "Aw, congratulations!"

"This is great!" Marlena laughed and hugged Derrick and Paul again. "When's it due?"

"The beginning of May." Derrick replied.

"Well, I can't wait." John said as Claire walked up to them.

"Hi, guys." Claire greeted.

"Hi, Claire." Marlena greeted. "You're working today?"

"Yep. So, what can't you wait for?" She asked.

"Well, Paul and Derrick are getting married." John announced.

"Oh my God! Congratulations!" Claire exclaimed and hugged both Derrick and Paul.

"And we're having a baby." Paul announced. "Derrick is pregnant."

"Really? Wow, that's so amazing! Congratulations!" Claire exclaimed.

XXX

Will started paying more attention to Adrienne. She hasn't spent much time with the kids, she was dressing differently, and she keeps calling Sonny "Jackson". She also hired a new maid. Will wondered if maybe they changed her medication or something. He checked the medicine cabinet in her bathroom and didn't see any prescription meds in there. He decided to talk to Sonny about it.

"Will, my mom has been through a lot in the last two years. Of course she's gonna act out." Sonny replied. "Kind of like what I did this past year."

"Okay, but she is dressing differently-"

"So did I." Sonny reminded him.

"There are no prescription pills in her medicine cabinet." Will pointed out.

"So? Maybe she's getting them refilled tomorrow." Sonny shrugged.

"I'm telling you. Something is really off about her." Will replied.

"Are you sure you're not just mad at her for breaking up with your dad?" Sonny asked.

Will huffed. "Sonny. Come on. You don't notice anything strange about the way your mom is acting?"

Sonny thought about that and sighed. "Okay, yes, she has been acting weird. But...I mean, so have I! I mean, it could be like what I went through this past year."

Will nodded. "Okay, you have a point there."

"Good. So, can we please drop this?"

"Fine. It's dropped." Will said.

XXX

Gabi walked through the mansion and stopped in surprise when she saw Sheila cleaning. "Sheila?"

Sheila turned and saw Gabi. "Oh, wow. What is this place? A halfway house now?"

"Wh...what are you...? Did Maggie hire you as a maid?" Gabi asked.

"No, actually, Adrienne did." Sheila replied.

Gabi was even more confused. "But, how did Adrienne meet you? You've been in prison the entire time she's lived in Salem."

"We met the day I was released from prison." Sheila lied. "She took pity on me and just hired me as the maid."

"Oh." Gabi nodded.

"What you doing here?" Sheila asked.

"I live here. My daughter's dads live here, and we all thought it'd be good for her if we all lived in the same house." Gabi explained.

"Oh. How very Full House of you." Sheila commented. "Anyway, love to chat, but this house ain't gonna clean itself."

"O...kay, then." Gabi turned and left. She headed downstairs and ran into Adrienne.

"Hernandez?!" Bonnie exclaimed in surprise. "Uh- I mean, Gabi! What brings you here?"

"I live here. Will, Sonny, and I all thought it would be best for Ari if all of her parents lived under one roof." Gabi explained. "Didn't Sonny tell you that?"

"He might have mentioned it and I forgot." Bonnie lied. "Freaking Chemo, you know?"

"Oh." Gabi nodded. "So, I heard you and Justin were back together. I'm happy for you."

"Thanks." Bonnie replied.

XXX

Sonny and Will decided to go out to the Mandalay Cafe for their date night.

"I can't believe how normal everything is now." Will commented. "Going on dates without having to worry about Deimos and Titan..."

"Yeah. It's nice, isn't it?" Sonny asked.

"Mm-hmm." Will nodded. He spilled something on his pants. "Crap. I'll be right back." He left for the bathroom and Sonny pulled out his phone.

"There he is. Mr. Sonny Kiriakis!" Sonny looked up to see Lucas unsteadily walking over to him.

"Whoa, Lucas." Sonny stood up.

"Whatcha doing out here? Are you meeting someone? Someone who isn't my son?" Lucas slurred.

"I am with Will. He just went to the bathroom." Sonny explained. "Lucas, let me get you some black coffee."

"Why? What do I need coffee for?"

"Well, it's obvious you're drunk." Sonny replied.

"Obvious to who? Come on, I'm not drunk, man." Lucas said. "You know Gabi also accused me of being drunk? She said I can't see my granddaughter anymore."

"I'm sure she didn't mean it that way, Lucas." Sonny reasoned. "But you're not spending another second with my kids until you sober up."

"'Your' kids? Wow, really? You know what- you can't keep me from my grandchildren. I got rights, man!" Lucas argued. "I got rights! And no bratty Kiriakis is gonna tell me otherwise!"

Sonny was stung by that. "Lucas, I know you're hurting because my mom ended it with you, but-"

"But nothing!" Lucas snapped. He looked around at a few people who were staring. "Look at all of you staring and doing nothing. Just like you did nothing when Justin broke up my wedding."

"So, is this payback for that?" Sonny asked.

"Oh, I don't need payback for that, especially not after you locked me and your mom and dad in a hotel room for two days and your mom passed out." Lucas said. "Because you got kidnapped and held hostage in a hotel room a few months later! And beaten up? Wow, talk about karma."

Will had returned by this point. Sonny fumed and grabbed Lucas by the front of his shirt. Will stepped in and pulled Sonny away. "Hey, hey, Sonny, stop."

"No, hey, let him have it out with me." Lucas interjected. "Although, you may wanna start working out before you pick a fight with someone bigger than you. Remember what happened last time?"

"Okay, Dad, shut up! You have no call to talk to my husband that way!" Will snapped angrily, pointing a finger at him.

"Oh, please, I have all the call!" Lucas argued. "He is a coward. He cops out. Any time there's trouble he just leaves town and abandons you. And sooner or later, he will cuckold you and abandon you and the kids again, just like his mother cockolded and abandoned me. I definitely would not be surprised. Probably misses bed-hopping, anyway."

"Excuse me?" Sonny asked.

"How many boyfriends and girlfriends have you had in the decade before you met Will, huh?" Lucas asked. "One hundred, five hundred?"

"Are you calling me a whore?" Sonny asked.

"Before you answer that, Father, I slept with two men within three months of each other while I was married to Sonny." Will jumped in. "You gonna call me a whore, too? What about you? When you met Mom, you were having a threesome with two strangers, then literally five minutes later, you ask her out. Yes, Sonny dated a lot of guys, but that was because he was trying to find the right guy, just as you dated a lot of women, trying to find the right woman. So the only one who isn't a whore in this little group is Sonny. And as for that 'coward' remark: friendly reminder, he came back. I'm still walking around because of him!"

Lucas stared in shock, then nodded. "Okay. Fine. I keep forgetting: Saint Sonny can do no wrong. Okay. I get it. I just hope he doesn't betray you or screw you over. 'Cause when he does...well...I won't say 'I told you so'." He walked off.

Sonny exhaled sharply, sant down in his seat and put his head in his hands. He held back tears. How could Lucas say those things? Will walked behind Sonny, squeezed, then rubbed his shoulders, and kissed the top of his head. "I'm sorry."

XXX

Sonny and Will walked into the living room of the mansion. "I actually felt bad for Lucas that my mom dumped him. I couldn't care less if the guy is miserable. But now he's back to being a nasty, belligerent drunk insulting people and embarrassing himself. How could he say that stuff to me Will?"

"Look he was drunk. He probably doesn't even remember anything he said." Will reasoned. "He's not in his right mind."

"I don't care if he was in a coma! That's no excuse to take pot shots at me like that!" Sonny snapped angrily. "And he brings up my being kidnapped and beaten up as if I deserved it. I don't care how drunk he was or how much he's hurting and for that I will never forgive him."

Will sighed inwardly. "Come on, you don't mean that. Sonny, people say things they regret when they're angry and drunk. He never would have said that if he was sober. Do not let what Lucas said get to you okay. He's in pain. He was looking at somebody to lash out at, that's all."

Sonny sighed and sat down. "I guess it makes sense that it was me."

"Why's that?"

"Because here I am ranting and raving in outrage, but the truth is he was right about one thing: I did abandon you." Sonny admitted.

Will sat next to Sonny and put his arm around him. "Sonny, you did not abandon me."

"I left. I went to Paris." Sonny vented.

"You had every right to." Will said. "I'd leave me, too."

"I just hate to think about what would have happened had I not chosen that day to come home." Sonny sniffed.

Will pulled him into a hug. "It's okay. You came back and saved me. That's what matters." He rubbed Sonny's back soothingly. They pulled away and Will cupped Sonny's face in his hands and gently brushed away his tears. "Hey...listen to me. The last thing you are is a coward. I speak from personal experience."

Sonny smiled and collected himself. "I love you."

"I love you, too." Will replied. They kissed. "Now, there's still a little time left before we need to put the boys to bed. Let's go play with them. That always makes you feel better."

"Of course." They stood up and went upstairs.

XX

Will and Sonny set the boys in their swing nest and rocked them slowly.

"So, on a happier note: the government is auctioning off Club TBD. This could be your last chance to buy it and restore it to it's former glory." Will said.

Sonny sighed inwardly and shook his head. "That's ancient history. Besides, I love my job at Titan. I make more money than I would at TBD. Our kids will want for nothing."

"Are you sure, I mean, TBD was your baby."

"I know, but now, these two are my babies." Sonny took DJ and Leons hands in his. "And I will not let anyone corrupt or destroy them. No I won't."

Will chuckled softly. "Well, if you ever get tired of Titan, you are welcome to co-manage the Pub with me."

"I'll keep that in mind." Sonny replied.

XX

Sonny and Will settled into bed. "Hey...I am so glad you came back from Paris. And I'm so happy that we're back together."

"Me, too." Sonny replied. "To think we might have ended our marriage. I'm so glad I came back from Paris to be with you, my husband. I love you so much."

"I love you, too." They kissed and fell asleep in each others' arms.


	122. There's Something About Adrienne

Later that night, Will put the kids to bed and headed downstairs. He heard arguing in the living room and went to investigate. He stood quietly outside the living room door and peeked in on Brady and Sonny arguing over Titan and Victor on the couch looking like he was enjoying it.

"What part of 'temporary' do you not understand?" Sonny demanded.

"We've been over this a million times..."

"You're right, we have!" Sonny argued. "And I told you then and I'm telling you again: you covering for me at Titan was a short term solution."

"All right, well, I'm gonna tell you something I've told you before- the company's doing great right now. It has been while I've been in charge." Brady replied. Profits, morals- they're up. You're not throwing me out."

"I'm not trying to throw you out. I'm having you to step down to the job you had before." Sonny protested.

"Well, I'm not stepping down." Brady said firmly.

Sonny turned to Victor. "Uncle Vic, would you like to say something?"

"What do you want me to say?" Victor asked.

"That I'm back as CEO of Titan starting now!" Sonny snapped.

They heard a noise at the door and turned to see Will walking in. "Sorry to interrupt. The kids are asleep, so try to keep your voices down."

Sonny sighed. "How much did you hear?"

"Enough to know that you and Brady are fighting over Titan. Again." Will said. He sat next to Victor and sighed. "So, Uncle Vic, who will be the next CEO?"

Victor sighed deeply and shook his head. "How about tihs: both of you plead your case. Right here, right now."

Sonny sighed. "Okay. I'll start."

"Oh, this oughta be good." Brady folded his arms.

"Uncle Vic, I have three kids and a husband to support." Sonny started.

"Oh, what is this- 1950? Your husband has a job too, you know! Running the Pub." Brady argued. "Shawn and Caroline Brady had four kids and they did just fine!"

"Barely. My Aunt Kayla had to apply for scholarships and had to pay her own way through college and medical school, and Aunt Kim applied for financial aid." Will said.

Sonny gestured to Will. "Thank you, Will. With this position, I will be able to pay for my kids' entire education fifty times over. And Leon is special needs. I'll be able to afford the best care possible."

"What- the $250 million Sami gave you isn't enough?" Brady asked.

"We gave that money back to Chad. It was the right thing to do." Sonny replied. "Anyway, I have had experience from working at Titan as Kate's co-CEO. I know firing all those people was a major eff-up, but I've written apology letters to all of them and I've sent gift baskets. I paid Donna's son's tuition for his senior year at Stanford...I've done everything I could think of to make it up to everyone I've fired, and I promise not to make anymore mistakes ever again."

Victor nodded. "Brady, you're up."

"Okay. Well, Granddad, I have spent the better part of ten years legitimizing our businesses, so I've had years of experience being CEO." Brady said. "And I cleaned up Sonny's mess pretty well. Profits and morals are back up."

"So, why do you need this job more than Sonny?" Victor asked.

"I never said I did." Brady said.

"If you didn't think you need this job more than Sonny does, you wouldn't be fighting him for it." Victor said wisely. "And don't tell me it's to impress Nicole."

"Or you feel like you're losing Nicole, so you need something to hold on to because you feel like you're losing Nicole." Sonny suggested.

"Even if I was, at least I wouldn't drain my entire savings on a rat hole to do it." Brady shot back.

"That 'rat hole' was sabotaged by Chad. It doesn't count!" Sonny snapped. "And at least I don't drink every time my feelings are hurt! Or do drugs for that matter."

"I do not drink or do drugs anymore!" Brady declared angrily.

"My God, you've got my stomach churning here." Victor said. "Acting like a couple of arrogant jerks!"

"How is it arrogant to want what's best for this company?" Sonny demanded at the same time as Brady.

"Excuse me, how is it arrogant if I'm constantly defending myself against Brady asked at the same time as Sonny.

"All right, all right! Shut up!" Victor demanded. "I'm not gonna let you two force me into a corner about Titan."

"Granddad, I understand where you're coming from, but with all due respect, we need to focus on the health of Titan." Brady said as he sat down on one of the chairs.

"Oh, right. 'Cause that's your focus." Sonny remarked, sarcastically. He, too sat on a chair.

"Let him finish." Victor said calmly.

"No! This is his ego." Sonny pointed at Brady.

"And you're on a power trip!" Brady shot back. "Seriously, Sonny? This isn't you!"

"You know what, I'm getting sick and tired of people telling me that!" Sonny exclaimed.

"Anyway, we need one strong leader for this company," Brady continued. "or it's going to suffer."

"We have one strong leader, and that's me." Sonny insisted. "I've proved myself to Uncle Vic, and that's why I have this position."

"You proved yourself, yeah, but then you got arrested for murdering Deimos." Brady commented.

"He was exonerated." Victor reminded him.

"What does that have to do with anything, Brady?" Sonny asked.

"Really? You want me to spell it out for you?" Brady asked. "Do you understand that when you spend time in jail that undermines the confidence of the shareholders? That's what happens, Sonny."

"Okay, well what about when you helped Nicole kidnap a child?" Sonny shot back. "What do you think that does to their confidence?"

"You can't even compare the two! What are you talking about?" Brady argued.

"Why the hell not?" Sonny asked.

"Because it's different, that's why! It doesn't have to do with anything!"

"Why, 'cause one of us spent time in jail?" Sonny asked. "And was absolved of all guilt in the eyes of the law. And the other one, what, helped and harbored a known felon? But that was cool and romantic, huh, Brady?"

"Come on, Sonny." Victor said wearily.

"No, I'm just saying how it is, Uncle Vic." Sonny replied. "He was out there being Dudley Do-Right, while I was here moving this company forward, not backward."

"Number one, you were head of Basic Black when that was happening. You weren't moving the company anywhere." Brady said. "Number two, how dare you insinuate that Nicole or I did something criminal. You know that Nicole had every right to take Holly."

"The court didn't seem to think so." Sonny quipped.

"Well, screw the court! You know it was an unfair accusation." Brady said. "Nicole had her daughter taken from her, Sonny. How would you feel if-if-if Gabi took Leon away from you because of Deimos?"

Sonny scoffed. "Well, I sure as hell wouldn't kidnap him! And while we're talking about misdeeds, what have you been up to these past seventeen years, Brady? Let's see: you illegally purchased drugs, verbally abused your stepmother, stole confidental medical records, helped Nicole hide Sydney from EJ and Sami, stole ten grand from Titan to help Nicole, buried Vivian Alamain alive and held her captive on an island, beat up a priest, almost beat EJ to death, and beat up an old man- your dad- twice!"

Brady glared at Sonny. "You know what, Sonny? I didn't want to have to play this card, but you've forced my hand. How many people would be willing to work for you once they find out you're gay?"

Sonny snorted and smiled in spite of himself. He folded his arms. "Gee. I don't know, Brady. Why don't you ask one of the 23 Outstanding LGBT CEOs from Business Insider? Hmm? And how many of them are mentally unbalanced alchololics?"

"You know, this job is gonna take you away from your family. Why don't you just go back to selling hamburgers for a living?" Brady suggested. "You already look like Big Boy, so you may as well."

"May I say something?" Will asked.

"Sure." Victor said.

"How about making them co-CEOs?" Will suggested.

"Are you kidding me?! I can't work with him!" Brady exclaimed.

"Okay, can I ask something else?" Will asked again.

"Go ahead." Sonny replied.

"No disrespect to you, Sonny, but...Victor, why not just hire Philip back as CEO?" Will asked. "Isn't that his birthright?"

"Philip has made one too many mistakes and he betrayed me, unlike Sonny." Victor replied.

Will and Sonny avoided eye contact.

"I know that...keeping the fact that a supposedly dead DiMera is alive and well from your family- especially your Uncle Victor and your dad is going to be hard and awkward." Will said. "I'm sorry."

Sonny took a deep breath. "You're my family. So are Sami, Allie, Johnny, and Sydney. If it means keeping you all safe, then I am willing to take that secret with me to the grave."

"Even if it means ruining your relationship with your dad and uncle?"

"Yes." Sonny said, mostly convinced.

"Now, you two have giving me much to think about." Victor continued. "I will contact the board in the morning, and let you know as soon as it's over. In the meantime, Sonny will continue his duties as CEO. Is that understood, Brady?"

"Fine." Brady said begrudgingly.

"Thank you, Uncle Victor. Good night." Sonny said. He and Will left the room. They walked silently to their bedroom and took off their clothes and climbed into bed.

"Were you thinking what I think you were thinking about?" Will asked.

"About EJ being alive and we've kept it a secret for almost two years? Yeah." Sonny nodded. "Victor trusted Philip and he betrayed him. So did I."

"Sonny, you were keeping me and my mom and siblings safe. This is nothing like what happened with Philip and Deimos." Will reasoned. "He'll understand."

Sonny sighed quietly, hugged Will close, and lay his head on his chest. "I hope so."

XXX

The next morning, Sonny got up early. He headed to the dining room to see Gabi eating. "Morning."

"Morning." Gabi greeted. "So, has Victor decided on a CEO yet?"

"No, not until later this morning." Sonny replied. The cook put their breakfasts in front of them. "Thanks."

A few minutes later, they were joined by Bonnie. "Morning, all."

"Morning, Mom." Sonny greeted. He noticed she was eating a cherry tart and froze. Adrienne is highly allergic to cherry. One bite and her face would swell like a balloon. This time, her face wasn't swelling. He was starting to get suspicious.

"I can't believe the boys are almost a year old already." Gabi commented, suddenly. "They grow up so fast."

"The boys?" Bonnie asked, confused.

"Yeah. Your grandsons." Sonny reminded her.

"Oh, yeah! Yeah. Wow, time flies by, huh?" Bonnie asked.

"Yeah. You know, I noticed that all our kids were born during the night or early morning." Sonny said to Gabi. "What time were you born?"

"4:00 AM on the dot." Gabi reply.

"Oh, wow." Sonny nodded and turned to Bonnie. "What time was I born, Mom?"

Bonnie snapped from her thoughts. "What?"

"What time was I born?" Sonny asked.

Bonnie tried not to panic. "Um...uh, 7:15 AM."

"Really?" Sonny asked.

"Oh, yeah. It was a cold, snowy morning here in Salem." Bonnie nodded.

Sonny's heart quickened, and he tried hard to keep calm. "Right. Gabi, can I talk to you in the living room for a second?"

"Um, okay, sure." Gabi followed Sonny into the living room. "What's going on?"

"That woman in there is not my mother." Sonny said.

"Yeah, I thought it was weird that she said you were born in winter in Salem, when you were actually born in August in Dallas." Gabi said.

"Plus, my mom is really allergic to cherries and she's eating a cherry tart?" Sonny's voice shook. "I don't know who that woman is, but she is definitely not my mom."

Gabi's eyes widened in realization. "Freaking Lockhart."

"Lockhart?"

"When I was in Statesville, I ran into someone who looks a lot like your mom." Gabi explained. "I thought it was your mom at first, but it was actually someone named Bonnie Lockhart."

"That name is not familiar to me." Sonny replied.

"Well, she said she lived in Salem for almost twenty years before she went to prison." Gabi replied.

"What was she in for?"

"Murdering her husband." Gabi nodded solemnly. "I thought she and I could bond over that, but she is rude, impolite, obnoxious..."

"Did you talk to her about my family?" Sonny asked.

"No, I did not." Gabi replied. "I said she looks a lot like my friend's mom and that's it."

"So, if that's really Bonnie, then where is my mom?" Sonny asked.

"I don't know."

"And how did Bonnie escape from prison?" Sonny wondered. "And why wasn't there news of a breakout?"

"Breakout from where?" Sonny and Gabi turned to see Will walking into the living room.

"Statesville." Sonny answered. He sighed. "Will I am so sorry. You were right- something is up with my mom. Someone named Bonnie Lockhart somehow had her kidnapped and swapped with her."

Will looked away, puzzled.

Fourteen years ago...

"Lucas, Will, this is my fiancee Bonnie Lockhart." Mickey Horton introduced.

"Hi, nice to meet you." Bonnie greeted. "Wow, you guys do not look like father-son. More like brothers."

"Oh, thanks. I had Will pretty young, so..."

"Oh. I had my Patrick when I was a teen, too." Bonnie replied. "We should swap stories."

Ten years ago...

Will walked into the Cheating Heart and sat at the bar. The female bartender turned around. "Mrs. Lockhart?"

"Sorry?" Adrienne asked, confused.

"Oh. Sorry, I thought you were my ex-great-aunt for a second there." Will replied.

"No problem. My name is Adrienne Kiriakis."

"Kiriakis? As in Victor Kiriakis?" Will asked.

"Yep. He's my uncle-in-law." Adrienne replied.

Seven years ago...

Will walked into the Cheating Heart and saw Adrienne again, but this time she looked more like Bonnie.

"Mrs...Kiriakis?" Will asked, tenatively.

"Yes?" Adrienne replied.

"Oh, thank goodness." Will exhaled in relief.

"I think Bonnie's after Uncle Vic's fortune." Sonny was saying.

Will winced. "Actually...I don't think that's it."

"How would you know?" Sonny asked.

"Bonnie used to be married to my Uncle Mickey." Will explained. "It was when we all thought Aunt Maggie and half the town was dead. Their marriage was deemed invalid of course and Uncle Mickey went back to Aunt Maggie. I guess Bonnie never got over that."

"So she's posing as Adrienne to steal Uncle Vic from Maggie?" Sonny guessed. "How did she even know about my mom? And who is she working with?"

"Well, we obviously can't ask Bonnie. It might make things worse." Gabi said.

"I have an idea." Will said. "Bonnie has a son our age, Connor. I could pose as Connor and say I'm visiting my mom at Statesville. If she's missing, that will set off a few alarms."

"Great. Good idea." Sonny said.

"All right. I'll get dressed- oh, I should probably do some research on Connor." Will said.

"Let me handle that. You get dressed." Sonny said.

"Okay. Can I borrow one of your flannels?" Will asked.

"Of course."

"Great! Thanks." Will left the room.

"So, should we tell Maggie and Victor? And your dad. He'll know what to do." Gabi went on.

"I am definitely going to tell my dad." Sonny replied. "But Victor...he doesn't like my mom, so I don't trust him with this knowledge."

"So, you're just gonna let Bonnie hurt him and Maggie instead?" Gabi raised an eyebrow.

"If my dad could straighten the whole thing out today, Bonnie won't be around long enough for that to happen." Sonny said.

"Good point."

XXX

Will headed into the prison waiting room and swayed as he walked up to the desk. "Howdy y'all. I'm Connor Lockhart and I'm here to see my sweet mama."

The CO scoffed and went down the list. "Your mom is Bonnie Lockhart?"

"That's right." Will nodded and drawled.

"I'm afraid you've come all the way out here for nothing." The CO replied. "Lockhart's visiting priveleges have been revoked for six months."

Will's face fell. "Oh. May I ask why?"

"She attacked her visitor for no reason." The CO replied.

"Who visited her?" Will asked, shocked.

"That's confidential." The CO said.

Will scoffed. "Okay, fine. Can you please have her call me, then? I'll give you my number."

"I could, but it won't be for another six months." The CO replied. "That's when she'll get her phone priveleges back."

"Wow. Okay, thanks, anyway." Will left. Once he was in his car, he called Sonny.

"Hey. That was fast."

"I didn't get a chance to visit her." Will admitted. "Sonny, I think your mom might be in Bonnie's place at the prison. I tried to visit with 'Bonnie', but the CO said her visitation and phone priveleges have been taken away for six months, because she attacked a visitor for no reason."

"Who visited her?"

"They won't tell me." Will replied.

Sonny exhaled sharply. "Okay. I am on my way to meet with my dad now. I just wish we knew exactly when this happened."

"Well, when did she first start acting different?" Will asked.

"Well, she missed my bail hearing." Sonny replied. "That was the day after my birthday."

"Yeah. And Abigail said your mom visited her that morning." Will said. "Where was she after that?"

"I don't know. I think...I think your dad may have been the last person to see her before she was taken." Sonny replied.

Will sighed. "That might still be a sore subject."

"Will, I'm sorry, but this is kind of important." Sonny stated.

"I know. I'll track him down." Will promised.

"Okay. I love you." Sonny said.

"Love you, too. Bye." Will drove to the Pub and sure enough, Lucas was at the bar. Will watched as Lucas snuck behind the bar, stole two liquor bottles and snuck upstairs. Will sighed heavily. He knew he should report this, but he needed information. It might be easier to get if he's drunk. He paid for the two stolen bottles, checked on other things at the restaurant, called Emma to check on the kids, then slowly headed upstairs. Lucas was on the couch, already halfway through the second bottle. "Hey, Dad."

Lucas was startled from his reverie. "Will!" He laughed. "Willie!" He continued laughing. "Did you know that 'willy' is another word for penis? Your mom named you 'Penis'!" He laughed hysterically.

Will chuckled and sat down. "Very fitting since I like penis."

Lucas paused, then laughed again. "Yeah!" He hiccuped and drank.

"Hey, Dad, I know this is a sore spot for you, but, I need to know exactly what happened on the morning Adrienne broke up with you." Will said.

Lucas stared at his son for a moment, then sniffed. "Well...it started off as a great morning. We had a little morning delight if you catch my drift. Then she said she was going to visit Abigail...then she got a phone call and she told me she's going to the Pub after her visit with Abigail. Then, literally two hours later, she broke up with me." He chugged the bottle. "So, you can guess what happened next. I fell off the wagon. But I went back to her hotel room, drunk, and I told her I couldn't live without her. I can't remember much, but I remember seeing a black binder with my picture in it. She said maybe she ended it too soon, so we got into bed again. But something was different, though. Her boobs were real. Then I blacked out and the next thing I know, I wake up to Anjelica, dead in Adrienne's bed."

Will was shocked. That was more than he bargained for. "Oh my God."

"I know, right?" Lucas took another swig. "I slept with her...I killed her."

"No, Dad. Anjelica died of natural causes." Will replied. "Even if you did sleep with her, she would have died, anyway."

"Still..." Lucas downed the rest of the bottle, burped, then passed out.

Will exhaled sharply and rubbed his eyes. "Holy, holy, holy."

XXX

Sonny headed to Justin's office. He knocked and entered. "Hey, Dad. Do you have a few minutes?"

"Sure. What's up?" Justin asked.

"It's about Mom." Sonny said, sitting down. "You know how she's been acting weird for the past two months?"

"She's been through a lot, Sonny." Justin replied. "I would think you of all people would understand."

"I do, but hear me out." Sonny said. "This morning, Mom ate a cherry tart and did not have an allergic reaction."

"Maybe you were mistaken and it was strawberry or raspberry." Justin reasoned.

"I also asked her what time I was born, and she said 7:15 AM on a cold, wintery morning in Salem." Sonny pointed out.

"Maybe she misheard you and thought you asked what time she was born."

Sonny sighed with impatience. "She has also been dressing differently, keeps calling me Jackson, and cozying up to Uncle Vic. She wore a dress to the wedding that revealed her...girly parts, and she didn't have any double mastectomy scars."

"So, maybe she used theater makeup to cover those scars up." Justin shrugged.

"There wasn't any medication for Mom's cancer int he medicine cabinet." Sonny said.

"So, maybe she doesn't need to take them anymore." Justin said. "Sonny, why are pushing this?"

"Because it's not Mom, Dad!" Sonny exclaimed. "Gabi remembered meeting someone while she was in prison who looks exactly like Mom. Will remembers her, too. Bonnie Lockhart."

"That's crazy." Justin said.

"Dad...Marlena was swapped out with a double, so were Rafe, Hope, Aiden, and Roman." Sonny said. "I know it's not up our alley, but, it's possible that Mom was swapped out."

"But it doesn't mean she was, Sonny." Justin said.

"I just gave you some evidence that she was! Why won't you believe me?!" Sonny exclaimed, angrily.

"Calm down." Justin held a hand up. "You're obviously under a lot of pressure. Just take a knee."

Sonny took a deep breath and stood up. "If anything happens to Mom, I am holding you personally responsible."

"Sonny..."

Sonny stormed out of the office and slammed the door shut. He calmed himself down and called Will. "He didn't believe me."

"What?"

"I told him everything, and he still wouldn't listen." Sonny lamented. "I think...I think he doesn't want to believe it, 'cause that means Mom really didn't choose Dad."

Will sighed. "I'm sorry, babe."

Sonny sighed again. "How about you? Did you talk to your dad?"

"I did." Will replied. "Your dad said that your mom went to visit Abigail, then was heading straight to the Pub."

"With who?"

"Your mom didn't tell my dad. Just that she was going there." Will replied. "I'm heading to the security office to look at the surveillance tapes for that morning."

"Great. I am going to Statesville to talk to the warden." Sonny replied. "Hopefully, he'll listen."

"Hopefully." Will replied. "Oh, one more thing...my dad went back to your mom's room, blacked out, then woke up next to Anjelica, who was dead."

Sonny sighed in frustration. "That bitch. She was involved!"

"Well, once we get the surveillence tapes, we'll know." Will said. "Let me know how it goes with the warden."

"I definitely will. Bye."

XXX

Sonny sat in the lobby looking at a magazine. He worked out what he was going to say to the warden. His phone rang. "Hey, did you get those surveillance tapes?"

"There weren't any."

"What?!"

"I looked at the footage from the morning, and some footage was deleted." Will explained. "Neither your mom or Anjelica were seen on those tapes."

"You've got to be kidding me." Sonny growled.

"I'll find out who was working that morning and talk to those people, and I recognize some of the regulars that were there." Will said. "I'll talk to them and see if they remember seeing anything weird."

"Thanks."

"You're welcome. Bye."

"Mr. Kiriakis?" Sonny looked up at the secretary. "The warden will see you now."

Sonny nodded and headed to Warden Bloom's office. "Warden. Thank you for seeing me."

"You're welcome." Warden Bloom sat at his desk. "Mr. Kiriakis, let me be upfront with you: the only reason I agreed to this meeting was to tell you your family no longer has any pull at this prison."

Sonny was surprised by that. "Why?"

"Because your uncle hired someone in the prison as a bodyguard for Hope Brady while she was here." The warden reminded him. "Someone killed said bodyguard, then Hope Brady was smuggled out of prison. It caused an uproar and paperwork we did not need. Her family threatened to sue this prison."

Sonny took a deep breath. 'Damn you, Deimos!' "I'm sorry about that. But I'm not trying to pull any strings here. I'm here to tell you that one of your inmates, Bonnie Lockhart, was swapped out for my mother, Adrienne Kiriakis."

The warden laughed. "You're kidding, right?"

"I wish I was." Sonny replied. "The woman who I thought was my mother started acting the total opposite of how she normally acts. She then started getting information about my life wrong, and she ate something that my mother is highly allergic to and did not have a reaction."

"There could be several explanations to those things." The warden said.

Sonny exhaled sharply. "Okay...has the woman you think is Bonnie Lockhart gone around saying she's not Bonnie Lockhart?"

"Not that I'm aware of." The warden replied.

"Can you please ask?" Sonny requested.

"No, because this is a waste of time." The warden replied. "There is no way on this green earth that someone would pull off a swap without us noticing. If anything, I'll bet Lockhart's family hired you to pull this crap to get her out of prison!"

"Why would I do that?" Sonny argued. "I'm CEO of Titan. Why would I need to earn money just to get someone out of prison?"

"Could be several reasons." The warden shrugged. "Look, Mr. Kiriakis, you caught me in a good mood, so I'll let you off with a warning this time. Don't bother me again."

It took all of Sonny's willpower to not attack the warden. He took a deep breath and stood up. "If I'm right, and if anything happens to my mother, I will see to it that your career and reputation will be ruined." He stormed out and slammed the door shut behind him.

XXX

Adrienne walked around in a daze. She was released from solitary then she ran into Hattie, whom she thought was Marlena for a minute. Hattie told her everything including Anjelica's boneheaded plan to get Justin, then she had a heart attack and died, and Bonnie went rogue or something. She asked Hattie to help her, and she said she'll think about it (which was probably code for "Not a chance"). She walked up a stairwell and saw a window. It had been a long time since she's seen daylight. She walked to the window and saw a clear, blue sky. The window overlooked the parking lot. She gasped when she saw Sonny walking out to his car and pounded on the window. "SONNY! SONNY!"

Sonny looked up when heard faint pounding. He looked through a window and saw Adrienne.

Adrienne was crying and laughing at this point. She saw Sonny give her a reassuring smile, then got into his car. Adrienne turned around and sank to the floor, smiling. "He saw me. He knows I'm here. He'll tell Justin and I'll be out of here in no time."


	123. Not As Easy As 1-2-3

Sonny trudged into the Pub, leaned against the door, and sighed. He saw Will at one of the tables and walked over. Will stood up. "Hey." Sonny pulled Will into a hug. "Oh. I'm guessing you weren't able to talk to the warden."

Sonny sighed heavily. "I was, but he didn't believe me."

"I'm sorry." Will squeezed his hand. "So you weren't able to see her?"

"No." Sonny shook his head. "But I saw her, anyway through a window."

"Did she see you?"

Sonny nodded. "I was heading out to my car. She pounded on a window, calling my name."

"Wow." Will breathed. They sat down. "Then what?"

Sonny shrugged. "Well, what could I do? I had already spoken to the warden at that point and I didn't want to get either of us in trouble, so I just smiled at her, then left."

"Oh. Well, at least she knows someone knows she's in there." Will said.

"Yeah, I just wish there was some way we could get a message to her." Sonny sighed.

Will thought for a minute. "I could talk to Kate. If Kiriakis influence did not work, maybe DiMera influence will."

Sonny hesitated. "I don't know..."

"Sonny, Kate will have a vested interest in this." Will insisted. "Bonnie Lockhart made my dad fall off the wagon. Adrienne is her friend. I'm sure she'll do everything she can to help."

"I hope so." Sonny said. They sat down.

"Oh, by the way, I talked to everyone that was here that morning." Will said. "No one remembers anything."

Sonny slumped his shoulders. "I didn't expect them to."

"Hopefully Kate will be able to resolve this." Will said. He stood up and squeezed Sonny's shoulder. "I'll catch up with you later."

"Okay." Sonny rubbed his eyes. He couldn't believe this was happening.

Gabi walked into the Pub and sat across from Sonny. "Hey. I'm guessing it didn't go well with the warden."

"Nope. He didn't believe me." Sonny replied. "I just wish I could talk to my mom or at least send a message to her somehow."

"I might be able to help you with that." Gabi replied.

Sonny was surprised. "How?"

"I have a friend who's still at Statesville." Gabi replied. "She owes me a favor. I did her laundry when it wasn't specifically her laundry day, and literally right after I was finished, I was released, so she never got to return the favor."

"You think she'll help?" Sonny asked hopefully.

"She will once I explain everything." Gabi replied. She stood up. "I'll go now."

"Wait, Gabi, she's gonna need something for my mom to trust her." Sonny said.

"Oh. What do you want me to have her say?"

XXX

Harold opened the door for Will. "Hello, Will."

"Hi, Harold. Is my grandma here?" Will greeted.

"Yes, she's in the living room."

"Thanks. Oh, and is Andre here?"

"No, sir."

"Awesome." Will walked into the living room just as Kate was hanging up. "Hey, Grandma."

"Will. This is a surprise." Kate replied.

"Do you have a few minutes?"

"Sure, what's going on?"

"It's about Adrienne." Will said.

Kate sighed in dread and rolled her eyes. "Okay, I know she's your mother-in-law, but she is not someone I want to hear about right now. Unless of course it's about her dying a slow, lonely, and painful death."

"Do you remember Bonnie Lockhart?" Will asked.

"Yes. What's that got to do with Adrienne?" Kate asked.

"They look a lot alike." Will replied. "Sonny and I figured out that Adrienne has been kidnapped and switched with Bonnie Lockhart."

Kate was puzzled by that. "Bonnie Lockhart is in prison."

"I know. Adrienne is now in Bonnie's place." Will explained.

"What?!" Kate exclaimed, more confused.

"Anjelica Deveraux worked with Bonnie to switch places with Adrienne...I think it's so Anjelica can get Justin and Bonnie can get revenge on Maggie for stealing Mickey away from her." Will explained in one breath.

Kate scoffed and shook her head. What Will said makes sense. "That bitch."

"Yeah. Sonny told Justin and the warden at the prison, but they don't believe him." Will said.

"'Cause Sonny is such a compulsive liar." Kate said sarcastically. "And let me guess: you want me to talk to the warden."

"That would be great." Will said.

"All right. I have a few phone calls to make, but I'll make them from the car." Kate said.

"Really? Great! Thanks, Grandma. We really appreciate it." Will said.

XXX

About an hour later, Kate called Will.

"Well?"

"He wouldn't believe or listen to me." Kate admitted. "I tried everything: bribery, seduction, compromises, threats- nothing worked. That guy is so freaking stubborn."

Will exhaled sharply. "Unbelievable. I'm starting to think there's a conspiracy or something."

"That or they really don't want another scandal." Kate replied.

"Okay, well, thank you for your help. We can take it from here." Will replied.

"Will, I can still help." Kate said.

"I know. When we need your help again, we'll ask for it." Will said. "Love you, Grandma. Bye!"

Kate scoffed and tossed her phone aside. "Fine. Whatever."

XXX

Gabi sat in the waiting room going over everything Sonny told her. A few minutes later, a middle-aged, thin woman with shoulder-length dark reddish-brown curly hair and brown eyes walked into the visiting room.

"Athena Vause." Gabi greeted smiling.

"Gabi Hernandez." Athena greeted, also smiling. They hugged. "Oh. How are you?"

"I'm good. You?" They sat down.

"I'm being released in six months on good behavior." Athena grinned.

Gabi gasped. "Really? That's great! I'm so happy for you."

Athena laughed softly. "Thanks. I can finally return the favor I owe you."

"Actually, there's something you can do now." Gabi said. "Have you noticed Lockhart acting strange or out of character these last couple months?"

Athena was puzzled. "Well, kind of. She hit a CO, then was sent to Solitary for a week, then she attacked her visitor for no reason, then she was sent to Solitary again. She keeps saying she's not Bonnie Lockhart. She's quieter than usual and I think I heard her crying in her sleep."

"That's cause she really isn't Bonnie Lockhart." Gabi announced. "My friend Sonny's mother Adrienne Kiriakis looks a lot like Bonnie. Somehow Bonnie had Adrienne kidnapped and switched with her."

"And you know this how?"

"'Adrienne' got important information about Sonny wrong. She ate something she is highly allergic to and did not have a reaction." Gabi explained. "Adrienne is in remission from breast cancer. She got a double mastectomy. She wore a revealing dress and she did not have surgery scars and there is no medication in her bathroom, she's dressing and acting the complete opposite Adrienne acts and dresses, and all of a sudden she isn't getting along with Maggie Horton, whom Adrienne is really good friends with. I can't believe no one else noticed, now that I think about it!"

Athena blinked at Gabi, stunned. "Wow. Where to begin?"

"Okay, I know it sounds crazy, but it's true." Gabi replied.

"Well, did you call the police or tell a lawyer?"

"Sonny tried telling his dad- he's a lawyer- and he talked to the warden this morning." Gabi explained. "Nobody believes him. Then we tried to get his husband Will's grandmother, who married into the DiMera family and is CEO of DiMera Enterprises to talk to the warden, but he still won't listen."

"Wow. So, what do you want me to do, then?" Athena asked, shrugging.

"Adrienne had a visitor a few weeks ago. I need you to find out who it was." Gabi replied. "And maybe see what she did to try to prove she's not who everyone thinks she is, then call me and we'll go from there."

"Okay. I'll ask her." Athena replied. "What if she doesn't trust me?"

XXX

Adrienne absentmindedly leafed through a magazine. She barely looked up when someone sat across from her.

"You know, if you're trying to prove you're someone else, attacking people may not be your best bet." Athena said, smirking.

Adrienne scoffed lightly. "Do I know you?"

"No. I'm Athena Vause and I'm here to help you." Athena replied.

"Thanks, but the last two inmates I asked help from screwed me over, so..." Adrienne stood up and started to walk away.

"March, 1988: you were pregnant, but then you got a miscarriage." Athena said. Adrienne stopped, but didn't turn around. "Two and a half years later, you were pregnant again with twins, but one of the fetuses got stuck in your fallupin tube, so you had to have surgery to get it removed. Nine months later, you gave birth to a healthy baby boy in Dallas, Texas."

Adrienne sat down. "How do you know all this?"

"My prison daughter, Gabi Hernandez." Athena replied. "She's friends with your son, Sonny. She and Sonny figured out that someone- Bonnie Lockhart- is impersonating you."

Adrienne exhaled in relief. She was relieved someone finally figured it out, but still wished it was someone else besides Sonny. She doesn't want him to get hurt or feel guilty.

Athena continued. "Sonny told his father, but he doesn't believe him. Then he talked to the warden and he doesn't believe him, either. He had Kate DiMera talk to the warden, but he still won't listen."

"Are you kidding me?" Adrienne said, exasperated. She huffed. "Well, I don't know what I'm gonna do now."

"Well, your son-in-law tried to visit you earlier, but was told your visitation and phone privileges were revoked." Athena replied. "They said you attacked your visitor for no reason?"

Adrienne shook her head. "Sheila. I wrote on her card about what happened to me and I told her to take the card to Justin. She did meet Justin, but she also ran into Bonnie, who offered her more than what Justin would have offered, so she won't help me. I did grab her, but I was getting desperate. After I got out of solitary, I ran into Hattie. She told me that Anjelica concoted this whole plan: switch me with Bonnie, to break Justin's heart and Anjelica would pick up the pieces. Then Anjelica died and Bonnie went ahead with her own scheme. I tried to get her to help me, but she won't."

Athena nodded. "Gabi, Sonny, and Will think that Bonnie wants revenge against Maggie for stealing her husband."

Adrienne scoffed and laughed at the same time. "She should have done her research then. Victor hates me."

"Have you tried anything else to prove you're not Bonnie?" Athena asked.

Adrienne shook her head. "No."

"Well, come on. Not everyone looks exactly alike. Have you had surgery in the last ten years?" Athena asked. Adrienne looked down. "You have! Gabi told me about your double mastectomy and reconstruction surgery. Why didn't you show your scars in the first place?"

"I didn't think I had to!" Adrienne exclaimed. "I thought my word would be enough, then I thought Sheila would help me! Plus, I'm still a little insecure."

"I understand that, but...since nothing else works..." Athena shrugged.

"Well, there's still Sheila's card." Adrienne said. "Do you have phone privileges?"

"Yes. I will call Gabi and tell her what you've told me." Athena stood up.

"Athena...is there a chance that Bonnie will hurt my son or anyone else in my family?" Adrienne asked, nervous.

"No. Bonnie is an obnoxious pain in the ass, but she's not violent." Athena said, reassuring.

Adrienne nodded and smiled. "Okay. Thank you."

"You're welcome." Athena replied. She headed to the phones and called Gabi.

XX

Gabi walked through Horton Town Square as her phone rang.

"An inmate at Statesville Prison is trying to contact you. To accept this call, press one."

Gabi smiled and accepted the call. "Hey, did you talk to her?"

"I did. Sheila visited her." Athena announced. "At her release party, Adrienne wrote a note to Justin on her card explaning everything. Before Sheila could give it to Justin, Bonnie intercepted and offered her more money."

Gabi huffed. "I knew there was something fishy about Sheila and Adrienne knowing each other! Okay, well...I guess I'll find the card and give it to Justin myself."

"One more thing: Hattie Adams is involved as well." Athena replied. "Adrienne tried to get her to help, but she won't."

Gabi scoffed. "Wanna hear something funny? Justin is Hattie's lawyer."

"Really?" Athena raised her eyebrows. "Well, that's one way to screw your lawyer over."

"Yeah, really."

"I'll call you tomorrow morning." Athena replied.

"Okay. Bye."

XXX

Hattie walked to the phones and made sure Athena was nowhere to be seen. She called Bonnie.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Bonnie, it's Hattie." Hattie said quietly. "I called to give you a head's up."

"About what?"

"Adrienne managed to convince someone that she's not...well, you." Hattie replied.

Bonnie panicked. "What?! Who?!"

"Vause."

Bonnie sighed in frustration. "That bitch. What does she know exactly?"

"I don't know. I only heard the end of their conversation." Hattie replied. "Adrienne asked if there was a chance that you would hurt her family and Athena said no."

"Okay. Will you please find out exactly what she knows?" Bonnie asked.

"Why should I even involve myself anymore?"

"Hattie, please. I am so close to finally getting my revenge on Maggie." Bonnie said, her voice shaking. "Please do not take this from me."

Hattie sighed in exasperation. "Fine! You owe me big."

"Thank you."

"You're welcome. Bye." Hattie hung up and sighed again. "The things I do for friendship, I swear..."

Unbeknownst to Hattie, someone overheard her side of the phone conversation.

XXX

Meanwhile, Gabi and Will entered the maid's quarters. "So, we just have to find the card."

"Yep. All right, let's do this. I don't know when she'll be back." Gabi said.

They searched every nook and cranny, but could not find the card. "Dammit."

"Maybe she has it in her purse?" Gabi suggested.

"Maybe." They headed downstairs just as Sheila walked through the foyer. She hung up her purse and headed into the living room. Then, Bonnie walked through the foyer and followed Sheila's lead. Will and Gabi quietly searched through Sheila's purse, but couldn't find the card.

"I wonder if Bonnie stole it and kept it." Gabi whispered. She looked through Bonnie's purse, and did not find the card. "Okay, let's search her room."

Just then, Bonnie came out of the living room. "As fun as that sounds, Sheila, I am heading up to my room. I have a wedding to plan!" She ran upstairs.

"Wedding?" Gabi asked, confused.

Will sighed. "She must have gotten Victor to propose."

"How?!"

"I'm not sure I wanna know..."

XXX

Meanwhile, back at Statesville, Annabelle tracked Athena down. She and Athena have gotten close since Hope left. Athena was like a big sister to Annabelle.

"Hey, Athena, who's Adrienne?" Annabelle asked.

"What?"

"I heard Hattie on the phone earlier talking to Bonnie." Annabelle explained. "She said that Adrienne managed to convince someone she wasn't her- Bonnie. She heard the last part of your conversation with her." Athena sighed and explained the Bonnie-Adrienne situation. Annabelle was shocked. "Wow. I knew Bonnie was mean, but I didn't think she'd stoop this low. And I thought Hattie was nice!"

"Yeah, me, too." Athena replied.

Adrienne walked over to their table, hesitated, then sat down and cleared her throat. "Hey."

"Hi. Adrienne, this is Annabelle. Annabelle, Adrienne." Athena introduced. "Annabelle overheard Hattie talking to Bonnie on the phone. She heard the last part of our conversation."

Adrienne huffed in frustration. "So, we have to avoid Hattie, then."

"Yep." Athena nodded. "Hattie warned Bonnie about you, so..."

"So, I guess I have no choice, then." Adrienne sighed. "Bonnie probably is looking for the card now and is going to destroy it."

"Most likely." Athena replied.

Adrienne slumped her shoulders and threw her head back. "Okay. Guess I have no other choice, then. I'm gonna have to show the doctor here my surgery scars."

"It could be your get-out-of-jail card." Athena added.

"Yeah." Adrienne stood up and started heading to the infirmary.

Hattie walked up to them, smiling. "Hello, ladies. What are we talking about? Where's Adrienne going?"

Athena scoffed. "Well, where could she go? She's a prisoner."

"I have to go to work." Annabelle said. She left.

Athena stood up. "Nice chatting with you, Hattie, but I am going back to my cell to take a nap."

Hattie scoffed and shook her head. "Great. They don't trust me now."

XXX

Adrienne took a deep breath and walked into the infirmary. She walked up to the female doctor and cleared her throat. Dr. Linda Trang glanced at Adrienne, then went back to her clipboard. "What can I do for you, Lockhart?"

"I'm not Bonnie Lockhart, and I can prove it." Adrienne replied. The doctor looked at her skeptically. "The reason I didn't do this in the first place was because I didn't think about it, and I thought I'd be rescued by now." She pulled down her shirt as she explained. "I'm in remission from breast cancer. Six months ago, I got a double mastectomy and reconstruction surgery."

Dr. Trang studied Adrienne's surgical scars. "Hop on the bed. I'll take some blood and have it tested with Bonnie Lockhart's blood, which we have on file. Just to be doubly sure."

Adrienne sighed in relief. "Thank you."

XX

It took a few minutes, but Dr. Trang took some of Adrienne's blood and tested it twice. "All right, Adrienne, looks like you really aren't Bonnie Lockhart. I'll take this to the warden and see if we can get you out of here."

Adrienne exhaled and hugged Dr. Trang. "Thank you."

"You're welcome." Dr. Trang replied.

"Can I use the bathroom?" Adrienne asked.

"Sure. It's right through there." Dr. Trang pointed it out to her.

"Thanks."

XX

A few minutes later, Warden Bloom arrived at the imfirmary. "What's up, Trang?"

"I just did a blood test on Lockhart." Dr. Trang replied. "She had a double mastectomy and reconstruction surgery scars that are just six months old. We have no record of Lockhart being diagnosed with cancer. So, I tested who we think is Lockhart against the real Lockhart's blood, and they weren't a match."

The warden exhaled sharply. "Dammit. They were right."

"Who were right?"

"A couple of people came to me yesterday and tried to convince me that Bonnie Lockhart had someone named Adrienne kidnapped and switched with her." The warden explained.

"So, we should call them, then."

"No."

"'No'?" Dr. Trang asked, surprised.

"We already had one huge scandal with Chillie getting shanked and Hope Brady being smuggled out earlier this year." Warden Bloom said. "If anyone, least of all the MCC found out we let yet another prisoner escape, we would be shut down."

"So you want to let an innocent woman rot in here just to cover your ass?" Dr. Trang asked, increduously.

"It's only for two more years." The warden shrugged.

"Lockhart is a murderer. You really want to take that chance? What if she kills someone?" Dr. Trang argued.

"Then she's caught, convicted, and sent here. Problem solved." Warden Bloom folded his arms. "This Adrienne woman attacked a CO and a visitor, anyway. Perfect reasons to keep her here."

"I really don't like this." Dr. Trang said.

"You don't have to like it. Just...don't tell anyone about this- especially if you hope to keep your job." Warden Bloom said, then left.

Dr. Trang sighed deeply and shook her head. "This is madness."

Adrienne came out from around the corner. She heard every word. They weren't going to let her out. She felt hopeless.


	124. Statesville Prison Blues

Adrienne slowly trudged towards her cell, crying silently. She turned a corner and saw Athena and Annabelle.

"Hey, did you show Dr. Trang your scars?" Athena asked.

Adrienne nodded and swallowed. "She also tested my blood with Bonnie's and it wasn't a match."

"That's great! Then why do you look so upset?" Athena asked again.

"Dr. Trang told the warden...and he's not going to do anything." Adrienne announced. "He would rather keep me here to cover his own ass then switch Bonnie and me back."

Annabelle huffed. "That's totally unfair!"

"I know." Adrienne sniffed. "I'm never going to get out of here." She started sobbing.

Athena pulled her into a hug. "It's okay. It's okay."

XXX

After putting the kids to bed, Will changed into his PJs. The entire time, Sonny lay on the bed on his side, staring at the wall. Will climbed in next to him.

"Hey." Will kissed and rubbed Sonny's shoulder. "Whatcha thinking about?"

"Just thinking...Anjelica planned all this." Sonny said. "Remember the summer after Ari was born? There was a rift between my mom and my dad and I. If Anjelica tried to turn me against my mom and tried to seduce my dad...would she have succeeded?"

"I don't think so." Will shrugged. "My mom still would have pushed you to forgive your mom. And from what you've told me, your dad never liked Anjelica, anyway."

Sonny took a deep breath and sat up. "I just can't believe no one's noticed in this long. She doesn't even act like my mom. Or any mom for that matter. She's completely ignoring me and my brothers, and the kids. You know, she hasn't even called Alex after his mom died?"

"You know Rafe was also kidnapped and replaced with an imposter." Will said. "Fake Rafe was mean to me and my brother and sisters. He told Johnny our mom doesn't love him anymore. So, say what you will about Bonnie, but being neglectful is a lot better than being mean."

"Good point." Sonny said.

XXX

The next morning, Will and Gabi waited until Bonnie left her room to start searching for the card. Will looked under the bed and saw a black binder under the bed.

"Hmm. What's this?" Will pulled out from under the bed and opened it. "It's a dossier on Adrienne, Lucas, and Justin." He flipped through the binder and saw a card. "Gabi, I found it."

"You did?" Gabi ran over to him. "Oh. Yep. That's the same card I got when I was released from prison."

Will opened it and scanned it. "And there it is- right up on the top. I'm surprised Bonnie didn't black it out."

"Probably for insurance." Gabi suggested. They headed to Will and Sonny's room just as Sonny finished getting dressed.

"Look what we found!" Will sang and dropped the binder on the bed.

"What's this?" Sonny asked. He opened and leafed through it. "A dossier on my parents and your dad."

"And the card." Will said.

"Perfect! We have everything we need, then." Sonny said, smiling.

Gabi's phone rang. "Oh- that's probably Athena." She answered her phone. "Hey, Athena. I'm with Will and Sonny. I'm gonna put you on speaker."

"So, Adrienne went to the doctor. The doctor believed her and ran her blood against Bonnie's." Athena replied.

"All right!" Sonny exclaimed as Will laughed triumphantly.

"The doctor told the warden, but...he still won't let Adrienne go." Athena said. "It would cause a scandal, so they would rather cover their asses then fix this mess."

"Are you kidding me?!" Sonny exclaimed angrily.

"Talk about currupted." Will commented. "So, that's it, then. We're screwed."

"Okay, no. No me gusta. I'm not giving up." Gabi declared. "If the prison won't switch Bonnie and Adrienne back, then we're gonna have to do it ourselves."

"Ooh. I like it. But how?" Sonny asked.

Athena bit her lip and looked around to make sure no one was listening. "You know...I am on van duty."

"Van duty?" Sonny questioned.

"Yeah. The COs are too lazy to run their errands, so they have the prisoners drive instead." Gabi explained.

"Gabi, remember Rosa Cortez?" Athena asked.

"Yes."

"She was diagnosed with lukemia earlier this year. She has an appointment at Peora General Hospital tomorrow at 9:00." Athena announced.

"That's a half hour out of Salem." Gabi said. "So we just need to lure Bonnie to the hospital."

"Ooh, we can tell her that Maggie had a huge accident and is being euthanized there!" Will exclaimed. Sonny and Gabi just stared at him. "What?"

"I don't think she'll fall for that." Sonny replied.

"Well, I think we're gonna have to force her to go there." Gabi replied.

"You mean kidnap her?" Will asked, shocked.

"Or make a citizen's arrest." Gabi shrugged. "Athena, can you smuggle Adrienne into the back of the van?"

"Yeah. She can fake an illness and we can stuff her bed with pillows." Athena replied.

"Okay. I'll come visit you later to go over the plan." Gabi replied.

"All right. See you later."

"Bye." Gabi hung up and sighed. "Well, it's short notice, but, at least we have a plan."

"Yeah. We should show my dad, Uncle Vic, and Aunt Maggie." Sonny said. They headed downstairs to the living room. Justin, Steve, and Kayla were there. "Uncle Steve, Aunt Kayla. Good, you guys are here. I need to show you something."

"Sonny, we are in the middle of something here." Justin said.

"Is it about Mom?" Sonny asked. Steve nodded. "Good. That's what this is about." He gave the black binder to Steve. "Take a look at this." He pulled out the card, opened it, and showed Adrienne's message to Justin. "Read this."

"This has information on Adrienne's life." Steve noticed. Justin read the message, sighed deeply, and ran his hand through his hair. "What? What did the card say?" Justin didn't say anything, so Steve grabbed it and read it. "Oh my God."

"Sonny, I'm sorry I didn't believe you." Justin said.

"Wait, what?!" Steve exclaimed. He rounded on Sonny. "How long have you known about this?"

"I figured it out a few days ago." Sonny explained. "'Mom' ate something she's highly allergic to and did not have a reaction. Then I asked her about my birth and she said 'It was a cold, snowy morning in Salem'. Gabi was with me. She remembered meeting someone who looked exactly like Mom in prison: Bonnie Lockhart."

"So, how does this Bonnie person know Adrienne?" Kayla asked.

"Hattie." Steve said simply. "Go on, Sonny."

"Will went to Statesville pretending to be Bonnie's son Connor, but he found out that they revoked Mom's phone and visitation priveleges for six months. Then, I went to talk to the warden to explain the situation, but he wouldn't believe me. The warden told me that our family no longer has pull at the prison because of Deimos hiring a bodyguard for Hope,, and that bodyguard was murdered and her family threatened to sue the prison. Then as I was heading to my car, I saw Mom through a window yelling for me. I had already talked to the warden, and if she opened the window and got caught, we both would have been in trouble, so I just smiled at her and left. Then I tried to tell Dad, but he didn't believe me-"

"'Cause you're such a chronic liar." Steve commented, rolling his eyes.

"Really, Steve?" Justin responded.

"I was being sarcastic!" Steve snapped, glaring at Justin. "Seriously, Justin? I blame you for this mess! If you had listened to Sonny when he told you, this whole thing would be over by now! Seriously, name one lie Sonny told."

"The Sami-Bernardi video?" Justin replied.

Steve paused. "Okay, name four more."

Justin sighed. "I can't think of any right now."

"So that's it? One lie and he loses all credibility?" Steve remarked. "Wow."

"Steve, calm down." Kayla said.

"Uncle Steve, in Dad's defense, he probably didn't want to believe me, because that means that Mom really didn't choose him." Sonny explained.

"That's not an excuse!" Steve exclaimed. He sighed in frustration. "Okay, what happened next?"

"Well, we tried to figure out when she started acting weird, and the first thing was that she dumped Lucas and missed my bail hearing." Sonny explained. "Will talked to his dad- who was drunk- and his dad said that Mom went to visit Abigail, then she went to the Pub. So, Will looked at surveillance tapes from that morning, but someone deleted the tapes that would have shown Mom and whoever she met with. Then Will asked his grandma Kate to talk to the warden. She tried everything from blackmail to seduction, but he still wouldn't budge. So, Gabi had an old prison friend talk to Adrienne and found out that Anjelica arranged all this."

"Well, at least Hattie wasn't totally lying." Justin said. "Continue."

"Gabi's prison friend, Athena, talked to Adrienne and suggested she show her surgery scars to the doctor in order to prove she is not Bonnie." Sonny said. "She did, and the doctor ran her blood with Bonnie's."

"Great! So, let's get her, then." Steve said.

"There's more." Sonny sighed. "The doctor showed the warden, and the warden still won't let Mom go."

"Why the hell not?!" Steve demanded.

"They don't want another scandal." Sonny shrugged. "They'd rather cover their asses than admitting they let someone slip from their fingers."

Kayla scoffed. "Great. So, now what?"

"Actually, Gabi came up with a plan." Sonny replied. "Since the prison won't switch Bonnie and Adrienne back, then we are gonna have to switch them back ourselves. Athena- Gabi's prison friend- is on van duty. She is driving an inmate who has cancer and a CO to Peoria General Hospital tomorrow morning. Athena is going to smuggle Mom into the back of the van, and we have to grab Bonnie and take her to Peoria General to meet with Mom and Athena, and make the switch."

Kayla, Justin, and Steve all stared at Sonny in shock. Steve spoke after a minute. "That is a plan almost too deranged to speak out loud, but it works. I like it."

"This might involve some law-breaking. But if nothing else will work..." Justin shrugged and sighed.

"I also want to visit this Athena." Steve said.

"Suit yourself."

XXX

Adrienne hung out in the common room leafing through a magazine or staring at the wall. Athena came into the room, made sure the CO wasn't paying attention and sat across from Adrienne.

"Hey. I was thinking..." Athena pulled out her phone card. "I know you want to talk to your fiance and son. I could lend you my phone card and make sure the coast is clear."

"You'd do that?" Adrienne asked, hopefully.

"Yes, I'd do that." Athena held up her card.

Adrienne smiled gratefully and took it. "Thank you."

XXX

Will tracked Lucas to the little park off the square.

"Dad, hey. I'm glad I ran into you." Will said.

"Why?" Lucas asked. He swung around a bottle covered with a paper bag.

"I need to talk to you about something." Will replied. Lucas' cell phone rang. "Go ahead, take that first."

Lucas scoffed and answered his phone. "Hello?"

"Lucas! Oh my God, I finally got through to you." Adrienne said.

"Why are you calling me? You dumped me." Lucas replied, coldly.

"Lucas, it's me. I don't have much time."

"I don't have to listen to a damn word that comes out of your mouth." Lucas said. "All you do is know how to lie."

"You don't know what's going on." Adrienne said.

"Oh, I got a pretty good idea." Lucas nodded.

"Lucas, please listen to me. It's a matter of life and death."

"Oh, first you dump me and now you need my help? Really?" Lucas asked. "Well, forget it, sweetheart. It's too late for that!"

"Oh, God, Lucas. I swear to you, it wasn't me!" Adrienne cried.

"Oh it definitely was you! You don't care about me. You kicked me to the curb and now you want my help." Lucas said. "You can forget it. It's too little, too late. You got that? So, screw you!" He hung up and exhaled sharply. "Who the hell does she think she is?" He sighed and turned to Will. "So...what did you want to talk to me about?"

'Ooh, this is gonna be awkward...' Will cringed. "I was gonna say that Adrienne was kidnapped and switched with Bonnie Lockhart on Anjelica Deveraux's orders. Adrienne's been in Statesville serving Bonnie's time for over two months."

Lucas just stared at Will, then scoffed. "Not cool, man. I know you're mad at me, but really?"

"Dad, 'Adrienne' ate something she is highly allergic to and did not have a reaction, she wore a low-cut dress to the double wedding and did not have any surgery scars, she's neglecting her kids and grandkids, she dumped you, then she dumped Justin, and now she's marrying Victor." Will recounted. "You don't think that's strange?"

"I honestly don't know anymore." Lucas said. He took a swig.

"Fine. Don't believe me." Will stood up. "I came to deliver a message, and...message sent." He left.

XXX

Meanwhile, Sonny met with Maggie and Victor in the study. He explained the entire Bonnie-Adrienne situation. Needless to say, they were both surprised.

"She did all this just to get to me?" Maggie asked, shocked.

"Yeah. She never forgave you for stealing Mickey away from her." Sonny replied.

Maggie exhaled sharply and shook her head. "This whole time...how did I not notice? I lived with Bonnie. I should have been able to recognize her!"

"She had us all fooled, Maggie." Sonny said.

"Well, I'm just glad you, Gabi, and Will all figured it out." Maggie replied.

"Me, too." Sonny replied. "The warden still refuses to release Mom even with proof, so, tomorrow morning, Gabi's prison friend Athena is going to smuggle Mom out of prison in a prison van. She's taking an inmate with cancer to the hospital for tests along with a CO. Dad, Uncle Steve, and Aunt Kayla are going to drag Bonnie to that hospital, switch them back."

"How do you plan to get Bonnie to cooperate?" Victor asked.

"That's where you come in." Sonny said. "I know you still have some of your drug dealers on standby. I was kind of hoping you'd get like a roofie or something to put into Bonnie's drink."

Victor scoffed. "You're gonna kidnap her."

"Poetic justice." Sonny shrugged.

"So Gabi's prison friend is going to smuggle Bonnie back into prison?" Victor asked.

"Yep. And she'll make it look like she's trying to escape." Sonny replied. "More years added to her sentence."

"Good." Victor said.

"Dad, Uncle Steve, and Aunt Kayla need to leave here by tomorrow morning at 8:30." Sonny continued. "So..."

"I'll have her meet with me at 8:00." Victor promised.

Sonny smiled. "Thank you, Uncle Vic."

XXX

Steve and Gabi headed to the prison common room. Athena was waiting for them.

"Athena, this is Steve Johnson, Adrienne's brother." Gabi introduced. "Steve, this is Athena Vause."

Athena and Steve shook hands. "Nice meeting you."

"Nice to meet you, too." Steve replied. They sat down. "First of all, I appreciate your help."

"No problem."

"My sister had it rough growing up. And she's been through a lot in the past year." Steve explained. "So, I'm sure you can understand me being a little overprotective. So, tell me: what do you get out of risking your freedom to help a complete stranger other than returning a favor?"

"Well, for one thing, I don't think anyone should be here unless they truly deserve it." Athena replied. "And for another thing... I destroyed my own family by doing things that lead to me being here. I figured if I helped someone reunite with theirs would make up for that. At least for me."

Steve smiled and nodded. "Well, I can't speak for your family, but, you have been a huge help." He leaned forward. "All right, ladies, what's the plan?"

XXX

Later that night, Adrienne lay on her bed going over the plan in her head. During breakfast, almost all of the COs guard the cafeteria. She and Athena convinced Hattie to help them (after all, it would score points with her lawyer). Hattie is going to sneak Adrienne out the kitchen door and Adrienne will head to the van where Athena will be waiting. She took a deep breath. So many things could go wrong with this plan, but it's the best plan they got.

She couldn't help thinking about how Bonnie helped kidnap her and took over her life for two months, made her family think she's changed for the worse, made her kids think she neglected them, broke Luca's heart and sent him off the wagon...

She felt a wave of vindiction slowly wash over her. She sat up and looked through Bonnie's things. There were cards and pictures of her kids and an old picture of Mickey Horton. She ripped them all up, threw them in the trash, pulled out the bag, and left it outside her cell for the janitor to pick up.

XXX

Adrienne barely got any sleep that night. She was so anxious and nervous. She finally got a couple hours of sleep and was woken up by cell doors slamming open and closed for breakfast. Adrienne said a quick prayer, took a deep breath and headed to the bathroom before heading to the cafeteria. As planned, Hattie quietly lead her to the unlocked kitchen door.

"Thank you, Hattie. I won't forget this." Adrienne said.

"Sure. Just make sure Justin knows about this." Hattie replied.

"I will. Bye." Adrienne ran around the corner and spotted the van. She looked around to make sure the coast was clear, then sprinted to the van. Athena walked to the back of the van and spotted her.

"Showtime." Athena said. She opened the back and Adrienne climbed in. "Remember to stay very quiet."

"Okay." Adrienne nodded. She climbed in and Athena closed the doors. The back of the van was just big enough for Adrienne to lay down comfortably. She heard the middle door slide open, someone climbing into the seat, and the door shutting.

"Hey, Vasquez. You ready for your chemo session?" Athena asked.

"Ehh, whatever gets me out of this craphole." Vasquez replied.

"Morning Thomas." Athena greeted the CO. "You ready?"

"Just about. I just need to check the back to make sure nothing's there." Thomas said.

Adrienne panicked. She felt an emergency blanket behind her, pulled it out, and covered herself with it just as Thomas opened the door.

"Hey, Thomas! You heading out in the field?" Another CO called.

"Yep! Taking Vasquez for her chemo." Thomas replied. He shut the doors without even looking inside. Adrienne put her hand over her heart and sighed quietly with relief. That was a close one! Thomas climbed into the passenger seat and closed the door. "All right, let's go."

"Peoria General, right?" Athena asked.

"Actually, no. She was tranferred somewhere closer: St. Lucy's Hospital in Evanston." Thomas replied.

"Oh. That makes sense." Athena replied, keeping the panic out of her voice.

Adrienne was having a harder time keeping her panic to herself. She grabbed her forhead, squeezed her eyes shut, and grimaced. What were they gonna do now?


	125. Escape From Statesville

Bonnie headed downstairs already dressed, her hair done, and her makeup on. She walked into the living room where Victor waited, smiling grimly. A tray of biscuits and coffee lay on the coffee table.

"What's this?" Bonnie asked, sitting down.

"I just thought we'd share a little breakfast before our wedding." Victor said simply.

Bonnie stared at Victor suspiciously. "What are you up to?"

"Well, I figured that if we're going to be married, we might as well learn to tolerate one another." Victor replied. He sipped his coffee.

Bonnie was still skeptical, but took her coffee, anyway. "I'm glad you decided to be civil. What about Maggie?"

"She understands." Victor said.

"This coffee is really good." Bonnie commented.

"Well, enjoy it. It'll be your last good cup of coffee for a long time, Bonnie Lockhart." Victor said. Bonnie froze. "You really thought I wouldn't figure it out? Maggie lived with you for a while, for God's sake."

With that, Maggie walked into the living room and stood behind Victor. "Hello, Bonnie."

Bonnie scoffed and shook her head. She stood up. "Took y'all long enough." She turned to glare at Maggie. "You had it coming to you."

"Really, Bonnie? It's me you hate. Adrienne's done nothing to you!" Maggie exclaimed.

"Well, to be fair, she was Anjelica's victim. Bye!" She turned to run away, but started feeling fuzzy.

"You doing all right, there?" Victor asked.

Ignoring Victor, Bonnie stumbled out of the living room feeling more tired. She made it outside and fell into Justin's arms.

"Hey, Bonnie. What's up?" Justin scooped Bonnie up bridal-style and carried her to Steve's car.

Bonnie weakly pounded Justin's chest. "No. Put me down..."

"Okay. I'll put you down." Justin replied. He put her in the trunk and slammed it shut. "All right. Let's go."

XXX

Adrienne spent the whole ride to the hospital formulating a new plan. Athena pulled up at the hospital entrance.

"Have fun." Athena said, smiling.

"Make sure to park by a door so I can check on you." The CO said.

"I will." Athena promised. She rolled up the windows and drove towards the parking garage. "You okay back there, Adrienne?"

"I'm fine, now that I've come up with a plan." Adrienne said as she took off her denim prison shirt, leaving her white shirt on.

"I'm sorry. I had no idea they switched hospitals." Athena said.

"It's fine. Once the CO checks on us and leaves again, I'll sneak in and call Steve." Adrienne said.

"Good plan." Athena replied. She parked at one of the open-air spaces facing a door to the hospital just in time for the CO to come out to check on her. He nodded in satisfaction then walked back inside.

Adrienne climbed over the seat and got out of the car. She ran through another entrance to the hospital and carefully looked around for the CO, then headed to a desk. "Excuse me, may I please use your phone?" The nurse gazed at her suspiciously. "I-I just ran away from my abusive fiance, and this is the first business I came to. I just had to get out of there."

"Okay. Do you need medical assistance?"

"No, I just have a few bumps and bruises. I am just gonna call my brother and have him pick me up." Adrienne replied.

"Okay. Press 9, then the number." The nurse replied. She grabbed a file, then walked off. Adrienne took a deep breath and dialed.

XX

Steve zoomed down the highway. Adrienne just called to tell them they changed hospitals. They hope the change isn't gonna mess up their plan. Steve found the hospital, and parked in a secluded spot near the prison van. The CO came back to check on Athena, then went back inside. Athena took a deep breath and backed the van up about two feet behind Steve's car. Justin, Steve, and Kayla jumped out of their car. Steve and Kayla opened the back of the van. Adrienne climbed out and grinned widely when she saw Justin. She was so overcome with relief that she kissed him deeply. They pulled apart and caught their breaths. Adrienne blushed, embarrassed.

"God, I'm sorry. I was just so relieved, that..."

"It's okay. It was nice." Justin said.

Adrienne nodded and turned to Steve. "Oh, Steve!" They hugged.

"Baby sister, I'm so sorry we didn't figure this out sooner." Steve said.

"It's okay." Adrienne replied. She hugged Kayla.

"All right, Kayla, you and Adrienne take Bonnie's clothes off. Adrienne, you can change in the car." Steve instructed.

"I'll help." Athena said.

"Thanks."

While Adrienne changed in the car, Kayla wiped off Bonnie's makeup and brushed the hairspray out of her hair by pouring a water bottle filled with water and baking soda onto a brush and brushing through.

Once Adrienne got dressed, she and Kayla changed Bonnie back into her prison clothes. Steve lifted the still unconscious Bonnie out of the trunk and put her in the back of the van.

Adrienne hugged Athena. "Thank you for everything."

"Of course." Athena replied.

"Thank you for taking good care of my sister." Steve said to Athena.

"No problem." Athena smiled.

"All right, let's hit the road." Steve said. "Good luck getting Bonnie back into the prison."

"Thanks. Bye, everyone." Athena waved goodbye, got back into the van, and drove back to the parking space.

Steve, Kayla, Justin, and Adrienne all climbed into the car and drove out of the garage.

"And we're...outta here!" Steve exclaimed as he zoomed out of the driveway.

Kayla laughed triumphantly. "I can't believe we pulled it off!"

"Just like old times." Justin nodded.

Adrienne chuckled. "Yeah. Remember when we busted Steve out of the mental hospital?"

"Man, that seems like such a long time ago." Steve replied.

XXX

Meanwhile, Sonny, Will, and Gabi sat on the couch in the living room at the mansion, waiting anxiously for the others to come back. Sonny got up and started pacing.

"I should have gone with them." Sonny vented. "Then at least I would know what's happening and if the plan worked and they didn't get caught..."

Will stood up and put his hands on Sonny's shoulders. "Babe, babe, calm down. This isn't Steve and Kayla's first rescue mission. They'll be fine."

Sonny exhaled sharply. "I just wish I hadn't confessed to killing Deimos. You would have been at the Pub that morning. You could have stopped it."

"Hey, blaming yourself won't help anyone. What's done is done." Will said.

Victor and Maggie walked into the living room. "Good. We're all here."

"Why, what happened?" Sonny asked, panicked.

"Nothing yet." Victor replied, surprised.

"Oh. Geez, you scared me." Sonny sighed.

The front door opened, and Justin and Adrienne walked through the door to the living room.

"Mom!" Sonny exclaimed in relief. He ran to hug her.

"Oh, my baby." Adrienne sniffed and hugged back.

"Oh, you're beautiful." Sonny said.

Adrienne chuckled and pulled away. "Well, I don't know about that."

"I'm sorry I didn't realize it sooner." Sonny said.

"It's okay." Adrienne caressed his cheek. "That smile you gave me when you saw me through that window...it got me through the rest of this ordeal."

Sonny smiled. "Well, I'm glad I could help somewhat."

Adrienne turned to Will and Gabi. "And you two...thank you for helping solve the mystery."

"Of course." Will replied. He and Gabi hugged Adrienne.

"Well, now that that's over, hopefully your inside man put Bonnie Lockhart back in prison where she belongs." Victor said.

XXX

Bonnie felt foggy as she slowly woke up. Groaning, she lifted herself off the floor and leaned against something. She blinked and gasped quietly as she realized she was back at Statesville. She was by an exit at the end of a long hallway.

"No...no." Bonnie said. She stood up, looked out the window on the door and started pounding it, angrily. "Nooo!" She screamed in frustration and pounded on the door again. She started crying, turned around and slid to the floor. She looked down and saw a key. She laughed, picked it up, kissed it, stood up and started to unlock the door.

"HEY!" Bonnie jumped and dropped the key at the sound of one of the COs. She saw one of the COs running towards her. She picked up the key and successfully unlocked the door. The CO tackled her and grabbed. her. "No! No!"

"That is IT! I have HAD IT with you, Lockhart!" The CO said angrily. "Not only is your sentence extended, but you are going to solitary for the rest of it!"

"No! NOOOO!" Bonnie screamed as the CO dragged her off.


	126. An Eve-il Plot Twist

Halloween once again crept upon Salem. Brady sat focused on the quarterlies for Titan. He heard slight moaning coming from the foyer and turned to see Will dressed as a zombie walking slowly towards him, arms outstretched.

"Braaains. Need braaaaiiinnns!" Will moaned. He paused in front of Brady, then walked away. "Still need brraaaaiiins!"

Brady glared at Will and threw a pillow at him. "Dick."

Just then, Sonny appeared at the doorway dressed as Dracula. He raised his arms and laughed evilly.

"Dude, when are you gonna get into costume?" Brady asked.

Sonny glared at him. "Haha. I forgot how to laugh. What are you going as? A bottle of alcohol? You're already filled with it. All you need is a costume."

"Nice." Brady said sarcastically. He stood up and walked out of the room.

Will scoffed. "Someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed."

"Yeah." Sonny shrugged. "So, I'm ready to take Ari trick-or-treating..."

"And then we are going to hit The Spot with Paul and Derrick." Will finished. "It's gonna be a fun night."

"This year is flying by so fast." Sonny mused.

"Yeah. Up next is my birthday." Will nodded. His phone rang. "Excuse me."

That's right- Will's birthday is coming up. His 25th birthday. Sonny thought. He pulled out his cell phone and texted Gabi.

"Surprise party for Will to plan! It's his 25th birthday."

"Awesome! I'll make the guest list!"

XXX

"...I know how Will feels about surprise parties, but, I really do think he'll enjoy this one." Sonny talked on the phone with Roman. "So, can we use the Pub? ... Great! Well, I want to have it on his actual birthday which is a Thursday. ... Okay. It'll work out perfectly, then. Thanks, Roman. ... You too. Bye."

Victor walked into the living room carrying a newspaper. "So, you're throwing a surprise party for Will, huh?"

"Yep! You and Maggie are invited." Sonny replied.

Victor grunted. "I suppose you're also happy about your parents being back together."

"I am!" Sonny grinned widely. He sobered. "Look, Uncle Vic, I know you're still undecided about who should be CEO..."

Victor sighed impatiently. "Sonny..."

"Just hear me out." Sonny said. "I know you won't decide until Brady and I make peace. I plan on making that first step."

Victor nodded, pleased. "Good. Lord knows we've had enough family drama to last a lifetime."

Sonny nodded in agreement. Just then, Brady walked into the living room dressed in his jogging outfit. "Brady. Hey, I wanted to talk to you about something."

"If it's about Eve Donovan taking a controlling interest of Basic Black, I already know about it." Brady said.

Sonny was shocked. "Wait, what?"

Eve walked in. "That's right, Sonny Boy. Oh- and Brady, it's Eve Kiriakis. I married your Uncle Deimos, remember?"

Sonny was bewildered. "Wait...what?! When did that happen?!"

Eve explained how she and Deimos reconnected back in April while Nicole was on the run with Brady in Canada. They got married and Deimos bequeathed controlling shares of Basic Black to her.

Sonny exhaled sharply. "Wow."

Brady turned to Victor. "Okay, tell me that what she's saying is not true."

Victor handed over the papers to Brady. "I wish the hell I could."

"What is this?" Brady looked over the paperwork. "Are you kidding me?! There's got to be a way to challenge this."

Eve rolled her eyes. "Oh, you two! Stop crying in your beer and get a grip. You actually should be grateful that Deimos left me controlling interest, because according to my research the company's been a money draining mess for many a moon."

"I'm turning that around, Eve!" Sonny exclaimed defensively.

Eve ignored Sonny and continued. "And now with a big cash infusion from Titan, it's going to be the serious competitor it once was. And it'll put a smile back on all of your grumpy faces."

"You're not going to get a dime out of me." Victor declared.

Eve smirked. "Well Victor, I think I'm going to get a hell of a lot more than you think."

"What are you talking about?" Brady asked.

"Do I have to explain everything to the two of you? Didn't you know that Titan is obligated and responsible to pay 80% of all of the operating costs of Basic Black?" Eve asked.

Brady laughs "Since when?"

"Since Deimos put Nicole in charge of it last year, remember?" Eve asked. "You should get with the business. She was quite competent. If she hadn't skipped town I probably would have kept her on. But you know what I will leave you three to stew over the unfairness of it all, poor babies while I go wash the horse smell out of my hair. I tell you, keeping those studs in line, well it can really make a woman sweat."

Brady closes the door after she leaves the room. "What the hell are we going to do about that?"

"I'm not going to do anything, you are." Victor said to Brady.

Brady was surprised. "Me? What?"

"Yes you. I'm assigning you the job of getting Eve Donovan out of our company and out of our lives." Victor said.

"I don't have time to deal with Eve Donovan. I'm busy with Titan, Granddad." Brady said.

"Not anymore." Victor replied. "Effectively immediately, I'm relieving you of all your duties as CEO of Titan."

Sonny tried not to look too excited. Brady was stunned and a little angry. "What?! Why would you...? Don't even tell me you're thinking about putting Sonny back in charge."

"Hey, sitting right here!" Sonny exclaimed, angrily.

"That's to be determined." Victor replied. "He's ready to run the company."

"Damn it, you know I'm the better man to run this company." Brady argued.

"What I know is that you're a mess." Victor said. Sonny nodded in agreement. "Chasing off to Canada with a known fugitive, risking your reputation and the reputation of the company for a woman who was about to leave you anyway."

Brady angrily pointed at Victor. "You know that's not fair. That situation with Nicole did not affect Titan whatsoever."

Victor shook his head. "If you hadn't been on the run with that vixen while Sonny was stuck on that Greek island, we wouldn't have been vulnerable to Deimos' back door business tactics."

"Hold on. You know damn well I was not the only one who wasn't on top of that situation." Brady argued.

"No, but it's all on your head now." Victor replied. "So you better get your act together and smarten up."

"What do you mean, get my act together? What does that mean?" Brady demanded.

"You know damn well what it means. You think I don't know when you're drinking again?"

"Come on, it's a drink once in a while." Brady rolled his eyes. "It's a slip, it's nothing. Granddad, I'm going to a meeting tonight for God's sake."

"You haven't been to a meeting since you started drinking." Victor said. "Why should I believe you're going to one tonight? Even if I believed that you were sincere and you really wanted to work on your sobriety you and I both know that's not a good reason. You have to do it for yourself otherwise it won't stick."

Brady nodded. "You've certainly done your AA homework, that's for sure."

"Well I have a wife who's an alcoholic and a grandson, why wouldn't I do my homework?" Victor shrugged. "For now, you take care of this situation with Eve like I asked you too."

"Or what? Or I'm out. Is that what you're saying?" Brady asked.

"Well it's up to you, isn't it?" Victor asked.

Brady scoffed and shook his head. "I can't believe you're testing me like this."

"I should have done it a long time ago. You haven't been yourself since you came back from that Canadian Wildlife adventure." Victor noticed.

"My drinking had nothing to do with that trip." Brady said defensively.

"I believe that." Victor nodded. "It's when you came back and you were forced to deal with the realities that you started slipping. To even be considered for the CEO spot, you have to prove to me that you're able to face your demons for more than an hour or so at a time."

"An hour or so? Of course I can do that." Brady insisted. "I haven't had a drink today. I don't plan on having a drink today. I didn't have a drink yesterday."

"I'm supposed to believe that?" Victor asked, apprehensively.

Brady sighed in frustration. "Granddad, I've got it under control."

"The hell you do." Victor growled. "But if you can get rid of Eve and return Basic Black to the fold, I'll reconsider your demotion."

"Well, you are all heart." Brady said sarcastically. "Something tells me that you're not going to make golden boy Sonny jump through all these hoops."

"Sonny's not perfect, but despite all the distractions, he manages to keep his eyes on the prize." Victor said to Sonny's defense. "The sooner you can get rid of that succubus Eve, the closer you're going to be to being back in the big leagues."

Brady scoffed and stormed out of the room. Sonny was a bit put off by Brady's assignment by Victor. "So...I'm only CEO until Brady gets rid of Eve?"

"Sonny, I have no intention of giving Brady the CEO job back." Victor revealed.

Sonny was surprised. "But I thought...?"

"Brady is too much of a loose cannon and too volatile for the position." Victor replied. "He drinks over spilled milk. And like you said, you have three kids, one with special needs. You could use this job more than Brady can."

Sonny smiled and laughed softly. He got up and hugged Victor. "Thank you, Uncle Vic! I promise, I will not let you down."

"I know you won't." Victor said.

Justin walked in and noticed Sonny beaming. "So, I take it you finally decided on a CEO."

"He did. You're looking at him." Sonny replied.

Justin laughed and hugged Sonny. "Congratulations! I know you'll make us all very proud."

"I will." Sonny said. "Titan will be completely legit within five years."

"Good." Justin replied.

"All right. I am leaving. I can't wait to tell Will the good news!" Sonny chuckled and left.

XXX

Will sat on the bench in the private area of the square, his face tilted back and his eyes closed towards the warm sun. It was unseasonably warm, and he was enjoying it. Someone covered his eyes, and he recognized the perfume. He smiled.

"Hmm. Who are you? Let's see...Claire?" Will guessed. The woman whispered 'no'. "Okay, no. Abigail? Grandma Kate? Grandma Marlena? Adrienne? Aunt Jennifer? Aunt Kayla? Anne? Aunt Maggie? Julie? Chloe? Gabi? Oh, I know." The woman nodded, smiling. "Aunt Carrie."

Sami scoffed and removed her hands and put them on the back of the bench. Will turned around. "Mom! Hey!" Will stood up to hug her. "When did you get here?"

"This morning." Sami replied. "I visited your Uncle Eric and we had a belated birthday celebration."

"Oh, that's right." Will replied. "Lordy, lordy, look who's-"

"Twenty-nine." Sami said firmly.

"Right." Will chuckled.

Sonny walked into the private area. "Sami?! Oh my God!"

"Hi!" Sami greeted, hugging Sonny. "Oh, I've missed you. How are you?"

"I am great. How are you? What are you doing back here?"

Sami took a deep breath. "Well...EJ and I decided that it's high time he returns to the land of the living."

"Meaning...?"

"We're gonna tell everyone he's alive now." Sami replied.


	127. The Calm Before The Storm

Will and Sonny glanced at each other, then at Sami. "Really? Is EJ here?"

"Yeah. He's at the Salem Inn, actually." Sami replied. "I think that since Andre has mellowed out a little, now is the perfect time to tell everyone he's alive."

"I wouldn't say 'mellowed out'." Will folded his arms.

Sami scoffed. "I meant since February, Will."

"Well, there are rumors of DiMera Enterprises having problems: losing money, losing deals..." Sonny said.

"We think it's Andre." Will said simply.

"Oh." Sami said, surprised. "Well, I wouldn't put it past him, but are you sure?"

"Well, it's not anyone at Titan." Sonny replied. "I would know."

"Oh, yeah- did your uncle finally decide on a CEO for Titan?" Will asked.

Sonny beamed. "Yep. I was actually looking for you to tell you."

Will studied Sonny's expression and beamed. "Oh my God! Congratulations!" Will hugged him and laughed.

"Wait, you're Titan's new CEO?" Sami asked, surprised.

"Yeah." Sonny replied. "Disappointed?"

"No, it's just that I thought Victor would have made Philip or even Brady CEO." Sami replied.

"Philip has made way too many mistakes and Brady is a hot mess right now." Sonny replied. "Too much of a hot mess to have the CEO position on a permanant basis."

"Oh." Sami nodded.

"So...EJ is ready to rejoin the living?" Will asked, changing the subject.

"Yes. I think we should tell everybody as soon as possible." Sami replied. "Rip off the bandaid."

Will thought about that for a minute. "I think we should each tell our families seperately."

"Seperately?"

"Yeah. There's so many people involved." Will replied. "So, I think Sonny should tell his family, then Mom, you should tell Grandma Marlena, John, Claire, Paul, Derrick, Uncle Eric, and Aunt Belle and Uncle Shawn on skype. I'll tell Grandpa Roman, Aunt Kayla, Uncle Steve, and we can have Grandma Caroline, Stephanie, Chelsea and Max all on Skype."

"And we can have Philip and Melanie on Skype as well." Sonny said.

Sami nodded. "Sounds like a plan."

"I'll track Gabi, Abigail, and Chad down and tell them." Sonny said.

"Thanks, Babe." Will replied. They kissed and Sonny walked off. He turned to Sami and sighed. "So...we have a bit of catching up to do."

"We do." Sami replied. They sat down.

"So, does EJ's mom know he's alive?" Will asked.

Sami's eyes darkened and she tensed up. "Yes."

"Uh-oh. What happened?" Will asked. Sami glared off into space. "Mom?"

Sami took a deep breath. "She blamed me for EJ's death. Well...attempted murder."

"Why? You had absolutely nothing to do with that! In fact, you heard the gunshot and called 911 right away!" Will exclaimed.

Sami scoffed. "I know! And I love EJ. On our way out of the state, after you and Sonny dropped the kids off with us, we ran into Susan. You should have seen her. She was so relieved that EJ's alive. So relieved, in fact, that she started rambling and admitted that she was on her way here to Salem to kill you."

Will was shocked. "What?! Why?!"

"I just told you- she blamed me for EJ's non-death." Sami said. "She thought that since I took her little boy away from her, she's pay me in kind."

Will exhaled sharply. "Great. So there were several people who wanted me dead that year: Victor, possibly Justin and Adrienne, possibly Paul, Ben, Andre, and Susan. I feel like Stefano. Or Nick."

Sami chuckled softly. She sobered up. "I bet Justin, Victor, and Adrienne are glad now that they didn't kill you."

"Yeah, I'm sure they are." Will nodded. "So, what happened after Susan's word vomit?"

"Well, EJ was furious. They got into a screaming match- I was pretty impressed. And proud." Sami smiled at the memory. "He disowned her and said she was worse than Stefano. Susan left, crying, then EJ called Dr. Rolf- remember him?"

"Oh yeah. The mad scientist who brought John back to life." Will nodded. "That guy's still alive?"

"Well, not anymore. He killed himself a few months ago." Sami replied. "Anyway, EJ told Rolf to erase Susan's memory of EJ and the kids and Salem."

"Just because Susan wanted to kill me?" Will asked, surprised.

"To get to me, remember?" Sami replied. "I think, mostly, he just wanted to stay in my good graces, but he really does care about you."

Will smiled, touched. "So, where's Susan now?"

"She lives in Memphis, Tennessee with her boyfriend Roger, who is an Elvis impersonater." Sami revealed. "Edmund left her a couple years ago."

"Oh." Will nodded. "Well, I'm glad you guys ran into her."

"Me too. Seriously. Though I did get to punch her in the face." Sami shook her head slowly. "So, what's been going on here? How are the kids? How's your dad?"

"The kids are great. The twins are crawling everywhere now." Will beamed. "DJ can say a few words now. Leon is trying to speak."

"Oh, I can't wait to see them! And Ari." Sami said. "So, what about your dad? What's he been up to lately?"

Will turned away and blew his bangs apart. "Well, Bonnie Lockhart escaped from prison and took over Adrienne's life."

Sami was stunned. "What?!"

"Yeah. Sonny's older brother's mom was still in love with Justin, so she came up with this boneheaded plan to replace Bonnie with Adrienne so Bonnie could dump Lucas, then get back together with Justin, then dump him so Anjelica could pick up the pieces." Will explained. "Anjelica died suddenly, so, that plan didn't work out. Anyway, Lucas fell off the wagon."

Sami sighed sadly and shook her head. "Damn that Bonnie. Does your dad know?"

"Yeah. Adrienne took Bonnie's place at Statesville." Will continued. "Justin, Uncle Steve, and Aunt Kayla figured it out and rescued her. Adrienne told Lucas the truth, and they mutually decided to break up anyway. Adrienne realized she loves Justin more."

Sami scoffed and shook her head. "So, your dad still hasn't gotten help, huh?"

"Nope." Will stared ahead.

"Okay, what's wrong?" Sami asked.

"Nothing. I just don't care about Lucas anymore." Will said.

"'Lucas'?" Sami asked, bewildered. "Okay, look, I know you're disappointed in him for relapsing, but, alcoholism is a disease. I'm sure he'll want help soon."

"Hmm." Will still stared ahead.

"Did he hurt you?" Sami asked.

"Well, not physically."

"Did he go off on you?" Sami asked again.

"No. He went off on Sonny." Will said angrily. "He yelled at him, calling him a coward for ditching me for Paris and practically called him a whore when he mentioned that he dated a lot of men- girls before he came out! And he threw his kidnapping in his face!"

Sami cringed. 'Oh, Goddammit, Lucas!' "Will, I'm sorry. I'm not excusing his behavior, but he was drunk. He probably doesn't even remember saying that."

"I don't care. That still doesn't excuse what he said." Will said firmly. "For God's sake, Mom, Lucas made Sonny cry!"

Sami sighed quietly. "Wow. I mean, I know he's had bad days, but...wow. Will, I'm sorry."

"Yeah, well, doesn't matter. He's out of my life even if he gets back on the wagon." Will said stubbornly.

Sami was surprised. "Will, come on. You don't mean that." Will just stared at her. Sami scoffed and shook her head. "Okay. Fine. Be that way. But you are going to miss your dad being in your life. Mark my words."

Will scoffed. "I can't wait for that day." He said sarcastically.

"I'll give you two months." Sami half-teased.

"Hmm." Will said dismissively. They paused for a minute. "Do you agree? With Dad?"

"About Sonny? Well, not about him being a coward and a whore." Sami replied. "I do agree that he ditched you for Paris, but-" She held her hand up to silence Will, who was about to protest. "he made up for it by coming back here and saving your life. And since then from what you've told me, he has been the best husband you could ever ask for."

Will smiled. "Thank you. I appreciate that."

Sami nodded. "And I acknowledge that...you weren't the best husband, either. But, like Sonny, you've made up for your mistakes."

"Thanks. Now if only your baby daddy was this understanding." Will replied.

"I'm sure he would have been if he was sober." Sami raised an eyebrow.

"I'm not so sure. He was pretty negitive about Sonny even before the relapse." Will replied.

"What do you mean?" Sami asked.

"During Sonny's obssession with taking Deimos down, Dad was skeptical about Sonny and a little critical." Will explained.

Sami nodded. "Well, you could always blame Kate. She's like that as well."

"But not towards Sonny." Will reminded her.

"Well, maybe not to your face, but I'm sure she had reservations." Sami pointed out. Will just scoffed and shook his head. "You know, Will, if I didn't know any better, I'd think Sonny is the only person you care about."

"Well, then you're right: you don't know me any better." Will replied. "I care about all my family and friends. I just don't think that you should be harsh and critical with someone unless they deserve it, and Sonny doesn't deserve it."

"Okay. Fair point." Sami replied. She cleared her throat. "Okay, so, I will text Grandma, Aunt Belle, Uncle Eric, and Paul. You text Grandpa Roman, Aunt Kayla, Grandma Caroline, and Chelsea."

"Okay."

XXX

Meanwhile, Sonny tracked Gabi, Chad, and Abigail down at the Pub.

"Good, you guys are all here." Sonny said, sitting at their table.

"Hey, Sonny. What's up?" Chad asked.

"Sami and EJ are back in town." Sonny announced. "EJ is ready to rejoin the living."

"That's great!" Chad exclaimed, smiling.

"Yeah. So, we want to tell everyone at the same time, but we figured it would be easier if we each tell our families." Sonny explained. "Sami is going to tell the Blacks, I'm gonna tell my family, and Will is going to tell the Bradys."

"Oh. Okay. Well, I'll tell my dad and brother." Gabi replied. Rafe and I haven't gone to visit our dad in a while, so I guess now would be a good time." She pulled her phone out to text Rafe.

"I guess I'll tell the Hortons." Abigail said.

"I guess it's high time I tell Andre and Kate and Theo." Chad said.

"Wait, Andre still doesn't know?" Abigail asked in surprise. "I thought you told him already."

"No. I wasn't sure I could trust him, so I haven't told him yet." Chad replied. "I'm surprised you didn't tell him."

"Because I thought he already knew, but didn't want to bring it up." Abigail replied.

"Well, I guess he'll know later today." Sonny replied.

XXX

Sami, Will, Sonny, Chad, Abigail, and Gabi were all able to set up a meeting with their families later that afternoon, which was surprising, since it was such short notice for everyone. Roman agreed to close the Pub a little early for the Bradys.

They all took deep breaths before facing their families.

'Well, here goes everything.'


	128. Now It's Time...

Sami walked into the townhouse where John, Marlena, Eric, Paul, Derrick, and Claire all waited. Claire got her parents on Skype. Marlena hugged Sami.

"Oh, it's so good to see you again."

"You too, Mom." Sami replied. She turned to John and hugged him. "Good to see you, John."

"You too, Sami."

Sami turned to Claire. "And you! You're all grown up."

"Mmhmm." Claire nodded.

Sami turned to Paul and Derrick. "Congratulations, you two. Sorry I wasn't able to make the wedding."

"Thanks. And it's okay." Paul replied.

"So, Sami, what's the big news?" Eric asked.

"And Where are Will and Sonny?" Marlena asked.

"Will is at the Pub with the Bradys and Sonny is with his family." Sami replied. "They are telling them what I'm about to tell you. I'll get right to it: EJ's alive."

Marlena, John, and Eric gaped and blinked at Sami, then looked at one another. "Are you sure?"

"Yes. I saw him, talked to him..." Sami sighed. "Remember when Andre kidnapped me after the Bicentennial?"

"Yes." Marlena nodded.

"Well, I was planning my escape, when I heard gunshots." Sami explained. "I thought the police were there to rescue me. A guard came into my cell and I knocked him out and ran out. I saw EJ in the flesh. We reunited."

"Where had he been that year before?" Marlena asked.

"Stefano had him captive." Sami explained. "He wanted to reprogram EJ into a DiMera soldier. EJ broke free and escaped. He found out that Andre had kidnapped me and rescued me."

"Oh, Sami..." Marlena sighed. "You must have been overwrought. Do the kids know?"

'They do." Sami nodded. "We went into hiding from Stefano and Andre. Will and Sonny brought the kids to us."

"Wait, Will and Sonny knew, too?" Belle asked.

"Well, that should be an interesting conversation with Victor and Brady." Shawn commented.

"Yeah, no kidding." Sami said.

"Sami, why did you wait two years to tell us?" Eric asked. "You could have trusted us."

"I know. I just didn't want any of you to be in danger." Sami replied. "But, now that Andre has mellowed out some, we think now is the perfect time to tell everyone."

Marlena sighed. "I am happy for you and the kids."

"So am I." John said.

Sami smiled. "Thank you."

XXX

At the Pub, Roman and Steve set up Skype on their iPads. They got Caroline, Stephanie, Max, and Chelsea on Skype. Everyone turned to Will.

"Okay, Will. What's the big news?" Roman asked.

Will took a deep breath. "EJ's alive."

Everyone was stunned for a minute before Roman spoke. "What da hell are you talking about?"

"EJ saved my mom after she was kidnapped by Andre two years ago." Will explained. "Sonny, the kids and I all found out a couple days later."

"And you've been keeping it a secret this whole time?" Caroline asked, shocked. "Why?"

"It was the only way to protect them all from Stefano and Andre." Will replied. "Now that Andre has mellowed out some, we figured this would be a good time to tell everyone."

"Who else knew about EJ besides you and Sonny?" Steve asked.

"Chad, Abigail, and Gabi." Will admitted. "Mom's telling my grandma, John, and their family. Sonny's telling his family, Abigail's telling the Hortons, Gabi is telling her dad and brother, and Chad is telling Andre, Kate, Theo, and Abe."

"That should be an interesting conversation." Roman sighed. "I really wish you guys told us sooner. You could have trusted us."

"I know." Will nodded.

XXX

Abigail took a deep breath as she addressed Doug, Julie, Eli, Lucas, Jennifer, Hope, and JJ. "You'll understand when I tell you...I was protecting Sami and her kids, Sonny, Ari, Chad, and Thomas. EJ is alive. Kristen injected a rejuvination drug in him, he was in a coma for a few months, got physical therapy, and was held captive by Stefano, who wanted to reprogram him to be a DiMera soldier. He escaped and reunited with Sami and the kids. They've been hiding from Andre for the past three years."

Everyone stared at her in shock. Jennifer finally spoke. "Abigail, did they force you to keep this quiet?"

"No. I care about Sami's kids- my cousins, niece and nephew, my husband, and my son." Abigail replied.

"Wait, Will and Allie knew about this the whole time?" Lucas asked, angry and hurt. "How could they not tell me?!"

"I told you, Uncle Lucas. It was to protect them from Stefano and Andre." Abigail said calmly.

"So, why tell us now?" Hope asked.

"Because Stefano's dead and Andre has changed for the better." Abigail replied. JJ scoffed and shook his head. "He has, JJ."

"Great. Is he going to turn himself in for all the crimes he committed since coming back from the dead?" JJ asked. Abigail hesitated. "Yeah, exactly."

Lucas stood up. "Okay, I need to go. I want some freaking answers." He stormed out. "I cannot believe they lied to me!"

XXX

Theo and Abe walked into the living room of the mansion where Chad, Kate, and Andre sat on the couch. Chad stood up. "Good. We're all here."

"If this is about the company, I'm working hard to find out who's sabotaging it." Andre said.

"This actually nothing to do with the company." Chad said. "It has to do with EJ."

"What about EJ?" Andre asked.

"He's alive." Chad admitted.

"How-how do you know this?" Kate asked.

"He called me on the phone...last February." Chad replied.

"What?!" Kate exclaimed.

"So you've known for over a year and a half." Andre said, slightly hurt and angry.

"I wasn't sure I could trust you." Chad replied.

"How is this even possible?" Abe asked.

"Father had Kristen inject him with a rejuvination drug." Chad said.

"So both Father and Kristen knew about this?!" Andre exclaimed, angrily. "Why wouldn't Father have told me?!"

"Probably 'cause he didn't trust you, Andre." Kate commented. Andre just scoffed and shook his head. "Does anyone else know about this?"

"Yeah. Sami and the kids know. And Will...and Sonny." Chad replied.

Andre just stared at Chad. "You told a Kiriakis before you told me?"

"Actually...Sami told Will, and I guess Will told Sonny." Chad said. "They're the ones who told me and Abigail."

"So, Abigail knows about this, too." Andre said. "After everything we've gone through together, she's been keeping a secret from me!"

"She thought you already knew, Andre." Chad said, defensively. "She just didn't want to bring it up. I actually thought you knew, too."

"So why choose to tell us now?" Andre asked.

"Because you've changed." Chad said simply. "You're...sweet and almost kind now. Anyway, Gabi knows, too. She's telling her dad and brother right now. Sami is telling the Blacks, Will is telling the Bradys, Abby is telling the Hortons, and Sonny is telling the Kiriakises."

Andre chuckled. "Well, that should be an interesting conversation. Oh, I wish I could be there at the Kiriakis mansion! Learning their sweet, golden boy Sonny has kept a huge DiMera secret for two years! I'd imagine Victor won't be too pleased. He'll fire him from Titan, disown him, and kick him out of the house. He'll be shunned, Will will leave him and take the kids with him, and Sonny will end up homeless, jobless, and familyless. Then he'll be beaten to death in an alley, peed on, and his body won't be discovered for days! HAHA!"

Everyone stared at Andre, stunned. Theo blinked at him. "That was mean."

"Ah, yes, well..." Andre shrugged.

"Okay, first of all, that is my friend you're talking about." Chad glared at Andre. "Second of all, he lied because he was protecting his family. They'll understand. Third of all, if he is kicked out and fired from Titan, he'll just co-manage the Pub with Will, and they'll live above the restaurant."

Andre paused, thinking of a comeback. "Shoot."

"Wait...if Nonno could bring people back to life, could he bring my mom back, too?" Theo asked.

Chad sighed quietly. "I have no idea why Nonno didn't bring your mom back, Theo. But, I think it only works if she just barely died. Like Uncle EJ."

Theo sighed in disappointment. "Oh. I, um...I have some studying to do, so I have to go...right now. Immediately." He ran out of the room. Abe sighed and followed him.

"Hmm. He seems upset." Andre said. "I thought EJ and Theo were close?"

"They were. I think Theo just wishes that it was Lexie who came back and not EJ and he feels guilty for feeling that." Chad replied.

"That makes sense." Andre said. He stood up and walked over to the liquor cart. "So! When will EJ grace us with his presence?"

As if on cue, EJ walked through the living room doors. Chad smiled and walked over to him with open arms. "EJ!" They hugged. "I'm glad you're back, brother." He kissed him on the forehead.

EJ just smiled politely and nodded. He then glared at Andre, marched over, and punched him twice, knocking Andre to the ground. Just then, Abigail walked into the room. EJ glared at Kate, Abigail, and Chad and wagged a finger at them. "I'm very disappointed. In all of you!"

"You're dissappointed in us?! You are the one who pretended to be dead for three years!" Kate exclaimed.

"William and Samantha filled me in on what's been going on in this family over the past three years." EJ said. He turned to Chad. "You. How the bloody hell could you let Stefano encourage you to destroy your best friend's club? His dream? Sonny's been nothing but a great friend to you. Why would you do that?"

Chad sighed and shook his head. "I honestly don't know what I was thinking. I mean you once told me that Stefano was like a drug you could easily get addicted to, so...I guess I fell to temptation. I also apologized and made up for it."

EJ nodded. "Good." He turned to Andre. "You. Where do I even begin? First, you kidnap my wife, you threaten our children, then you kidnap and brainwash Chad to seduce Samantha's sister, then a few months later, you hold William and Sonny hostage, tortured Sonny, and tried to have their daughter- my granddaughter- killed. Then you threaten our brother and nephew if Chad interfered with your plan. Then you force William to kill his own aunt and mother, then you try to kill my wife and almost killed my son."

"Oh, for God's sake. That was almost two years ago!" Andre exclaimed, frustrated.

"Then fast-forward a year, you had Sonny kidnapped and beaten up! Your men also beat up William when he tried to help Sonny!" EJ yelled angrily.

"Clearly you don't know the whole story." Andre said, glaring at EJ. "Deimos Kiriakis had kidnapped Chad and Gabi in exchange for something neither Gabi's father nor I had!"

"I do know the whole story, actually." EJ replied, folding his arms. "Really, Andre? You couldn't think of another way to get Chad and Gabi back? Kidnapping is the only thing you thought of?"

"Well, gee, I don't know, EJ. What did you do when Victor had Father kidnapped after that fuels project fiasco?" Andre asked, sarcastically. "Oh, wait. You had Stephanie Johnson kidnapped as well. And Stephanie is- that's right- cousin to your precious Samantha!"

"At least I actually did my research on who Philip cared about the most!" EJ shot back. "You just snatched up the first Kiriakis that came to your mind!"

"I had less than 48 hours!" Andre argued.

"And another thing- you had several thugs at your disposal. You could have divvied them up and freaking LOOKED for Chad and Gabi!" EJ yelled.

"You know what- it would have been nice if you were here to tell me that!" Andre snapped.

"Oh, like you would have listened." EJ shot back.

"For God's sake, it was nine months ago! Get the hell over it!" Andre yelled.

"Yes, just like you got over Samantha betraying you in the War Zone, right?" EJ asked sarcastically.

Andre opened and closed his mouth a couple times. "Yeah, well...Samantha shot you in the head!"

"You are responsible for the deaths of three of our siblings and you tried to kill me twice!" EJ snapped.

"Okay, okay. You two stop arguing." Chad said, getting in between the two. "Come on. We're all brothers here."

"He's no brother of mine." EJ growled, glaring at Andre.

"Ditto." Andre turned away.

EJ turned to Kate. "You. Do you remember when Andre faked Roman's death on your wedding day, hmm? Or the time he strung you up at the Pub? And you still want to be friends with him, let alone marry him?"

"It's called forgiveness EJ. You should try it sometime." Kate replied.

EJ scoffed and turned to Abigail. "What about you? You seemed to have forgiven Andre for...let's see: kidnapping and faking the deaths of your great-grandmother, great-aunt, and father. Now, correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't your mother go to that island while she was pregnant with your brother? And they almost died because of Andre. Oh, and let's not forget kidnapping the two men you claim to be your 'favorite cousins'."

Abigail glared at EJ. "He's changed. Just like you did after you tortured my uncle, scared two of my aunts, swapped out Rafe Hernandez with a double, who, by the way, could have hurt two of my cousins and my best friend!"

"Yeah, so why don't you get off that bloody high horse of yours?" Andre suggested.

"I have paid and made up for my mistakes." EJ said. He turned back to Andre. "Have you?"

"Yes, he has! He helped me after I ran away from Salem last year." Abigail said to Andre's defense.

"All right, then. Has he made up for the crimes he's committed since your return from the dead?" EJ asked.

Abigail hesitated. "Yes."

"Aha! You hesitated." EJ exclaimed. "I see how you are now. You'll forgive anyone who has done something nice specifically to you, and you'll stay friends with them even after they've hurt your family! To hell with everyone else, right?"

"Hey! Do not talk to my wife that way again. You understand me?" Chad glared at EJ. "And if it makes you feel better, Will has been trashing Andre every chance he gets since then."

"Good. It was well-deserved." EJ nodded.

"Oh, you know what- fine!" Andre snapped, angrily. "Why don't we just replace the Horton plaque with a plaque of Sonny adn Will, since they're so special! Or rename St. Lukes to St. William's or St. Jackson's? 'Cause Will and Sonny are saints and deserve to be recognized as such!"

"I never said they were saints! I just said they are nice, decent, wonderful young men who do not deserve your cruelty!" EJ shot back.

"No...you'll just side with the Kiriakis and Brady families before our family." Andre said. Sami walked in and Andre tried to lunge for her, but EJ and Chad held him back. "You! You corrupted him! You poisoned him against the family!"

"Oh, please. You posioned him against you yourself!" Sami shot back.

"Kill...you. I'll kill you!" Andre threatened, still struggling against Chad and EJ. "I'll kill you and this time I'll make sure that finnocchio son of yours isn't around to save you this time!"

Sami fumed and lunged for Andre herself, but Abigail and Kate held her back. "JUST LET ME AT HIM!"

"Bring it, bitch!" Andre yelled, still struggling. He broke free of Chad, but EJ grabbed him and threw him back. Andre crashed through the French doors and fell unconscious.


	129. ....For The Sami/EJ Show

Everyone stared in stunned silence.

"Oh my God." Abigail said after a minute. She and Chad rushed to Andre's side. "Oh my God, you killed him!" She turned to EJ, angrily. She grabbed the front of his shirt and shook him. "You killed him, you bastard!"

"No, he didn't, Abby." Chad said assuringly. He pulled out his phone to call an ambulence.

"You know, I bet if that was Andre throwing Will or Sonny through the window, you wouldn't be accusing Andre of murder." Sami commented.

Abigail slapped Sami across the face. "How dare you!"

"Slap me all you want. It's true." Sami shot back.

"Yep." Kate nodded in agreement.

XXX

Sonny took a deep breath as he addressed his family. Philip was on Skype on Victor's tablet.

"Let me guess: this is to celebrate you becoming CEO." Brady said.

"Actually, this has nothing to do with Titan." Sonny said. "I have been keeping a secret from you guys. Please understand that I did this because I was protecting Will, Sami, and the kids. EJ's alive."

Everyone stared at him. "What?"

"How long have you known this?" Justin asked. "A-a few days?"

"It was a few days...after the bicentennial." Sonny admitted.

"The bicent..." Brady stammered. "That was two years ago! You've known since then?!"

"I'm sorry." Sonny said sincerely.

"You're sorry. You're sorry?!" Brady swept a few things off the liquor cart and glared at Sonny. "You were protecting the DiMeras, you traitor!"

"Brady! Enough!" Victor snapped.

"No, Granddad! This..." Brady turned to Victor and pointed to Sonny. "this is who you chose to be CEO. He has belated Stockholm Syndrome or something and he's helping the DiMeras! Who's to say he won't share all of Titan's trade secrets with them?"

"Brady, come on! You know I wouldn't do that!" Sonny snapped.

"I don't know what you would do anymore." Brady shook his head.

Adrienne walked in front of Sonny. "Sonny, be honest. Did they force you to keep this a secret?"

"No. No one had to force me to keep it secret." Sonny replied. "I was protecting everyone from Andre."

"The ironic moment when you get kidnapped by Andre. Twice." Brady said.

Adrienne marched over to Brady, kicked him in the shin, causing him to yell out and double over. Adrienne slammed Brady's head against the liquor cart and Brady tumbled to the ground, barely conscious.

"Are you out of your mind?!" Victor exclaimed.

"Uncle Vic." Justin said warningly.

Brady regained conscious, groaned and stood up. "What...you need your mom to fight your battles now?"

"No, I do not." Sonny glared at Brady.

"Although, it's just as well- you lose literally every single fight you get into." Brady said.

Adrienne lunged for Brady again, but Justin and Sonny held her back. "What can I say? I'm a lover, not a fighter."

"Brady, that's enough out of you." Victor said sternly.

"Why did you disown Philip for helping Deimos, and when Sonny does the exact same thing with the DiMeras, you're completely fine with it?!" Brady demanded.

"Sonny was protecting his family." Victor explained. "Philip was only protecting his own hide."

"Un-freaking-believable." Brady threw his hands up in frustration. "You know what- fine. Fine! But don't come crying to me when Sonny runs Titan to the ground!" He stormed out of the room and slammed the door shut.

Sonny looked at his Uncle Victor. "So...are we okay?"

"We're good." Victor frowned. "No more lies, understood?"

"Yes." Sonny replied. He turned to his parents. "I really am sorry for keeping this from you. It was really hard."

"I know, baby." Adrienne hugged Sonny. "It's okay."

Justin sighed and squeezed Sonny's shoulder. "I'm not happy about you keeping this a secret, but, I understand. I probably would have done the same thing."

Sonny smiled and nodded. "Thanks, Dad."

XX

Sonny headed to the Pub, which was reopened to the public. Will polised some glasses behind the bar. "Hey."

"Hi." Will kissed Sonny over the counter. "So, how'd it go?"

"Better than I expected." Sonny replied. "They were upset that I kept this a secret, but they understood. Well, my parents and Uncle Vic did. Brady freaked out and stormed out."

"Ah." Will nodded. "Kind of the same with the Bradys. Minus the freaking out."

"That's good."

XXX

Lucas stormed into the Pub looking for Will, who was behind the bar. Will sighed and braced for impact.

"Why?" Lucas asked angrily. "Why did you keep this from me? What- you didn't think I'd keep it a secret too?"

"We figured the less people who know, the better." Will explained.

"Oh, but Chad, Abigail, and Gabi can know? Really?"

"Yep." Will smiled. "Look, Dad, I am sorry, but...put yourself in Mom and EJ's position. What would you have done?"

"I would have been honest for one thing!" Lucas snapped.

"Even with the Andre-sized sword hanging over your head?" Will asked.

"Yes!" Lucas said, half-convincingly. He sighed and shook his head.

"And before you even say it, Sonny didn't force me to keep quiet about it." Will said.

Lucas scoffed. "I wasn't going to blame Sonny."

"Oh. Wow, I'm surprised." Will said sincerely.

"Why?" Lucas asked.

"I doubt you remember this since you were drunk, but, you really went off on Sonny a few weeks ago." Will replied. "You called him a coward and a whore."

Lucas looked puzzled. "Will, I don't remember that. Like you said, I was drunk. You've been drunk before. Haven't you ever said anything you didn't mean?"

"Well, nothing as bad as what you said. Which makes me wonder if you believe it." Will replied. Lucas sighed again and leaned against the counter. "I'll take your silence as a yes."

"Will you just pour me a drink, please?" Lucas asked.

Will nodded. "Okay." He cleared his throat and poured Lucas a glass of water and set it in front of him.

Lucas downed the glass. "What the hell? This is water!"

"Yep, it was." Will said simply. "You really think I'm gonna pour you an alcoholic drink? After you stole two bottles of hard liquor from this bar?"

"What! I never...!" Will pulled out his phone and pulled up the surveillance footage of Lucas stealing two bottles of liquor and heading up the stairs to the apartment. "Theft and breaking and entering."

Lucas glared at Will. "You're not gonna blackmail me. Or turn me into the police."

"No, I'm not." Will replied. "However, if it happens again...I don't care that you're my father. I will have you arrested."

Lucas smiled in spite of himself and nodded. "What if it was Sonny who did that? Would you have turned him in?"

"Nope." Will said honestly.

"Well...at least you were honest." Lucas said. He stormed out just as Sami came in.

"Hey. How'd it go at the DiMausoleum?" Will asked.

"Well, Theo got upset so he and Abe left before Abigail and I showed up." Sami said. "Andre was super mad at me and EJ."

"Oh. So, I guess we all have 48 hours to come up with a counterattack and hire bodyguards, then." Will said.

Sami scoffed. "Actually, you won't have to worry about Andre for a while. EJ threw him through the French doors of the living room."

Will laughed. "Seriously? Please tell me you have pictures!"

"I thought you might say that." Sami pulled out her phone and showed Will a picture of Andre, bloody and unconscious.

"Nice! Is he dead?" Will asked eagerly.

"Nope. EJ messed him up pretty good, but that SOB is still alive." Sami replied.

"Shoot." Will slumped in his seat. "I hope you know this means Andre is going to want to kill you now."

"I consider that a victory." Sami replied. "Besides, it kind of evens out when he threw me through those doors. I lost my voice for three months!"

"True."

"Now...I have to track down that father of yours and talk to him about his drinking and lashing out at Sonny." Sami replied, standing up. Her phone rang. "Oh- there he is. Hey, Lucas."

"Where are you?" Lucas demanded.

"I am just on my way to the Square." Sami said calmly. "Wanna meet me in the private area?"

"Yes. I'm already here." Lucas said.

"Okay. See you in a bit." Sami hung up. "Well, wish me luck."

"Good luck." Will called after Sami as she left. He pulled out his phone and texted Adrienne. "Hey, can you meet me in the private area of the Square in ten minutes? I want to talk to you about something."

"Sure! See you then." Was her reply.

Will smiled in satisfaction. That should teach Lucas a lesson.

...Hey- at least he's not writing a hatchet article about Lucas this time.

XX

Lucas paced the private area angrily. How could Sami and the kids keep this from him?! Sami walked through the gate. Lucas glared at her. "How could you keep this from me?"

"We were keeping everyone safe." Sami replied.

"'Cause I totally would have shouted from the rooftops that EJ's alive and you two were on the run with the kids." Lucas said sarcastically. "And not only did you and Will keep a secret from me and everyone else, you told our daughter to lie to me! Ethan? Really?"

"Actually, she made that up all on her own." Sami said honestly.

Lucas gestured to Sami. "And now you're throwing her under the bus."

Sami scoffed. "I am not throwing anyone under the bus! I am being honest!"

"If only you were honest two years ago." Lucas replied. "You know, Will, Ari, and Hope could have died when Andre found that fake bank account."

"That was because I stole money, not because EJ's still alive." Sami pointed out. "And you forgot a few people, by the way."

"Fine. You were almost killed, too." Lucas said. "I forgot: it's all about you. Well, you know what? I'm sick of it!"

"And I'm sick of you acting all high and mighty when you haven't been a model citizen, either!" Sami snapped. "Really, Lucas? Not only did you fall off the wagon, but you..." She scoffed and shook her head in dismay. "Will told me about how you went off on Sonny."

Unbeknownst to both of them, Adrienne appeared just as Sami said that. Adrienne was surprised. She hung back to listen in on their conversation.

Lucas heaved a sigh and threw his head back in frustration. "I was drunk."

"And that's an excuse for attacking him, calling him a coward and a whore and blaming him for Will's attempted murder?" Sami asked raising an eyebrow.

Adrienne stared in shock and anger at Lucas. How could he say that?!

"He abandoned Will!" Lucas argued.

"As much as I love our son, he was justified!" Sami shot back. "And you know what? Sonny came back! Will is alive because of him. But instead of getting down on your knees, thanking him, you trash him instead. And that was just when you were drunk. Will also told me you were pretty negative about Sonny during his war on Deimos Kiriakis. Seriously, Lucas? He was practically your stepson! Did...does Adrienne know how you feel about her son?"

"No, she doesn't. Are we done?" Lucas asked.

"No, we are not! What if Adrienne had done to Will what you did to Sonny? Hmm?" Sami asked. "She would have been out on her ass. Didn't she have a drunk, abusive father or something? And you make her son feel what she felt. You know who you sound like?"

"Like who?" Lucas asked.

"Your mother." Sami said simply. "And even Kate Roberts of all people approves of Sonny, even through his 'take down Deimos' phase!"

"Do not bring my mother into this." Lucas pointed at Sami, angrily.

"Okay, fine. After all, say what you want about Kate, but at least she never made any of her childrens' significent others cry." Sami replied.

"Sonny didn't cry." Lucas said.

"Actually, he did. You just weren't paying attention." Sami shrugged. "According to Will, he cried. What you said really hurt him."

Lucas laughed softly and shook his head. "Oh my God. What a wimp." He turned and stopped in his tracks when he saw Adrienne walking towards him angrier than he'd ever seen her.

Sami was surprised, too. "Adrienne. Uh, how long have you been here?"

"Long enough." Adrienne replied, still glaring at Lucas.

Sami could feel the tension. "Okay, I'm gonna go now. Good luck, Lucas!"

Lucas glared after her and turned to Adrienne. "Look, Adrienne, I'm sorry. I don't even remember saying any of that."

Adrienne was so mad, she could barely speak. "I understand. I said the same thing about Will. But, you know what? I overcame that. I acknowledged that Will has become a better person. He was there for Sonny through his hard times over the last two years, he makes him happy, he gave him two sons and a daughter. He saved Sonny when he was kidnapped. He was the first person who realized something was off when Bonnie impersonated me. Those events changed my feelings for Will for the better. I moved past those negative feelings. Why didn't you?"

"What my son did wasn't as bad as what yours did!" Lucas snapped.

That did it. Adrienne jammed her thumbnails in Lucas' eyes. Lucas screamed in pain and stumbled backwards. Then Adrienne punched Lucas, and he fell over, banging his head on the bench armrest and tumbled to the ground. Adrienne knelt next to him and covered his mouth and nose. Barely conscious, Lucas grabbed Adrienne's wrist and tried to throw her off. "If you ever hurt my son again, your death will last for days. Do you understand me?!"

Lucas whimpered and nodded. Adrienne released Lucas, who fell unconscious. Adrienne stood up, raised her knee up high, stomed on Lucas' stomach, and stormed off.

Will appeared from behind the gate. He had seen the entire thing. He checked to make sure Lucas was alive, which he was, but he was unconscious. Without thinking, Will punched the ground a few times, groaned in pain, stood up and slammed himself against the brick wall. It had just started to rain at this point. He groaned in pain again and called the police.

XX

Once the ambulence and police showed up, Will had his story figured out.

"So, Mr. Horton, can you please tell me what happened here?" The policeman asked.

"My dad was drunk. We started arguing, then it got physical." Will lied.

"Who attacked first?"

"My dad." Will lied again.

"So, it was self-defense?" The policeman asked to be sure.

"Yes, it was." Will replied.

"All right, well, we'll definitely question your father when he wakes up." The policeman replied.

"I'm sure you will." Will replied. 'Sorry, Dad, but this is for your own good.'


	130. A Favor

Justin walked into the living room and saw Adrienne wrapping her hand in a bandage. "Adrienne?" Adrienne looked up at Justin, who rushed over to her. "What happened?"

Adrienne laughed softly. "Would you believe me if I said I tripped and scraped my hand outside?"

"Not even for one second." Justin said simply.

Adrienne sighed heavily. "I don't know what came over me. I mean, I doubt even Sami or Kate would have done this. Hell, they didn't do this."

"Do what?" Justin asked.

"I beat Lucas half to death." Adrienne admitted.

Justin was so shocked, he laughed. Adrienne stared at him. "Wait...you're serious? You..." Adrienne nodded. Justin was perplexed. "Why?"

"I overheard Sami and Lucas arguing. First about his drinking problem, then about his mistreatment of Sonny." Adrienne explained.

That surprised Justin. "What mistreatment? I thought Lucas liked Sonny!"

"I know. So did I." Adrienne replied. "But, apparently, a couple months ago, Lucas went off on Sonny when he was drunk."

"What did he say?" Justin asked.

"He blames Sonny for Will's attempted murder by Ben. He claimed that Sonny abandoned Will, and he called him a coward." Adrienne replied, her voice shaking. "Sami also revealed that Lucas was pretty negative about Sonny during his war on Deimos. And he also implied that Sonny is a whore because he had so many girlfriends and boyfriends after he came out. According to Sami, Lucas made our son cry."

"What?!" Justin cried angrily.

"I know. And Lucas laughed and called him a wimp." Adrienne replied.

"That is not okay." Justin said with controlled anger.

"It's the opposite of okay." Adrienne said. "Anyway, that's when I walked in on their conversation. Sami left-"

"Mm. Does Lucas think she's a coward, too?" Justin asked.

Adrienne laughed softly. "Good point. I confronted him about what I overheard. He apologized, and I asked him why he didn't get past his negative feelings about our son when I got past my negative feelings for his- especially when Will has been a model husband since his attempted murder. He said what Sonny did was worse than what Will did to him, and I snapped. I clawed his eyes out, kneed him, smashed his head against the bench armrest, threatened to kill him if he ever hurt Sonny again while suffocating him. He nodded, then I let go, stood up, and stomped on his chest before storming off."

Justin blinked in shock. "Wow. You know, next time there's a threat to our family, instead of hiring a bodyguard for Sonny, why don't we just use you?"

Adrienne laughed. "I doubt Sonny would agree to that."

"You're right, it's too dangerous." Justin replied.

Adrienne sighed quietly. "I just feel like I wasted two and a half years of my life with Lucas. I mean, why did he get together with me if he didn't like my son?"

"Uh..." Justin scoffed. "Gee, I don't know. Why did you get back together with me if you don't like my uncle?"

"Key word: uncle. Not son." Adrienne replied. "Totally different."

"Okay. Good point." Justin replied. "Does Sami feel the same way about Sonny?"

"Well, she agrees that Sonny abandoned Will, but Sonny redeemed himself in her eyes when he came back and saved Will." Adrienne replied. "Sami defended Sonny." She sighed. "I guess this is karma. I was pretty negative about Will, and now Lucas is pretty negative about Sonny."

"To be fair, you were right." Justin reminded her. "But, I agree- Will has redeemed himself."

Adrienne smiled and nodded. "Guess I owe Bonnie a favor now. If it weren't for her, Hattie's, and Anjelica's crazy plan, I would have married Lucas and all his secret, negative feelings about Sonny."

"Right?" Justin laughed softly. "Well, I guess Lucas got what he deserved."

"I overreacted, though. He's probably blind now or his brain is damaged..." Adrienne sighed. Justin's phone rang. "Go ahead. It might be one of your clients."

"You sure?" Justin asked.

"Yeah, I'm sure." Adrienne stood up. "I think I'll go upstairs and take a nap."

"Okay." Justin replied. He answered his phone. "Justin Kiriakis here. ... Oh, hey, Will. ... What?! Okay. I'm on my way."

XXX

Kate rushed through the waiting room and saw Kayla. "Where is he?"

"He's in recovery."

"What happened?!"

"Someone brutally beat him up." Kayla replied. "Both his corneas are scratched out, a few ribs are cracked, he has a concussion, and slight brain damage."

"Who would do this?!" Kate exclaimed, her voice cracking.

"I have no idea. You'll have to talk to the police." Kayla replied.

"Believe me. I will." Kate growled.

XXX

Justin walked into the interrogation room and sat across from Will. "What happened to you?"

"Well...my dad and I were arguing, things got heated, then violent. I defended myself." Will replied. "I clawed his eyes out, bashed his head against the bench armrest, punched him repeatedly, started to suffocate him, then cracked one of his ribs."

Justin was puzzled. That's what Adrienne said she did to Lucas. He sighed, made sure no one was listening, then leaned forward. "Will...Adrienne told me she beat your dad up half to death. She did the same things you said you did. Wanna tell me why you're covering for her?"

Will sighed. Busted. "She's been through a lot. And if Kate knew that Adrienne almost killed my dad, what Adrienne did will seem like a walk in the park compared to what Kate will do to Adrienne."

"Is that it?" Justin asked.

"No. There's a chance that my dad won't remember who put him in the hospital." Will replied. "If he thinks that he attacked me and I almost killed him in self-defense...I'm hoping he'll realize he needs help, and he'll go to rehab."

"Mm-hmm. And what if he remembers that Adrienne did it?" Justin asked.

"Then I will have committed perjury, and I could go to jail for that." Will said simply. "He wouldn't want me to go to jail."

"The guy who chose his husband over his father and covered for his mother-in-law?" Justin raised an eyebrow. "I mean, I wouldn't, if any of my sons did that to me, but that's just me."

"Well, he probably won't talk to me or forgive me for a long time, but I'm okay with that." Will shrugged.

"Are you?" Justin raised an eyebrow. Will didn't move or say anything. Justin sighed. "Okay. Well...thank you for taking the blame. You're right- Adrienne has been through too much over the last couple years."

"You're welcome." Will replied.

XX

Kate stormed into the detective area and saw Rafe. "Rafe. I want to know who put my son in the hospital."

Rafe took a deep breath. "Will."

Kate grabbed him by the tie and pulled him closer. "Will...who?"

XX

"Okay. I will get you out on bail, then we'll wait for your dad to wake up, then we'll go from there." Justin replied.

"Great." Will replied. "Thanks."

Kate burst into the room and glared at Justin. "You. You put him up to this!"

"No, he didn't, Grandma. In fact, he bailed me out." Will said.

"I'll let you two talk." Justin said. He left the room.

"Honey, what happened?" Kate asked.

"Dad and I were arguing, then things got heated. He shoved me against the brick wall of the gate in the private area of the Square." Will lied. "I attacked back."

"Liar. Your dad would never in a million years hurt you like that!" Kate snapped angrily.

"Well, maybe not sober." Will shrugged. "Grandma, I'm sorry, but it's the God's honest truth."

"Okay, even if he did attack you, you would never beat your father almost to death." Kate said.

"You're wrong. I totally almost killed him." Will said, trying to look guilty.

Kate glared at him. "Why?"

'I just told you: he attacked me. I acted in self-defense." Will said.

"You had to beat him so bad, he landed in the hospital?" Kate asked, angrily. "How dare you? He raised you better than this! Is this..." She scoffed and shook her head. "This is because of Sonny, isn't it? He trashed Sonny, then you beat him up. Un. Believable. You know what- I have trashed literally every single one of my childrens' significent others, I put your mother on death row! And still nobody beat me up."

"They would never." Will commented.

Kate scoffed, shook her head, and stood up. "Unless you're there to apologize for beating him up, you're to stay away from my son."

"Are you gonna press charges?" Will asked.

"No. I won't press charges." Kate said. "It'll be the last favor I ever do for you." She walked out and slammed the door shut.

Sami walked up to Kate as she closed the door. "Hey, Kate. I just heard about Lucas being in the hospital. I came here for answers."

"Your answer is right in there." Kate pointed to the door of the interrogation room and stormed off.

Sami looked after her, confused. Then she walked into the interrogation room and was even more confused to see Will sitting handcuffed to the chair. "Will?! What happened to you?"

"Dad and I got into a fight. He shoved me against the brick wall of the private area, and I beat him up." Will lied.

Sami nodded. Then she remembered her and Lucas arguing in the private area, then Adrienne showed up angrier than she'd ever seen her. "You knew I was going to meet your dad. Did you follow me?"

"Yep."

"So, after I stormed off, you showed up." Sami guessed.

"Exactly." Will lied.

"So, you also saw Jennifer talking to your dad after I fought with him." Sami guessed.

"Yep!" Will smiled.

Sami smiled back. "Will...Jennifer was nowhere near the private area today. Adrienne was, however."

"Really? I didn't see her." Will lied.

Sami was growing more suspicious of Will. "Will...did you lie to protect Adrienne?"

"Why would you think that?" Will asked nonchalantly.

"Will." Sami said seriously. "This is me you are talking to. I know how much you hate your dad right now. You knew I was going to meet him and talk to him about his treatment of Sonny, and ten minutes later, Adrienne shows up-" Something occurred to Sami... "Oh my God, did you send her there?!"

Will gave in. "You know, if it makes you feel better, I had no idea she was going to beat Dad up."

"Oh my-" Sami scoffed and shook her head. "I knew you hate your dad right now. I just didn't realize how much. I guess I should have expected this. After all, this isn't the first time you've chosen someone over your parents. I guess your dad should feel lucky that that's all you did." She stood up and walked to the door.

"Mom," Will said. Sami stopped, but didn't turn around. "you're not gonna turn Adrienne in, are you?"

Sami scoffed and shook her head. Considering Adrienne had her sent to prison herself...but then, Will would be arrested for perjury. She turned around. "Why? So you can trash me every chance you get?"

"You know what? I am getting sick of being lectured about that! Andre deserved it!" Will snapped.

"I know he deserved it! But he could have snapped and had you killed or worse because of it!" Sami argued. She sighed and shook her head. "I won't turn Adrienne in, but only because you would go to jail for perjury." She stormed out.

XXX

Sonny walked down the hallway towards his and Will's wing. He heard Adrienne whimpering and crying in her room and went in.

"No...no, please. I can't breathe. I can't breathe!" Adrienne was tossing and turning.

Sonny rushed over and shook her gently. "Hey, Mom. Mom, wake up. You're having a nightmare."

Adrienne sat bolt upright and opened her eyes. She gasped and burst into tears and hugged Sonny. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

Sonny hugged back and rubbed her back comfortingly. "It's okay. You have nothing to apologize for."

Adrienne pulled away. "Yes, I do. I know Lucas went off on you when he was drunk."

"Oh..." Sonny sat back. "Look, Mom, he was drunk and hurting-"

"That's not an excuse!" Adrienne snapped angrily. She jumped out of bed and shook her head. "You know...all the time when I was younger, my dad made me cry. Do you know what I thought the very worst thing would be? That my childrens' dad would make them cry, too. Or in Lucas' case, mom's boyfriend/fiance."

"Come on. Lucas isn't even close to the person Grandpa Duke was." Sonny reasoned.

"No, you're right. Lucas only made you cry once." Adrienne quipped. She sighed and sat down on a chair. "I guess I should have seen it coming: 'Luke', 'Duke'- talk about forshadowing."

Sonny noticed Adrienne's hand. "What happened to your hand?"

Adrienne sighed deeply. "I overheard Sami and Lucas arguing about his mistreatment of you."

"And you hit him? You realize he could press charges?" Sonny asked.

"I know." Adrienne said. "I don't know what came over me."

"Well, I'm no psychologist, but...it could be PTSD." Sonny suggested.

Adrienne nodded. "I think you might be right." She stood up and walked over to her phone. "I'll schedule an appointment with Marlena."

Sonny smiled and hugged his mom. "I'm here for you. Even though you don't think it's right."

Adrienne laughed. "Well, I did take care of my mom for a long time. I just don't think any child should do that. It should be the other way around until said parents are in their eighties and nineties."

"Oh, so I only have to wait 30 years to take care of you." Sonny half-joked.

Adrienne smacked him playfully. "Hey!" They laughed. "Don't get me wrong. I do appreciate and love you for wanting to take care of me. It just feels a little weird to depend on your children for stuff like that."

"Okay, I get it." Sonny replied, nodding. "I'll leave you alone to call Marlena."

XX

Sonny headed downstairs just as Will walked into the house. Sonny noticed some bruises on Will's face. "Will! Oh my God, what happened?"

"It's nothing that won't heal." Will assured him.

"Still...did someone do this to you?" Sonny asked.

Will sighed. "Your mom beat my dad half to death earlier today."

"I know. My mom told me." Sonny replied.

"I witnessed the end of it. She's gone through too much these last few years, and I figured that if my dad thought he attacked me and I almost killed him in self-defense, he would realize that he needs help." Will explained. "So, I hurt myself to make it look like self-defense and..."

"You perjured yourself." Sonny nodded. "Okay, I'm not gonna lie- I am grateful that you took the blame for my mom, but, what if your dad remembers who really almost killed him?"

"I still committed perjury. That's a criminal offense, so, I'm hoping my dad won't let me go to prison despte everything that happened." Will replied.

Sonny sighed and nodded. "Okay. So, are you out on bail, or...?"

"Yeah. Your dad's working hard to clear me, so..." Will shrugged.

"Okay. Sounds good." Sonny replied.

Will nodded. "I'm gonna head upstairs to check on the boys."

"Okay." Sonny watched Will head upstairs and the doorbell rang. He opened the door to Sami, who was smiling politely. "Hey, Sami. Come on in."

"Sonny." Sami greeted and walked in. "Can we talk? Privately?"

"Sure." They headed into the living room. "What's up?"

"I know the truth about what happened earlier. Will told me." Sami said. Sonny looked nervous. "Don't worry, I'm not gonna turn your mom in. Only because if I did, then Will would go to jail for perjury."

"Okay. Thanks."

Sami nodded. "Over the last year and a half, I realized just how much my son loves you. I think his love for you is even bigger than my love for EJ, which is really saying something, 'cause I was willing to sacrifice everything to be with him despite all his...mistakes. I've seen what happens when people screw Will over, and what happens when people screw you over. I just want to make sure that you don't screw him over or hurt him."

"I won't." Sonny promised.

"Good. 'Cause if you do, after everything Will has done for you and how much he defends your honor- even risking his relationships with Lucas, Chad, Abby, Kate, and Gabi- that would just destroy him." Sami said. "And that, I think, would be and even worse punishment for you than anything Kate, Lucas, and I would dish out."

Sonny swallowed and nodded. "Okay. I agree."

Sami smiled and nodded. "Good. I'll see you around."

"Oh, wait, Sami..." Sonny grabbed her arm, gently. "I wanted to talk to you about something, too."

"Okay."

"I'm throwing Will a surprise birthday party." Sonny announced.

Sami was surprised, herself. "Really? But he hates surprise parties."

"Well, it's his 25th birthday." Sonny replied. "And, four years ago, when we thought you, Kate, and Gabi were planning a surprise birthday party for him, he kept talking about it and acted like he actually would like it if you threw a surprise party for him."

"Really?" Sami repeated. "Oh. Well, okay, great! This is exciting!"

"Great! It's gonna be on his actual birthday at the Pub." Sonny replied.

"Can't wait! Everyone's invited, right?"

"Yep. Everyone except Andre." Sonny replied.

Sami scoffed. "Knowing him, he'll crash, anyway."

"Chad is going to make sure he doesn't." Sonny promised.

"Okay, good." Sami nodded.

XXX

Sami walked into the DiMera living room. She glanced at the broken French doors, which were now covered with thick plastic to keep the cold out and sighed. She smiled and laughed softly as EJ came up behind her hand hugged her and kissed her head. "Hey."

"Hi." EJ greeted.

Sami sighed again, turned around, and hugged EJ back. "You would not believe the afternoon I've had."

"Mm. Try me." EJ said.

Sami told EJ everything- from meeting Will at the Pub to meeting Lucas in the private area, then Will getting arrested for beating up Lucas half to death.

"He is protecting Adrienne." Sami explained. "Mama bear on steriods, I swear..."

EJ chuckled. "Come on. Like you wouldn't do the same?"

"Yeah, good point." Sami replied. "On a happier note, Sonny is throwing Will a surprise party."

"Really? I thought William hated surprise parties."

"Well, he'll like this one." Sami's eyes glinted.

"Ah, it's wonderful to be back." Sami and EJ turned to see Andre grinning and walking into the living room. They stared in shock.

"How?!" Sami exclaimed.

"I have a wonderful doctor with an excellent healing serum." Andre replied. "Oh- I would have given you some back when you fell through the glass doors, but, heh, I wanted you to suffer."

EJ scoffed. "I suppose you're gonna press charges now."

"Actually...I won't be." Andre folded his arms and continued smiling. "In return, you both will owe me a favor."

Sami glared at him. "What favor?"

"I'll let you know when I need it." Andre said simply, then left the room.

Sami scoffed, shook her head, and turned to EJ. "Who is this mysterious doctor, and what is this magical serum?"

"I don't know." EJ shook his head. "There are things even I didn't know about."

"Well, I'm definitely gonna find out." Sami said with determination.

"Samantha..."

"Oh, relax, I'll be careful." Sami said. She stood up and ran from the room.

EJ sighed and rubbed his temples. 'Here we go again...'


	131. Shooting Star

Lucas groaned lightly as he woke up on a hospital bed. His eyes, head, and chest hurt a little. He realized he was wearing a sleep mask. He tried to pull it off, but someone stopped him.

"Honey, no, don't take that off." Kate said.

Lucas sighed. "What happened to me?"

"Your corneas were scratched out. You need surgery." Kate explained.

Lucas was stunned. "Who the hell did this to me?!"

Kate hesitated. "What do you remember?"

"Um..." Lucas sighed again. "I remember yelling at Will for keeping EJ being alive a secret from me. Then I called Sami and told her to meet me. We argued. That's all I remember."

"Will told me he argued with you...you attacked him, and he beat you up in self-defense." Kate admitted.

Lucas was shocked and horrified. "I...what? No. No! I would never!"

"Are you saying you didn't attack Will?" Kate asked.

"I don't remember it." Lucas sniffed. "Oh my God, Mom, what have I done?"

Kate sighed deeply. "Maybe you should take this opportunity and really look at your life choices."

Lucas swallowed, nodded, and sniffed. "Sami's gonna kill me. I'll never see my daughter again."

Kate just squeezed Lucas' hand comfortingly.

XXX

Rafe walked through the Square drinking coffee, when he saw a familiar face wandering around. "Jordan?"

Jordan Ridgeway turned around and smiled when she saw Rafe. "Rafe! Hey!" They hugged.

"How are you?"

"I'm fine." Jordan replied. "I figured it was high time I visited my brother at Bayview. The doctors say he's improving slightly, especially after I visited the first time."

"Oh. Well, that's good." Rafe replied.

"So, how about you? What have you been up to?" Jordan asked.

"Well, I'm engaged to Hope. Well, I was..." Rafe sighed sadly.

"Hope Brady?" Jordan asked in surprise.

"Yeah, it's a long story." Rafe said.

"Wanna talk about it? We can go to my hotel room." Jordan offered.

"Sure. Thanks."

XXX

"Well, this will be fun. I've never been to two surprise parties in two weeks."

Lani and JJ lay in bed in their room at the Martin House. JJ threw Lani a surprise birthday party with Abe, Valerie, Theo, and Claire.

"Yeah, well, it's not your fault you and Will share the same birthday month." JJ shrugged. "I have a feeling his party is gonna be bigger, though."

"Yeah, well, it's not Will's fault he's related to half the town." Lani smirked. They laughed. Both their phones rang. Lani groaned. "Happy birthday to me. Duty calls."

XXX

A few hours later, Sami called Will.

"Hey, Mom. What's up?"

"It's Theo. He's been shot." Sami said.

Will was shocked. "Oh my God! Is he gonna be okay? What happened?"

"JJ shot him."

Will was even more shocked. "What?! Why?!"

"He was responding to a break-in at a warehouse. Theo ran through Horton Town Square, he was holding what looked like a gun, so JJ told him to 'drop the gun'. He didn't. Theo started to turn around, and JJ thought he was going to shoot him, so...he shot Theo." Sami replied. "JJ apparently didn't know it was Theo or he wouldn't have shot him."

"Oh my God..." Will sighed and shook his head, trying to process this. "this is messed up."

"Yeah." Sami agreed. "Both Chad and EJ went off on Andre because they think he's responsible."

"He probably is." Will nodded.

"Yeah. Anyway, we're all going to the hospital- Theo is still in surgery."

"Okay. I'll tell Sonny, and we'll both be there soon." Will said.

XXX

Sonny and Will stepped off the elevator. EJ, Sami, Chad, Lani, Abe, and Claire were all gathered for more news.

"Hey, hey, how's Theo?" Chad asked Lani.

"He's still in surgery." Lani replied.

"Okay." Chad turned to Abe. "Abe, I am... I'm so sorry."

"Does that mean you're admitting the DiMeras are behind this?" Abe asked.

Chad was taken aback. "What?"

"Hey, Dad, don't do this, okay?" Lani pleaded.

"Listen, Abe-"

"You two really are DiMeras." Abe interrupted EJ. "Right down to the feigned innocence."

"Theo is half DiMera. I don't know why you would think that we had anything to do with this." Chad said.

"Really? You really don't?" Abe snapped. "Well, maybe it's because it's happened before. You sent my son, my innocent, trusting son to deal with Dario Hernandez. He broke the law. He put himself in harm's way because the DiMeras- his family-asked him to."

"I know. I know." Chad said.

"And then after all that..." Abe continued. "after all that, you gave me your word that your family would never involved theo in anything illegal again. And now he... he is fighting for his life because... he went down to the docks in the middle of the night to break into a building and there is only one possible explanation. A DiMera asked him to."

"Abe, I'm telling you that EJ and I have no idea what he was doing down there." Chad insisted.

"The DiMera denial. It's so smooth." Abe shook his head.

"Dad, please-"

Chad waved Lani off. "No, no, no, it's fine. Look, Abe, I understand why you would be skeptical. Okay, I do, but I'm telling you the truth, okay? The minute I found out, I went straight to Andre and I grilled him myself. He swears he had nothing to do with it."

"And you believed him?" Abe asked.

"If I didn't believe him, I'd kill him myself." Chad said simply. "That I swear. I love Theo. I love Theo, okay, and I am sick to death about what happened too. Abe..."

"I know you are." Lani assured him.

Chad sighed and turned to her. "How are you doing?"

Just then, Kayla walked up to them looking grave.

"Kayla? Oh, my god." Abe saw her expression and was overcome with dread.

"What happened? How's Theo?" Lani asked.

"As I told you, the gunshot wound was very close to Theo's heart. There was damage to a major blood vessel. The surgery was very complex. Valerie needed to do a bypass, which is always risky." Kayla said.

"Well, just tell me. Tell me how he is." Abe said.

Kayla shook her head. "No, you need to know that anyone who has this type of heart surgery is at risk for an embolism."

"Is that what he had?" Lani asked.

"And it led to an ischemic stroke." Kayla finished.

"What the hell does that mean?" Abe asked.

"It means that Theo is in a coma." Kayla explained.

Chad fell back a little. "No."

Will put his arm around Claire, who was trembling. "How long is Theo gonna be in this coma?"

"Are they still working on him?" EJ asked.

"Valerie and the surgical team are still with him. It's very complicated and we can't be certain of the outcome." Kayla replied.

"Are you telling me that he might never come out of the coma?" Abe asked. Kayla hesitated. "Kayla... tell me the truth."

"That is possible." Kayla replied.

Lani, Sami, and Claire all burst into tears. Chad and EJ hugged Lani and Sami respectively. Claire broke free of Will's grasp and ran towards the private waiting room. Kayla took Abe to see Theo and Will headed after Claire.

Sonny turned to everyone else. "I'm so sorry. Look, I think it's probably best that I just cancel Will's surprise party."

"Sonny, no." Sami said.

"It's just...not a good time right now. Not with Theo in a coma. How could I even consider it?" Sonny asked.

"Hey..." Lani squeezed Sonny's arm gently. "I may not have known Theo as long as everyone else here, but I know that Theo would not want anyone to put their lives on hold on his account."

"She's absolutely right, Sonny." EJ said, walking up to them. "He'd feel terrible."

"Besides, we need something to cheer us up, right?" Chad asked.

"Exactly!" Sami said.

Sonny smiled. "Okay. If you guys are sure."

"We are." Chad assured him. They hugged.

XX

Will headed towards the private waiting room and ran into Kate. "Oh, hi. I was just...Claire headed this way, so I thought I'd check on her."

Kate nodded. "Tripp is with her. She'll be fine."

"Okay. Great." Will replied. "How are you holding up?"

Kate exhaled slowly. "I'll be okay."

"Good." Will replied. "I'll just go then, since Claire's in good hands."

"Okay. See you around."

XXX

The next day, Will went over to JJ's room. JJ opened the door looking very disheveled.

"Hey, JJ. I just came to see how you're holding up." Will said.

JJ sighed and stepped aside to let Will in. "I shot an innocent kid. How do you think I'm holding up?"

"You didn't know it was Theo." Will said.

"I shouldn't even be a police officer." JJ ranted and flopped on the bed.

Will sighed and sat down. "JJ, you made one little mistake. Think of all the great things you did in the last two years: you found Abigail after Ben kidnapped her, you've saved people from burning buildings, you found Sonny and that little girl within three hours of their kidanppings. Don't you think all those things cancel out that one mistake?"

JJ paused. "Not really, no. Honestly, I don't think anything's gonna make me feel better."

"JJ, you can't beat yourself up over this. It was an accident." Will said. "I'm sure Theo would forgive you."

"Yeah, well...we may never know." JJ said. "He may never wake up."

Will nodded. Clearly they were not going to get anywhere with this. "Hey...I'm here for you, you know that, right? If you ever need to talk..."

"Thanks." JJ said dully.

XXX

Meanwhile, Lucas lay in his bed quietly, trying to remember what had happened that day. He argued with Will, then argued with Sami. Then apparently, he argued with Will again, attacked him, and he attacked back in self-defense. But, did that really happen? The more he thought about it, the more it came back to him. He argued with Sami...then Adrienne showed up. Then Sami left. Then did he and Adrienne argue. Lucas stifled a yawn, then remembered Adrienne almost suffocating him. He gasped and sat bolt upright. "Oh my God. Will didn't beat me up, it was Adrienne!"


	132. Surprise, Surprise

Sami walked through the nurses' station to Lucas' room. As she walked in, she heard him say "Oh my God. Will didn't beat me up. It was Adrienne!"

"I was wondering if you'd ever figure it out." Sami said.

"Sami?" Lucas asked.

"Yeah." Sami sat at the end of Lucas' bed.

"Why? Why did everyone make me think I hit Will and he tried to kill me in self-defense?" Lucas asked, angrily.

"Will saw the end of your fight with Adrienne." Sami explained. "She had gone through a lot in the last couple years, so he took the blame. He also thought that if you thought you beat up Will and he tried to kill you in self-defense, that you would realize that you need help."

Lucas exhaled sharply and shook his head. "I cannot believe he chose Sonny and Adrienne over me."

"You're surprised?" Sami asked, raising an eyebrow. "Have you learned nothing about what happened with me, Abigail, and EJ after their affair and after I got Abigail fired and yelled at her?"

"Guess not."

"Really. Will committed perjury, which he could go to jail for." Sami said. "Are you gonna press charges?"

"Why in god's name should I help him after what he did to me?" Lucas asked.

"Because he's your son and you love him no matter what." Sami replied. "What he did to me was way worse, and I still forgave him and love him."

Lucas sighed and blinked away tears. "I won't press charges. It's my fault, anyway. I shouldn't have gone off on Sonny like that. All because I was jealous."

"Jealous? Of what?" Sami asked, shocked.

"How many women have I been with over the last twenty years?" Lucas asked. "And how many have screwed me over? Will meets one guy five minutes after he's out of the gate, and he found the right one? Really?"

"So, you're jealous because Will found the right guy the very first try and you didn't?" Sami asked, astounded. She scoffed in disbelief. "Well, I mean, so am I, but, then I am just glad that it didn't take him as long as I did to find the right one."

Lucas sighed again. "Wow...you know you've really stepped in it when Sami Brady is a better person than you."

Sami laughed softly. "Well, guess you finally had a breakthrough."

XXX

After finally getting through to Lucas, Sami headed to the Kiriakis mansion. Adrienne answered when Sami knocked.

"Oh, hi, Sami. The boys are asleep." Adrienne said.

"Oh, that's okay. I'm here to see you." Sami replied. "Can we talk?"

"Sure. Let's go into the living room." They went into the living room where Will, Sonny, and Justin were talking. "Oh."

"Mom. Hey, what are you doing here?" Will asked.

"Well, I was going to talk to Adrienne, but, you all can hear this, too." Sami said. She cleared her throat. "Lucas remembers that it was Adrienne who beat him up and not-"

"I-is he gonna press charges?" Will asked, interrupting.

"No, he is not." Sami replied.

"He understands though, why Adrienne did it, right?" Justin asked.

"Yes, he does." Sami nodded. "I'm not in any way excusing his actions or apologizing for him, but...you should know that he attacked Sonny out of jealousy."

"For what? For being rich?" Justin asked.

"No. He doesn't care about that." Sami shook her head. "Lucas has had so many failed relationships, and the first real one that Will had, he got it right. It was...not totally perfect, but it was close."

"So, he's jealous that he's had so many failed relationships and I haven't?" Will asked, shocked. "What, does he want me to have failed relationships, too?"

"Well, no, of course not." Sami replied. "Anyway, after that, I finally got through to him. He finally admitted to himself that he needs help. So, your plan worked after all, Will."

The men cringed slightly and Adrienne was confused. "What plan?"

"Uh..." Sami looked at Will, who shook his head warningly. "You know, I must be losing my mind. Heh. Anyway, I'll see you guys on Thursday!" She left.

Justin's phone rang after an awkward pause. "Ooh, that's a client. I better take this." He left the room.

The boys were fussing over the monitor. "I'll take care of them." Adrienne volunteered and left the room.

"Whew. Crisis averted." Sonny replied, smiling.

"What's on Thursday?" Will asked.

"Well...what date is Thursday?" Sonny asked, smirking.

"Oh." Realization dawned on Will, and he slumped back. "Right. My birthday."

"You don't sound too excited." Sonny noticed. "Don't tell me you're going through a mid-life crisis already!"

"I'm not, it's just..." Will sighed. "With everything that's happening with Theo...it just seems a bit tactless to be celebrating."

"Hey...I've known Theo since he was a kid. You've known him for much longer." Sonny said. "I know that he would feel terrible if everyone put their lives on hold on his account. I'm sure his family would feel the same way."

Will thought about that and nodded. "Well, okay. But just a small celebration. Nothing too elaborate."

"Of course." Sonny nodded.

Will smiled and kissed Sonny. "Thanks." He stood up and left the room.

XXX

Justin knocked on Lucas' hospital room door and opened it. He walked in and closed it.

"Who's there?" Lucas asked.

"Oh. Right- I forgot you can't see right now." Justin said.

"You again." Lucas deadpanned.

"Yep! Hey, mind if I took a picture?" Justin pulled out his phone. "Smile!" He clicked a photo. "Ooh, nice! The light accentuates your bruises perfectly!"

"Get the hell out of my room or I will call security." Lucas said through gritted teeth.

"Oh, I will, but first, I have a few questions for you." Justin sat at the edge of Lucas' bed. "So, when Sami abandoned you to deal with Adrienne, does that make her a coward, too?"

Lucas just glared at him. "Very funny."

Justin chuckled. "And you know, I would think you would actually like whores since your mom is one-"

"Watch it." Lucas said warningly.

"And you're friends with one." Justin continued. "Chloe, right? Unless of course you don't know the difference between a whore and someone who's social. Well, anyway, I hope you learned your lesson, 'cause if you haven't...well, that would be very bad for you." He stood up and ruffled Lucas' hair, then walked out. "Later, Mucus!"

"Later, disgustin' Justin!" Lucas retorted.

XX

Justin walked into the Kiriakis living room where Victor, Brady, and Eve were talking. "Good. The three of you are here. I have something to show you guys." He showed the group the picture of Lucas in his hospital bed.

"Whoa! What happened to Lucas?" Brady asked, shocked.

"He was beat up." Justin replied. "This is what happens to people who hurt my son."

"How did Lucas hurt Sonny?" Victor asked.

"By calling him a coward and a whore." Justin replied.

"What?! Has he met Eve or Chloe?" Victor asked again as Eve glared at him.

"I know. Really." Justin said.

"Who did this to Lucas? You?" Brady asked.

"The only way to find out...is to insult or undermine Sonny..." He turned to Brady and Eve, then turned to Victor "or be an unsupportive asshole."

"So, we're supposed to coddle him, is that it?" Victor asked, raising an eyebrow.

"No, of course not. I'm just saying be nice...or beware." Justin said.

Eve chuckled and the men turned to her. "Sorry, that was just catchy and...yeah."

"So, seriously- who beat up Lucas?" Brady asked. "It can't be you, since your knuckles aren't messed up."

"And Adrienne is half Lucas' size. It couldn't be her." Victor said.

"Will. Oh my God, it was totally Will." Brady scoffed and shook his head. "Should have known. He freaks out on anyone who makes the slightest critical remark about Sonny. Seriously, what the hell kind of person just beats up their dad over someone they love? The man gave him life!" Everyone stared at Brady pointedly. "What? What?!"

"...Well, at least Lucas isn't elderly." Victor remarked.

"Oh, yeah. I'm actually surprised Will hadn't beaten Andre up yet." Brady remarked, Victor's comment flying right over his head.

"Okay, on that note, message delivered." Justin waved his phone at them, slightly, then walked out.

XXX

On Thursday, November 16th, Roman closed the Pub for the afternoon, and he, Sonny, Sami, and Gabi decorated the restaurant with balloons and streamers. Roman sent Will to Chicago for some supplies. He would be gone long enough for them to decorate and for all the guests to get to the Pub and hide. Almost everyone in Will's family who were in Salem at the moment were there.

Sonny pulled Sami aside. "There's no way Andre would crash this thing, right?"

"Nope." Sami smiled triumphantly and looked to make sure Chad, Kate, and Abigail weren't listening. "I drugged his coffee with three sleeping pills. He'll be out all evening."

"Good." Sonny nodded. He texted Will "Where are you?" A minute later, Will responded. "I'm five minutes away from the Pub." Sonny smiled. 'Showtime!' He walked to the front of the Pub and addressed everyone. "All right, everyone, if I could have your attention!" Everyone quieted down and turned to Sonny. "Will is going to be here any minute now. Remember: wait until Will shuts the door behind him, then we'll all jump out and yell 'surprise'! All right, places, everyone!"

Everyone hid behind booths and the bar. Roman turned the lights off.

XX

Will sighed as he walked across the parking lot to the Pub. The warehouse were out of the supplies he needed, so he just ordered it online. He walked to the door of the Pub and noticed all the lights are off. "Okay, that's weird." He opened the door, walked in, and closed the door behind him.

"SURPRISE!"

Will jumped in, well, surprise and flattened himself against the door. He looked around quickly and saw a lot of people he knew and a banner hung over the bar that says "Happy 25th Birthday, Will!" Will glared at Sonny, who walked towards him, smiling. Sonny kissed him, and Will held him back. "What the hell, Sonny?!" Will hissed.

Ari ran to Will and hugged his leg. Will picked her up. "Were you surprised, Daddy?"

"Yeah, you bet!" Will replied, forcing himself to smile. "Wow, is everyone here?"

"Yep! Well, not JJ. He's not in much of a party mood." Sonny replied.

Sami was smiling and practically bounced over to Will.

"Oh, you're just loving this, aren't you?" Will asked. "Your dream come true."

"Yes!" Sami squealed. "I mean, I wish I could take credit, but, full credit goes to Sonny."

"I'm sure it does." Will nodded. He noticed Lani, Chad, Kate, EJ, and Abigail were there. EJ seemed to read his mind and pulled him aside.

"I know what you're thinking." EJ said. "Theo wouldn't want anyone to put their lives on hold because of him. His family wouldn't want that, either."

"Abe included?" Will asked.

"Yes." EJ lied.

Will just shook his head. "Okay. Fine."

"Excellent. Let's get this party started, shall we?" EJ asked.

Roman and Kayla came out carrying a huge cake shaped like the number 25 with blue icing. Everyone sang "Happy Birthday" to Will, then Will opened his presents.

XXX

Later that night, Will and Sonny climbed into bed. "So...still mad at me?"

Will sighed. "No. I hate myself for saying it, but...this was the best birthday I had in a long time."

"Since that taco stand in Chicago?" Sonny asked, half-teasingly.

Will laughed. "Yes! It was my 21st birthday. You made reservations at this fancy restaurant in Chicago, but for some reason, they didn't have our reservation. So, we just went to a taco stand down the street."

"Ah, yes. That was fun, huh?" Sonny mused.

"Yeah." Will snuggled against Sonny.

"Wait til you hear what I have planned for your thirtieth."

"Don't push it."

"Sorry."


	133. Gifts

The rest of November flew by pretty quickly. Doug and Julie held a big Thanksgiving dinner at Doug's Place, which was pretty fun.

One early December morning, Sami did her normal routine. She walked downstairs to the living room where EJ was reading the paper.

"You know, it feels so weird to be back here. It almost feels normal." Sami commented.

"Indeed it does." EJ replied. "Wish we could stay, but..."

"The kids." Sami agreed. "Also, I'm still half-expecting Andre to smother us both in our sleep."

"Eh, well, things have calmed down a bit since William gave back his half of the stolen money to Chad." EJ said.

That shocked Sami. "What?!"

EJ looked up, surprised. "You didn't know?"

"No, I didn't know! How could he...!" Sami growled angrily, grabbed her coat and purse and stormed out.

XX

"Okay, so that's one Eggs Benedict, one short stack with bacon on the side, and one Belgium waffle. I'll be right back with your order." Will walked behind the counter to give the kitchen staff the order.

Sami stormed into the Pub, heading for Will. "You gave that money back to Chad?!"

Will sighed and turned to one of the waitresses. "Hey, Tess, would you mind covering for me? I gotta deal with this."

"Sure."

Will lead Sami upstairs to the apartment. Sami turned around, fuming. "So let me get this straight: I generously gave you half the money I stole from the DiMeras, and you turn around and stab me in the back?!"

"It was the right thing to do!" Will argued.

"Really? Tell me something, William. Did Chad care about doing the 'right thing' when he sabotaged Sonny's second club and bankrupted you two when you had a baby to provide for? Hmm?" Sami asked. "Or how about when Chad stole one of the venues that Titan owns? Seriously- after everything the DiMeras did to me, to you, to our family, how the hell could you?!"

"Okay, I can't say anything about Andre, obviously." Will said. "But Chad and EJ have both made up for everything they've done. And to be honest, Mother, that money almost got me and my family killed! It was more trouble than it was worth. And besides, I don't need it anymore, anyway!"

"Then why not just give it back to me? It's also EJ's and your brother and sister's money!" Sami shot back.

"Because you stole it from Chad!" Will explained.

Sami just shook her head and scoffed. "Why did you even take that money in the first place?"

"Well, for one thing, I thought I was being very careful." Will raised an eyebrow. "But, if I could have predicted what would happen, I never would have taken it."

Sami nodded. "Yeah." She sat down and sighed.

Will sat next to her. "Giving the money back was the right thing to do. Even after everything the DiMeras have done, we still have to be the bigger person."

Sami scoffed lightly. "You're big enough for the two of us."

They laughed. "You know...all things considered, Andre has mellowed out over the last few months. He's...friendlier. Abigial really had that effect on him. I don't want to admit it, but their friendship is real."

"Oh, no, honey. Mm-mm." Sami shook her head.

"Okay, look, I know you don't like those two, but-"

"It's not even about that." Sami insisted. "I thought Andre was my true friend, too. But it turned out that he was just using me as a way to get back at our family. He doesn't care about anyone but himself. If he's friends with Abby, he's only using her to stay on Chad's good side and to trick everyone into thinking he's changed for the better."

Will let that sink in. "Then why the hell did Andre kidnap Chad's best friend if he's trying to stay on Chad's good side?!"

"I don't know. Moment of weakness?" Sami shrugged. "Or he just wanted to piss off the Kiriakis family. And friendly reminder, Eduardo went along with it and he very much cares about Gabi."

"Whatever. I still hate him and I hope he dies slowly and painfully in prison." Will folded his arms and glowered.

Sami chuckled softly. "You know...I used to wish a slow and painful death on your Grandma Kate. And she did way worse than kidnapping. For God's sake, I was on Death Row because of her! But...I've forgiven her. It took a long time, but we eventually became friends...ish. I bet the same will be true to you and Eduardo."

"Why?" Will asked.

"Because you're a better and more forgiving person than I am." Sami raised an eyebrow.

Will sighed. "You know things are bad when Sami Brady makes a good point."

Sami laughed and playfully shoved Will. "You made a good point, too. After all, Andre's not gonna be around forever. That money is as good as Chad's. So, I forgive you."

"Thank you." Will replied.

"You're welcome." They hugged.

XXX

Meanwhile, Chad walked into the living room of the Kiriakis mansion. Sonny sat at the desk, working. "Hey, you got a second to talk business?"

"Sure. What's up?" Sonny asked, turning to Chad.

"The-the bid that Titan made on the Rogers Acquisition, do you know what the winning bid was?" Chad asked.

"Why do you ask?"

"Because they originally bid with DiMera Enterprises, but for some reason they dropped it." Chad explained. "I'm just trying to figure out why."

"All right, let me find that out." Sonny pulled the information up on his tablet. "Let's see. It was...$2.4 million."

Chad's face fell. "The bid with DiMera was $1.5 million. Why would they change their minds?"

"All they told me was that they liked Titan better. I'm sorry." Sonny shrugged. Chad exhaled slowly and rubbed his face. "Chad, is everything okay at DiMera?"

"Off the record?" Chad asked. Sonny nodded. "Someone is sabotaging my company. Deals are being dropped for no reason and we're losing money."

"Wow, I'm so sorry." Sonny replied.

"I'll be honest with you. If Deimos was still alive and still head of Titan, I would automatically think he did it." Chad said.

"So would I." Sonny replied. "But, I've been keeping a very close eye on my staff, and I can assure you that no one at Titan is responsible."

"Okay. Good to know." Chad said.

"Just out of morbid curiosity, what if someone from Titan was responsible?" Sonny asked.

"Then Abigail and I would do everything in our power to convince Andre not to start up yet another Kiriakis-DiMera war." Chad answered simply. "Last time, a bunch of us nearly died."

"Yeah." Sonny nodded. "We cannot let ourselves become Deimos and Andre. Or Victor and Stefano."

"I agree. Just friendly competition." Chad replied.

"So...the first to reach a billion dollars in this fiscal year buys the loser a drink?" Sonny suggested.

"Deal!" They shook hands. Chad cleared his throat. "Anyway, I'll let you get back to work. I'll talk to you later."

"See ya."

XXX

A few days later, Sami ran into Jordan, who wore a ring that was very similar to Hope's engagement ring. Then she saw Rafe in the second private area of the Square. Sami confronted Rafe about the ring, and he admitted that he slept with Jordan. Unbeknownst to them both, Ciara was eavesdropping.

Then, Sami and EJ decided it was time to go back to their kids. Sami bought Christmas presents for Will and Sonny and their kids and headed to the Kiriakis mansion.

"Mom! Hey, come on in." Will greeted and stepped aside to let Sami in. The stairs were covered with a white tarp.

"Hi. Wow. Are you remodeling?" Sami asked, looking around.

"Yeah." Will sighed. "Eve kind of took over the mansion, but Maggie intervened before she could do any real damage."

"Oh." Sami nodded. "Anyway, EJ and I are going back to Zurich to be with the kids."

"Oh. Okay." Will nodded.

Sami held up a big shopping back. "I brought along Christmas presents for the kids. Are they here?"

Just then, Sonny came in holding the boys. Ari ran to Sami. "Grandma!"

"Hi, Sweetheart!" Sami bent down to pick Ari up and hug her. "How are you?"

"Good. We did our fruits in preschool today."

"You did? Did you show the cherry?" Sami asked.

"Yep. I said that it's red and goes on top of an ice-cream sundae." Ari announced.

"Really? I thought you were gonna say it also goes in a Manhattan." Sami said.

"Mommy said the teacher might like the sundae one better." Ari said.

"And did she?" Will asked.

"Yeah." Ari nodded. "What is a Manhattan, anyway?"

"It's a grown-up drink." Will replied. "Anyway, Mom, you said you had presents?"

"You brought presents?" Ari asked excitedly.

"I sure did!" They sat on the couch. Sami pulled out a box and Ari tore into it.

"Wow! A princess Barbie doll! Thanks, Grandma!" Ari hugged Sami.

"Aw, you're welcome, sweetheart." Sami replied. Will and Sonny unwrapped the boys' presents which were toys.

"Wow, these are great, Mom. Thanks!" Will said. "We have presents for you, EJ, and the kids as well. They're upstairs."

"I'll go grab them. It's almost naptime, anyway." Sonny volunteered.

"Oh. Okay. Let me say good-bye first." Sami hugged the boys. "Oh, good-bye my grand-buddies."

Will laughed softly. "I see Dad has rubbed off on you."

"Yep!" Sami replied. Sonny took the boys in his arms and headed upstairs.

"I'm going up to my room to play with my new dolly." Ari said.

"Okay. Oh, let me get her out of the box for you." Will carefully pulled out the doll and the accessories and gave them to Ari. "Here you go."

"Thanks, Da." Ari said.

"You're welcome." Will said. "Now, say good-bye to Grandma."

"You have to go, Grandma?" Ari asked sadly.

"Yeah. I have to go back to your aunts and uncle." Sami replied gently.

"Will you come back to visit?" Ari asked hopefully.

"Of course!" Sami replied, smiling. "You are a special little girl, Arianna Grace. You have so many people that love you."

"I love you too, Grandma." Ari said.

"Aw." Sami chuckled. They hugged. "Good-bye my sweet girl."

"Bye, Grandma." Ari replied. She headed upstairs with her doll.

Will sighed. "So...are you going to visit?"

"I might." Sami nodded. "I might go to Aunt Hope's wedding."

"To your ex-husband." Will noted. "That has to be awkward."

"Really." Sami nodded.

Sonny walked in carrying a bulging Barons bag. "You know what they say: beware of Greeks bearing gifts."

Sami laughed and stood up. "Thanks, you guys." She hugged them both.

"I'll miss you, Mom." Will said.

"I'll miss you, too." Sami replied. She left.

"So, the boys are out like a light." Sonny said. "I have a couple things I need to do at the office, but after that, I'm going Christmas shopping."

"Okay. The boys and I will meet you in the square, then." Will replied.

"Sounds like a plan!"

XXX

A few hours later, Will dropped Ari off at a playdate, and headed to the Square with the boys. Gabi and Sonny were talking near the bench in front of Tom and Alice's plaque.

"Oh, where's the love?" Gabi asked, half-sarcastically.

"I know that you're gonna make the right decision. But I will say this. Eve isn't someone that I would trust." Sonny said.

"Well, I'm sure she's a little more trustworthy than the DiMeras, right, Sonny?" Gabi and Sonny turned to see Will pushing the boys' stroller towards them.

"Okay, yeah, you make a good point." Sonny replied. "But...I'm staying out of the Gabi Chic tug-of-war, so..."

"Suit yourself." Gabi shrugged. She bent down to the boys. "Hi, papitos, hi!"

Will noticed a tear in Sonny's suit. "Uh-oh, what happened?"

"He got knocked down by an old lady." Gabi announced.

Will chuckled. "What?"

Sonny sighed in dread. "I was shopping for that doll that Ari wanted. I finally found one and this grandmother pushes me into the bicycle display and makes off with the doll! I'm never going shopping again!"

"Or just order stuff online." Will suggested.

"Yeah, that, too."

"Well, I found one at Baron's, anyway, so we're good." Gabi replied.

"As if my ego wasn't crushed enough already." Sonny grumbled.

"Oh, Sonny. Don't worry! You're still pretty badass. And you have a great ass." Will said.

"Stroking my ego's not gonna make me feel better." Sonny said.

"Well, then, come on. Let's find a way to cheer you up." Will suggested.

Sonny sighed. "Can you please not tell Brady or Chad? They'll never let me live it down."

"Okay, we promise." Will replied. Gabi nodded.


	134. Christmas Is Here Again

It was Christmas Eve once again. Adrienne walked into the newly refurbushed and decorated living room and sat on the couch. Justin followed.

"So, what do you think?" Justin held his arms out, smiling.

Adrienne smiled back. "This place does look a lot more mordern and colorful."

"But...?" Justin sat down.

Adrienne sighed quietly. "I'm just not comfortable living in this house with your ex-fling and the way Victor and Brady treat Sonny..."

Justin nodded in understanding. "Adrienne, I have no feelings beyond friendship for Eve. And she respects our friendship enough to be civil and polite towards Sonny and the kids. Victor...I'm not making excuses, but he just expects so much out of his employees- especially since Brady and Philip have messed up and betrayed him several times."

"So he thinks Sonny will do that to him?" Adrienne asked, raising an eyebrow.

"He hopes he won't." Justin shrugged. "And I know he won't. And most importantly, Sonny isn't at all fazed by how Victor and Brady treat him. In fact, it makes him stronger."

"So you're okay with Victor and Brady treating him like crap?" Adrienne asked, shocked.

"Of course not." Justin assured her. "And I did warn all three of them what would happen if they hurt our son."

"Do you think they'll listen?" Adrienne asked.

Justin exhaled sharply. "I don't know to be honest. I guess we'll find out. Hey...Sonny still has us, his brothers, and Will. We'll all love and support him."

"Good point." Adrienne nodded. "You know, I once thought that Will would make Sonny's life harder. I was right, but he's changed over the last few years. I'm glad."

"Me, too." Justin replied. "Now...what do you say we enjoy our first Christmas back together? Hmm?"

Adrienne gave in and smiled. "I say 'Let's'."

XXX

"I can't believe it's Christmas already."

Sonny and Will got the boys ready for the Horton Tree Trimming. Will laughed softly. "Yeah. And now that everyone knows EJ is alive, this is the very first year we haven't kept a secret from each other or anyone else."

Sonny gasped. "You're right! We need to mark the occasion somehow."

"By doing what?" Will asked.

"Well, I'm open to suggestions." Sonny replied, smiling.

"Hmm...how about a Christmas Tradition-a-thon?" Will grinned.

"I'm sorry, what?" Sonny asked, confused.

"I don't know. I'm out of ideas."

Sonny snorted. "Some writer you are."

"Hey, I resent that!" Will half-joked.

XXX

After going to the Hortons, Will, Sonny, and the kids headed to the Townhouse to celebrate Christmas with the Blacks. Marlena set a white cake sprinkled with bits of peppermint candy on the coffee table.

"Whoa. Nice cake." Will commented.

"Thanks! Derrick and I found out the sex of our baby, whose gender will be revealed with this cake." Paul said, beaming.

"Nice!" Sonny said as Brady walked through the door holding Tate.

"What's nice?" Brady asked.

"We're gonna reveal the gender of our baby with this cake." Paul explained. "I could have sworn I told you."

"Well, if you did, I don't remember. Sorry." Brady shrugged.

Belle, Shawn, and Claire walked into the Townhouse. "Hey, everybody! Have you revealed the gender yet?"

"Not yet!" Paul replied. They hugged.

John walked into the living room. "Hey, everyone's here!"

"Yep. Now, don't keep us in suspense, guys!" Belle exclaimed.

"All right." Paul picked up a knife and cut a slice, put it on the plate and lifted it up. The inside was dyed pink. Everyone cheered and clapped.

"Oh my God!" Claire exclaimed excitedly.

"A girl! That's so exciting. Congratulations, kid." John said.

"Aw, thanks, Dad." Paul replied. They hugged.

"So, are you gonna get your own apartment, or...?" Will asked.

"No. We're just gonna turn the room next to ours at the Martin House into a nursery." Derrick replied. "Eli's fine with it."

"Oh. That's nice of him." Marlena replied.

XXX

Later that night, Paul and Derrick climbed into bed. Paul sighed and held Derrick close. "That was some party, huh?"

"Yeah." Derrick chuckled softly. "So, you're okay with our baby being a girl, right?"

"Of course." Paul replied. "She'll be the first female MLB pitcher." They laughed. "Seriously, though, I'm cool with it."

"Good." Derrick said, smiling. "I would like to name her after my sister. Sarah."

Paul nodded. "Okay. Sarah Tori Rutherford-Narita."

"Mm. Has a nice ring to it." Derrick said.


	135. Party Crashers

Abigail planned a New Year's Eve party at Doug's Place to celebrate Chad being reinstated as CEO of DiMera Enterprises. Will stood in front of the mirror in the Kiriakis living room trying to fix his tie. He groaned slightly.

"No matter how much I try, I can never tie these right."

Sonny chuckled and walked around in front of Will. "Here, let me." He straightened the bowtie. "There."

"Thanks." They kissed. "You ready?"

"Yep."

"Great, but before we go, I have a little favor to ask." Sonny said.

"Okay."

"Hold off on the insults towards Andre." Sonny replied. "I understand why you can't go five minutes without trashing him, but it is getting really, really annoying and over the top."

"What do I get out of it?" Will asked.

Sonny scoffed and shook his head. "What do you want?"

"Besides Andre dead? Nothing much." Will shrugged. Sonny stared at him pointedly. "Okay, fine. How about this: I'll stop insulting Andre if you promise to not become too much like Victor."

"Okay. Sounds fair." He held out his hand. "Deal."

Will shook his hand and pulled Sonny close to kiss him. "Sealed with a kiss. Just to be doubly sure."

Sonny chuckled and they headed out.

XXX

They ran into Kate and Andre outside the club.

"Oh. Will." Kate greeted.

"Hey, Grandma. Andre." Will replied.

"You look so handsome tonight." Kate said politely.

"Thanks. You look beautiful."

"Thank you." She turned to Sonny. "I didn't know you were coming."

"Well, yeah. Yeah, I mean, I can't turn down a chance to celebrate with my best friend." Sonny explained, shrugging.

"Ah." Kate nodded in understanding.

"You're also the CEO of Titan." Andre said.

"Yeah. Is that a problem?" Sonny asked.

"Oh, no. No problem at all." Andre lied. "I'm just suggesting that you should celebrate as much as you can, because Titan, well, with DiMera Enterprises, we're gonna bring your company to its knees in 2018.."

"How are you gonna do that when DiMera is being sabotaged from the inside?" Will asked, unable to help himself.

Andre did a double-take. "Who the hell told you about that?"

"You did. Just now." Will lied. "Come on, Sonny. It's freezing out here." They walked inside.

Andre growled in frustration. "I swear I'm gonna kill that piece of-!"

"You touch my grandson and we will be at war with each other." Kate said warningly.

"Fine!" Andre seethed.

XX

The party was in full swing. Will and Sonny talked to Chloe for a few minutes, then Jennifer and Eric. Things were going smoothly until...

"Sonny. Sonny!" Sonny turned to see Brady waving him over. He whistled. "Over here."

"What's he doing here?" He hissed angrily. "Come on. We gotta deal with this."

Will and Sonny walked over to Andre and Kate.

"Sonny, will you please tell these two that you, in fact, did invited me?" Brady asked.

Sonny almost complied. But, it occured to him that the last time he was loyal to a family member who was battling with Andre, it gave Andre the delusional impression that said family member cared about him enough to save him from being kidnapped and almost killed. He didn't want to take any chances. "I didn't invite him."

Andre nodded, then turned to Brady. "You have a minute to get out of here."

"Now hold on, hold- hold on. Sonny, come on, come on, let's- let's show the DiMeras what family loyalty is all about, shall we?" Brady asked.

Sonny pointed to the glass Brady was holding. "Does Uncle Vic know you're drinking again?"

"It's a party. Everyone, it's a party." Brady said defensively. "It's New Year's Eve, Auld Lang Syne, all that stuff, right? It's not often that you get to spend New Year's Eve with backstabbers and thieves."

Kate huffed loudly.

Sonny put a hand on Andre's arm. "You know what, I'll take care of this."

"You do take care of this, otherwise I will." Andre said, then walked off.

Sonny sighed adn glared at Brady. "You crash the party, and then you make a scene? What the hell is the point to that?"

"I'm doing this for Titan, Sonny.

"Really?" Sonny asked in disbelief. "Or maybe you're doing it for the open bar."

"We need the DiMeras to know that, despite their changing of the guard and all their talk about strength and power, that the Kiriakis clan and Titan is not gonna be intimidated." Brady said.

"Funny. I did do that last year, and it got me kidnapped and almost killed, so..." Sonny shrugged.

Andre stormed over to them. "I thought you said you could get rid of him."

"I'll go when I'm ready, Andre." Brady snapped.

"A police escort it is." Andre said. He pulled out his phone.

"Oh, what? You're not gonna have him kidnapped and beaten up?" Will asked sarcastically.

Before Andre could retort, Brady's phone rang with a text message. "Hold on, hold on. Relax, relax. I'll go. It's gonna be one hell of a new year, Andre. I promise you that." He left.

Chad walked up to them. "What the hell was Brady doing here?"

"I'm really sorry about that." Sonny said sincerely.

"I'm gonna make sure he stays gone." Andre said. He walked off.

"Wow. I'm afraid to ask what he would have done had he tresspassed the mansion." Will commented.

Chad exhaled in frustration and shook his head. "I'm gonna pretend you didn't just say that. Anyway, thanks for coming."

"Of course. We wanted to support you." Sonny replied.

"Thanks. I hope you get everything you want in 2018." Chad said.

"Same for you." Sonny nodded.

Then it was time for Chad's speech. After he spoke, everyone did the countdown and the couples kissed. Then, someone wearing a long, hooded cloak walked up in front of everyone and pushed back her hood. Everyone was shocked to see who it was.

"Vivian!" Kate half-exclaimed, half-growled.

"Sorry I'm late." Vivian said, smiling a wicked smile.


	136. Not ANOTHER DiMera!

"You all look so surprised." Vivian said. "Abigail, tell them. I did RSVP."

"That was you?" Abigail asked in shock. "You're 'Firebird.'"

"Apparently 'vulture' was already taken." Kate remarked, her voice dripping with distaste.

"Dear, dear, Kate. It's so good to see you again." Vivian simpered. "It's so good to see all you darling people again. It's as if we never said good-bye. I may burst into song."

"Well, we thought you were in Bollywood working on that Indira Gandhi biopic. What are you doing here, Vivian?" Kate demanded.

"Funny you should ask. You're about to find out." Vivian said, smirking.

"Hey, this is a private party." Chad stepped in.

Vivian turned to Chad and smiled. "Chad, darling, I'm so sorry I missed the wedding. How was the ceremony? Was it private or were all the inmates there?"

"Should I call security?" Chloe asked Chad.

"Ah, Chloe, I would have thought you got past that floozy thing by now. Oops." Vivian chuckled.

Chloe glared at Vivian and folded her arms. "On second thought, I'll throw the bitch out personally."

"I've forgotten how sensitive all you people are. If you reject me, you see, you won't meet my plus one, and, believe me, you do want to meet my plus one." Vivian said. She noticed Sonny there. "Why, we even have a Kiriakis in our prescence! Oh, this will be even more delicious!"

"Dear, God, you didn't drag that poor lap-dog Ivan back with you, did you?" Kate asked.

Vivian chuckled. "No, I left him in India, mooning over me under the Mumbai moon."

"Or baying at it." Chloe quipped.

Vivian ignored Chloe and continued. "No, my escort this evening is someone who's so anxious to meet all of you, especially the DiMera family. It was a long, twisted path for him to get here, and, of course, fate had something to do with bringing us all together. But I will take credit for bringing him here to Salem. Well, I had to. Once I read that invitation that said it was a celebration of the new beginnings of the DiMera family business."

"But that doesn't concern you." Abigail said.

Vivian started walking around the room. "Oh, but, of course, it does, ma petite. You see... the mystery man has the same blood coursing through his veins as Chad and... Andre." Vivian walked over to Andre and put a hand on his shoulder. "Andre, we must have lunch, your treat. Now, where was I? Oh, yes, the big reveal. Le coup de theatre! Ladies and gentlemen, drum roll, please. I have brought with me this evening, the one, the only, Stefano DiMera."

Kate scoffed and shook her head. "I told everyone to leave her in the sarcopoghas, but did anyone listen to me? No."

"I'm sure you'll be stunned to know that I think you're lying." Andre said, standing up.

"Oh, Vivian lie? No." Kate said sarcastically.

"And even if Stefano was alive-and that's a big if- he knows what's waiting for him if he ever stepped here in Salem." Andre said. "Besides, he despised you. He wouldn't be caught dead anywhere near you."

"Given her proclivity for burying and digging people up, maybe she did bring Stefano back. Just not, you know, alive." Kate said.

"Well, happy New Year, everyone. What a way to start 2018." Abigail said sarcastically.

"Oh, Kate, I know why you're so defensive." Vivian said. "You're married to Andre DiMera when you were married to Stefano DiMera. It's sort of like trading down from the king to the court jester."

"Does anybody have a bucket of water?" Andre deadpanned.

"All right, fun's over." Chad said, walking up to Vivian. "As much as I love a good coup de theatre, you have about five seconds to produce my father, or we're gonna throw you out on your ass, respectfully."

Vivian just smiled and pulled out her phone. "Ah, what the hell did we ever do without these things?"

Chad started counting down. "Four, three..."

"All right, all right. He's coming." Vivian said. "Stefano DiMera is right outside the door, but he very generously allowed me to make a grand entrance into the Salem sun, as it were."

"Two, one." Chad said.

Vivian ignored that and headed for the door. "Moving on."

"Yeah."

Vivian put her hand on the door handle and turned to everyone. "Ladies and gentlemen, may I present to you Stefano DiMera."

Everyone stared in surprise as a man in his early thirties walked into the club.

Kate scoffs, then laughed. "Well, what a surprise. Vivian Alamain is full of it. Smoke and mirrors. Taking center stage to make the shocking announcement that Stefano DiMera is back." She laughed again. "That we wouldn't notice that he's half Stefano's age?" Kate walked towards "Stefano" "It's not really even laughable. Though, nice coat. What is that? It's Italian, right?" She laughed again and walked away. "Oh, Vivian, I think you have finally lost it. Or you're blind. Or you're both. Poor dear."

"Of sound mind and body, and 20-20 vision." Vivian replied.

Hope and Rafe have arrived at this point. "You shouldn't have done this."

Vivian smiled. "Hope! You haven't changed. You're as officious as ever."

Hope pointed to "Stefano" "That man is not Stefano DiMera, but more to the point, you knew this stupid little stunt didn't have a chance of working. What's your game?"

"Oh, it's a very big game, and I'm going to win." Vivian smirked.

"Stefano" spoke up. "Ladies and gentlemen, if I could please have a moment of your time. Seems to be some kind of a misunderstanding here."

"Yeah, just a little." Chad said.

"So allow me to introduce myself." He took off his coat and handed it to one of the waiters. "My name... is Stefan Octavius DiMera, or quite simply, stefan O. Dimera. I'm stefano's son.

Chad laughs. "So you're a DiMera."

"Chad, right?" Stefan asked.

Chad nodded. "Mm-hmm."

"Pleasure to finally meet you." He turned to Andre. "Andre, I've heard so much about you."

"And yet we've never heard anything about you. Maybe that's because you're not our brother, and maybe because you're lying through your teeth." Andre accused him.

Stefan then turned to Abigail. "Abigail. Beautiful."

Chad glared at Stefan. "Yeah, so you said that we have the same father."

Stefan nodded. "That's right. Stefano DiMera."

"Oh, that's good to know." Andre said. "So tell me, who is your mommy? Oh, I know, she's dead, and, sadly, there are no records of your birth."

"No, she's not dead." Vivian replied. She held her hand out for Stefan to take. "She's right here."

Andre was shocked. "You're his mother?"

"God blessed me with one of Stefano's children." Vivian said.

Kate huffed. "Oh, really, and it just slipped Stefano's mind?"

"Stefano never knew about this son." Vivian put a hand on Stefan's shoulder.

"Because the whole world didn't know anything about him...because he never existed." Andre said.

"He was conceived long before I stepped into Salem, when Stefano was posing as Rudolpho and seduced me to steal my ruby." Vivian explained.

"He must have really, really wanted that ruby." Chad whispered to Abigail.

"So what did you do with the kid since then, put him in the tower like Rapunzel?" Andre asked sarcastically.

"None of this is adding up. Why is it that we never heard about "stefan o" until now?" Hope asked.

"A young girl, seduced and abandoned with child... I was devastated." Vivian explained.

"Oh, a crushed little flower." Kate said sarcastically.

"And to spare me pain that he thought I wouldn't be able to bear, Ivan told me... that the child was...stillborn. How I grieved." Vivian said.

"It's only-what was it-about a year ago that I learned the true identity of my mother." Stefan spoke up. "Anyway, I confronted Ivan about the truth, and he admitted what he had done, so...here I am. I'm Stefano's son and Chad and Andre's brother."

"And we're supposed to just take your word for it- your word and Ivan's?" Kate asked in disbelief. "Because, you see, I don't think he found you in Mumbai. I think you found him on imposters. com."

"Well, I... I knew you'd be cynical." Vivian said.

"Well, you're not always wrong." Andre said.

"That's why I brought proof." Vivian continued. She pulled out an envelope. "Knowing that Salem is filled with hostile, defensive cynics, I've brought proof that Stefano and I are the parents of this...charming young man."

"Probably went to the Sami Brady paternity lab." Chloe quipped, raising her glass.

"This dna profile will conclusively match Stefan O. To Stefano." Vivian explained.

"Well, you'd need Stefano's DNA for that." Rafe said.

"Ah, Detective Hernandez, stating the obvious." Vivian quipped.

Hope was surprised. "How could you possibly have gotten ahold of Stefano's DNA?"

"Well, you see, in Bollywood, like in Hollywood, it's who you know, and I have a friend who had a friend who had access to the Interpol files that they were keeping on Stefano." Vivian explained. She handed the envelope to Rafe. "And your little Salem minions can verify the facts. And...I have copies for both of you." She pointed to Chad and Andre. "They're in my other cape."

"That's great." Chad said. He turned to Stefan. "Okay, so you, uh...we may or may not be brothers. Why are you here? Why tonight?"

"Let me tell you why I'm here...tonight." Stefan said. "Everyone knows the power of the DiMera name. My father both cherished and reveled in it. It was once a name that meant something, a name that struck fear into the hearts of our rivals and brought promise and prosperity to our allies. But my father's legacy, that power behind his name, it's... it's since diminished. His legacy is truly in peril. We need to make a change... so that the DiMera name means something again."

"Okay, but wait, those are my words." Abigail spoke up. "I wrote that with Chad for a speech that he was gonna give for the board meeting tomorrow morning."

"Yes, but he knew what I was going to say before I was gonna say it-it's a real clever little parlor trick." Chad said.

"When I found out who I was, I made it a point to learn everything there was to know about my family and their business, so I got an advance press release of Chad's speech. It's a very nice speech." Stefan said to Chad.

"I thought so." Chad said.

"I want you to know that I paid very close attention to every word that was written or spoken on behalf of this company, and I must say... I'm very impressed." Stefan said. "I mean, the work that you've put in to promote this... event has met and exceeded your high standards. But I'm afraid it was all for naught."

"'For naught'?" Chad asked.

"Yes. As Stefano's son, I've decided to, um- shall I say- embrace my birthright... and consequently take my rightful place as head of this family and CEO of DiMera Enterprises."

"Okay, wait, wait, wait, wait." Andre spoke up. "There's a Kiriakis here. I don't feel comfortable talking business in front of him."

Sonny smiled mischeviously. "Actually, Andre, you married my husband's grandmother, and that makes us family. I have every right to be here."

Andre glared at Sonny. Chad jumped in before another fight broke out. "Um...I'm, uh, I'm really happy for you and your new-found self-discovery and excited for you to pursue your birthright, but you're not gonna be CEO. That's my job."

"I know that you're prepared to fight me." Stefan said.

"We all are." Kate replied.

"But I'm afraid it's a case of too little too late. See, the board has lost confidence in all of you." Stefan looked between Kate, Andre, Chad, and Abigail. "Kate, you are spectacularly inept at making acquisitions necessary to keeping this company in the black. You've simply failed to close deal after deal."

Vivian handed her an envelope. "Read it and weep."

Stefan then turned to Andre. "And you, brother, at best are unstable."

Will smiled and almost laughed with glee at the look on Andre's face.

Vivian handed Andre an envelope. "Let me know if I can help you with the big words."

"Chad, you have been missing in action for quite a long time." Stefan continued.

"And one for the young man who's going to have so much time on his hands." Vivian handed Chad an envelope. "Maybe you and your lovely wife can take a honeymoon."

"Thank you, mother." Stefan said.

Vivian nodded. "You're welcome, son."

"These are all copies of the board's resolution naming me CEO of DiMera Enterprises, effective immediately. It was nice meeting you all. Happy New Year." He grabbed a glass and a bottle of bubbly.

Vivian grabbed a glass as well. "Mmm... this has been so much fun. What a great party! Salud!"

XXX

Sonny and Will returned home and took off their coats. Sonny sighed. "Well, that was interesting."

"Yeah." Will smiled. "I really, really enjoyed watching Andre squirm."

"Yeah, I'm sure you did." Sonny replied. They heard voices in the living room. "I guess I better let Brady and Eve know about this new DiMera heir."

"Okay. I'll be upstairs."

Sonny headed into the living room. "Hi, you two. I hope I'm not interrupting."

"You were." Brady said simply.

"So, I figured I may as well tell you: Vivian Alamain is back in town." Sonny announced.

"What?!" Brady exclaimed.

"There's more: she has a long-lost son...with Stefano." Sonny said. "His name is Stefan O. DiMera."

"Mm. And how long have you known this? Two years? Three?" Brady asked sarcastically.

Sonny scoffed. "One hour."

"Okay, I am going upstairs." Eve said. She stood up. "No blood on the carpet, guys."

"So, you and Eve seem to be getting along better." Sonny commented.

"We have to. We work together." Brady replied.

Sonny nodded in disbelief. "You know, I'm really glad that after Uncle Vic fired you that you bounced back, because that had to be humiliating."

"Or engineered by you." Brady took a sip.

"But with you and Eve, just now...that was an intense conversation." Sonny continued. "Were you talking about Basic Black sales projections, or... I mean, whatever it was, it certainly aroused your, uh...interest. And as the CEO of Titan-"

"Acting. Acting CEO." Brady interrupted.

"As the CEO of Titan, I'm gonna keep my eye on both of you, 'cause who knows what you're planning?" Sonny shrugged, then left.

Brady scoffed. "Good luck battling that new DiMera heir!"


	137. Work-Obsessiveness Comes With A Price

Sonny stayed up half the night thinking about this new DiMera heir. Kate and Chad were okay as competitors, but this new guy Stefan seems like he means business. He woke up at around 9:00 and sleepily headed downstairs to the living room. Will and Ari were there with a plate of muffins. Ari held up a sign that read "Happy New Year!" He smiled. "What's this?"

"We made breakfast for you, Daddy." Ari said.

"Aww. Come here." Sonny knelt down and held his arms out. Ari ran to him and hugged him. Sonny stood up and grunted playfully as he lifted Ari up. "Happy New Year to you, too, sweet pea." They sat down on the couch. "This looks good."

"Thanks!" They ate, and then Ari went upstairs to play in her room.

Sonny sighed as Will sat next to him. Will asked. "So, Stefan. What are your thoughts?"

"Well, first of all, I'm still not sure he's a real DiMera." Sonny replied. "And if he is, then Titan is in for the fight of its' life."

"Did you find anything else about him?" Will asked.

"Just that his real name is Sam Maitland and he's a professonal corporate raider." Sonny replied. "He takes over a company that is doing badly and he either saves it or sells it."

"Well, we just have to make sure Titan doesn't fail." Will replied.

Sonny nodded. "Yeah...with Brady and Eve trying to usurp me, that's gonna be a challenge."

"I have faith in you, Sonny." Will assured him. "You'll make it through."

Sonny smiled. "Thanks."

"Anytime, babe." Will kissed Sonny and stood up. "All right. I gotta go to work. I'll talk to you later."

"Bye." Sonny watched Will leave.

Victor walked in and sat down in his chair. "So, what's this I hear about a new DiMera heir?" Sonny explained what happened the night before at Chad's party, including both party crashers. Victor sighed. "Oh boy. Where to begin?"

"Don't worry, Uncle Vic. I learned my lessons from my previous failures." Sonny assured him. "Stefan O will not lay a finger on Titan. I won't let him."

"Good. I'm counting on you." Victor said. "Now, about you showing zero loyalty to Brady..."

"Uncle Vic, I'm sorry. But the last time I showed loyalty to a family member in Andre's presence, he had me kidnapped, so...not making that mistake again." Sonny said. "Blame your dead baby brother for that."

"All right, fine. You've made your point." Victor replied. "Good luck this year, and don't let me down."

"I won't."

XXX

The Pub wasn't really busy that morning. Will walked out of the kitchen, pad and pen in hand. Vivian and Stefan were sitting at a table by the door. Will sighed in resignition and walked over. "Ms. Alamain. Mr. DiMera."

"Why, Will! Still working here? Last time I saw you you were busing tables here." Vivian replied. She chuckled. "I guess some things never change."

"They have. I worked my way up. I run the place now." Will announced.

"Oh. Well, good for you." Vivian said.

"And you're married to the CEO of Titan, correct?" Stefan asked. "Sonny Kiriakis?"

"Yes. How did you know?" Will asked.

"Unlike my elderly brother, I actually do my research." Stefan stared at Will pointedly.

Will wasn't fazed. "Good. I like you already."

Stefan smiled slightly. "Hmm."

"What can I get for you guys?" Will asked.

"Oh, I'll have a medium drip, no cream, two sugars." Vivian replied.

"Orange juice." Stefan said.

"Got it. Be right back." Will replied. He walked off.

"I like him. He's not so easily intimidated." Stefan commented.

Vivian scoffed and shook her head. "Just wait til you meet his mother. Talk about a nightmare."

"Oh, come now. She can't be worse than you." Stefan teased lightly.

"Oh, hush." They laughed.

XXX

Over the next few days, Sonny worked hard and made changes for the new year at Titan. He was getting busier, much to the disappointment of his family.

One day, Will gently bounced a sick DJ in his arms. Sonny walked into the living room. "Hey, Sonny, would you mind taking Leon to the baby-sitter's? I don't want him to catch DJ's cold."

"Sure. I'll drop him off on my way to work." Sonny replied. He picked up Leon. "Hey, buddy. You ready for a car trip?"

"Thanks, baby." Will and Sonny kissed.

XX

Leon was so quiet during the ride, Sonny had almost forgotten he was in the car. His cell phone rang. "Hello?"

"Hi, Mr. Kiriakis, this is Nat Banks."

"Hi."

"I was wondering if we could meet to discuss that Harcourt deal." Banks said.

Sonny got excited. The Harcourt deal would greatly help his career. "Really? Yeah! That'd be great."

"Wonderful. Can I meet you at the cafe across from the office?"

"Yep. I'll be there in five minutes." Sonny replied.

XX

The meeting was a success. Sonny was on a success high afterwards. Leon had fallen asleep at this point, so Sonny didn't notice. Sonny drove to his parking spot in the parking garage and headed inside. Leon completely forgotten. He headed up to his office to sign some paperwork, then his phone rang.

"Hey, Will. You will not believe what just happened." Sonny said happily.

"Well, it sounds like everything's okay." Will replied. "Are you at work?"

"Yeah. Where else would I be at this time?" Sonny asked.

"The babysitter called and said you never showed up." Will said. "Is Leon with you?"

Sonny's stomach dropped and he felt all color drain from his face. He let his phone drop to the floor and flew out of his office. He ran down all 50 flights of stairs to the parking garage. He gasped as he saw that someone smashed the window of his car and paramedics loading Leon into an ambulence. Sonny collapsed to his knees catching his breath.

'Oh my God. What have I done?'


	138. Signs of Forboding

Will stepped off the elevator and walked over to Sonny, who looked really upset and guilty. "What happened?"

"I just...forgot..." Sonny replied, his voice shaking.

Will nodded and smiled in spite of himself. "You forgot, huh? You're that work-obsessed you forgot our son?!"

"He was so quiet on the way-"

"Do not put this on Leon!"

"I'm not! Believe me, I blame no one else but myself." Sonny said earnestly. He stood up. "Will...I am so sorry."

Will shook his head and blinked away tears. "You know, I..." He scoffed. "I was willing to give up my firstborn for you. I was willing to go to prison for you, I've broken the law a couple of times, and I pretty much ruined my relationship with my father all for and because of you. My entire life, my mother always chose something else over me and my siblings, and that is what I hated most about her. Part of the reason I was proud to be your husband and co-parent is because I knew- or I thought- you would always put our kids over everything else."

At this point, Justin, Adrienne, Kate, and Marlena had arrived.

"Will, Sonny, what happened? Is Leon okay?" Adrienne asked.

"They're still running tests." Sonny replied.

"But what happened, exactly?" Justin asked.

"I was taking him to the babysitter's, but then I got a call from work, and then I just forgot that I had him." Sonny admitted.

"How could you be so careless?!" Kate exclaimed angrily.

"I have no excuses." Sonny replied. "All I can say is that I'm sorry, and I will regret this for the rest of my life."

Kate scoffed. "Yeah, you will."

Dr. Schafer headed up to the group. "Mr. Horton, Mr. Kiriakis?"

Will and Sonny turned to the pediatrician. "How is he?"

"Leon is fine." Everyone sighed in relief. "We're still running a few tests, but you two may see him."

Sonny sighed and turned to Will. "I'll understand if you don't want me to..."

"No, I do." Will replied to Sonny's surprise. "I want you to see the damage you caused."

"A little harsh, Will." Marlena said.

"It's okay." Sonny said. He followed Will into Leon's room.

Leon lay in a crib. He was babbling lightly. Will lifted him out. "Hey, buddy. Oh." He hugged Leon. "It's okay. Daddy's here. I'm sorry this happened to you."

Sonny walked closer to Leon in a slightly trancelike state. He looked okay, physically. "Hey...I'm so, so sorry, baby." Leon snuggled against Will's shoulder.

Dr. Schafer knocked and came in. "Sonny, Will. I have the test results." Sonny and Will turned to the doctor, anxious. "The antibiotics worked like a charm. Leon's a picture of health. I hae to tell you, though, how close a call it was. If he hadn't been found when he was, he would have died of hypothermia."

Will swallowed back a lump. "Do we know who found him?"

"You'll have to talk to the police about that." Dr. Schafer replied. "Child Protection Services might be called as well, depending on the investigation by the police."

Sonny nodded. "We understand."

"I'd also like to keep Leon overnight for observation." Dr. Schafer continued. "I'll let your families know what's going on."

After Dr. Schafer left the room, Will set Leon back down in the crib. Sonny blinked away tears. "Will..." His phone buzzed, but he ignored that.

Will scoffed lightly. "What- you're not gonna get that?"

"No." Sonny shook his head.

"Speaking of, what was so damn important that you forgot about Leon?" Will asked.

"I got a phone call from work about a deal that would be great for my career." Sonny admitted.

Will nodded. "Did it go through?"

"Yeah."

"Was it worth it?" Will folded his arms.

Sonny swallowed and shook his head. "No...not after this."

"I'd like you to leave, please." Will said, turning around.

Sonny swallowed and nodded. He left the room.

XXX

Meanwhile, Kate paced around the waiting area. "You know, I was afraid that something like this would happen. Will is loyal and overly defensive of Sonny to the point where he almost kills his own father..." Justin and Adrienne avoided eye contact. Kate continued. "and Sonny screws him over by leaving their infant son in a freezing car. Un-freaking-believable."

"Sort of like you burning my uncle's house down with Lucas still inside?" Justin asked.

"I didn't know Lucas was in there!" Kate snapped angrily. "Sonny knew Leon was in the car with him."

"He forgot, Kate." Adrienne said calmly. "I'm not excusing Sonny's actions, but I will tell you this: trust me when I say...he could have been way worse." She walked off towards the private waiting room.

"What does she mean by that?" Kate asked.

"I think she means that there are fathers out there who abuse and neglect their children on purpose." Justin replied, then followed after Adrienne.

XX

Adrienne walked into the waiting room, sat down, and took a deep breath. How did they end up here?

Justin walked in. "You okay?"

"I just keep thinking 'how did this happen?'." She replied. "I mean...I would love to blame Victor, but...the reality is...we failed, Justin." Justin sighed deeply and turned away. Adrienne raised an eyebrow. "This would be the part where you say 'no, we didn't'."

"It would, but...I kind of agree with you." Justin replied. "But, the failure was mostly on my part."

"How do you mean?" Adrienne asked.

"I should have tried harder to talk him off the mobster ledge." Justin replied. "I mean, I did talk to him about what working for Uncle Vic is like, but...I don't think he listened to me."

Adrienne nodded. "I should have talked him out of it, too. But...every time I try to talk him out of something, he always gets so defensive and argumentative."

"Well, he's very passionate."

"Yeah, he gets that from you." Adrienne teased.

"Well, maybe the defensive and argumentative parts." Justin replied. They both laughed softly. Justin sighed quietly and shook his head. "I haven't exactly been the best person to be around for the last few years. I think I've made up for it. at least. I mean, I got that banker to give you a bank loan for the Spectator when Anjelica tried to sabotage it."

"Wait, what?" Adrienne asked in surprise. "That was you? I thought it was Lucas!"

"Wasn't Lucas bankrupt at the time or something?" Justin asked.

"Still..." Adrienne shook her head. "Thank you. Really."

"You're welcome." Justin replied. "I wish I had done the same for Sonny when he was having problems with that second club, but I thought he had it handled. Then I found out that Stefano convinced Chad to sabotage that second club."

"Why?" Adrienne asked.

"Remember that TruVista article Will wrote?" Justin asked.

"All too well."

"Well...Sonny was the one who asked Victor to get a job for Will, and Victor pushed the article to bug Stefano." Justin shrugged and sighed. "That's why I railroaded Chad when he was accused of being the Necktie Killer."

"That was your revenge against both Chad and Stefano." Adrienne nodded.

"Little did I know, they got their commeuppance, anyway when Sami stole all that money from them." Justin laughed softly.

Adrienne laughed, too. "Yep. That's karma."

"Yep." Justin agreed. "I tried my best to be a father to Sonny over the last few years, but I'm still not sure it was enough. Maybe Deimos was right- maybe I am losing interest in being a parent."

Adrienne scoffed. "How do you 'lose interest' in being a parent?"

"I don't know, but..." Justin stood up and started pacing. "I didn't really do anything when Sonny was kidnapped last year. I just told Deimos to fix it and then just left to wander around Horton Town Square. And yet...I had only known Ciara for what- five minutes, and I go above and beyond to help Bo and Hope find her when she was kidnapped? What the hell is wrong with me?"

Adrienne walked over to Justin and took his hands in her. "Hey...Sonny was found in less than three hours anyway. He's safe."

Justin sighed. "I'm just surprised you didn't go all Liam Neesan on Andre and Eduardo."

Adrienne laughed. "Well, I did attack Deimos. And I helped a little, too. Jennifer and I were hiding Drew Donovan, who was the key to the Orwell thing. It was a shot in the dark, but I couldn't just...wander around Horton Town Square doing nothing. So, I told Jennifer what happened, hoping that Drew would overhear us and that he would turn himself in. I was right."

Justin nodded. "I still wish I could have done more. Well...next time." He wagged a finger. "Next time."

Adrienne scoffed and raised an eyebrow. "Well, hopefully there isn't a next time."

"Yeah, that, too."

Sonny walked to the door of the waiting room. He listened to a bit of his parents' conversation.

"I'm just glad that nothing worse happened to him." Justin said.

Sonny remembered being sexually harassed by his kidnapper and him threatening to rape him if he tried to escape again. He swallowed back the memory, took a deep breath and walked in.

"Hey." Adrienne and Justin walked over to Sonny. "How's Leon?"

Sonny swallowed. "The doctor said that he's fine. He's responding well to the medicine they gave him."

"Oh, well that's good." Adrienne said.

Sonny nodded and folded his arms. "The doctor also said that...if Leon hadn't been found when he was..." Sonny sniffed and got choked up. "he would have died."

"Oh, baby..." Adrienne said sympathetically.

"I almost killed my own son." Sonny started full-on crying. Adrienne pulled him into a hug. "I'm the worst father ever."

"He said to the woman who was beaten and raped by her father." Justin quipped.

"Dammit, Justin!" Adrienne pulled away to glare at him.

"No, no, he's right." Sonny said. "I'm so sorry. That was insensitive."

"You don't have to apologize." Adrienne said. "Let's sit down."

They all sat on the couch. Justin squeezed Sonny's shoulder. "Do you want something like water, or...?"

Sonny shook his head. "I'm good. I just keep thinking...how did I get here? How could I be so work-obsessed that I forgot my son was in the car?"

"It was a genuine mistake, Sonny." Justin said kindly.

"Leon's okay. That's the important thing." Adrienne said. "Honey...I know I said I didn't like you working for Victor, but...maybe you should see this as a sign."

"A sign of what? That I shouldn't work for Titan anymore?" Sonny asked.

"Well, it's just-" Adrienne sighed. "Remember when you owned that coffee shop? You were so much happier then."

"What are you saying? That you'd rather I work in a coffee shop?" Sonny asked, getting a little defensive.

"No, I'm saying I want you to be happy." Adrienne said.

"I am happy." Sonny insisted. He stood up. "I'm running a multibillion dollar corporation, I'm making enough money to set my family for life. It's everything I never knew I always wanted!" Adrienne sighed and nodded. "I am also working hard to make the Kiriakis name a name my children would be proud of. A family that's revered and not feared like the DiMeras. And honsetly, who else would run Titan? Xander is evil, Uncle Vic has given up on Philip, Alex and the twins already have jobs they love, and Brady has failed Uncle Vic one too many times. Titan is my legacy. It's only fitting that I keep it going."

Justin smiled broadly. "Spoken like a true Kiriakis. I'm proud of you, Sonny. Just as long as you don't do anything illegal or violent..."

"I won't." Sonny promised.

"What about you and Will? I mean, after what happened..." Adrienne wondered.

Sonny took a deep breath. "I don't know. Honestly, I wouldn't be surprised if Will never forgives or trusts me again."

XXX

Marlena knocked on Leon's hospital room door and walked in quietly. "Hi." Will stood up, walked over to Marlena, and pulled her into a hug. "Oh, honey." Marlena hugged him back.

Will swallowed and sniffed. "I almost lost him, Grandma."

"I know." Marlena said. They pulled apart.

Will sighed. "The doctor said that if he hadn't been found when he was..."

"Well, thank God he was found." Marlena said. They sat down.

"How could Sonny do this, Grandma? How could he just forget our infant son was in the car?" Will lamented. "I mean, forgetting your keys or forgetting the dry cleaning I understand, but...a helpless, little baby who depends on you for everything? How can I trust him again?"

"I'm sure he feels terrible about this whole thing." Marlena reasoned. "I don't want to sound like I'm taking sides, but Will...everyone makes mistakes. You know Sonny would never intentionally hurt or abandon your children."

"I know, but...he has fallen so far from the man I fell in love with, Grandma." Will admitted. "I don't even recognize him anymore. I..." He scoffed and shook his head. "I don't know. I think...me bashing Andre every chance I got and nearly killing my dad because he went off on Sonny...maybe subconsciously, I was trying to compensate for what I'm really feeling."

"And what are you really feeling?" Marlena asked.

"Unhappy. Until today, I didn't realize how unhappy I was." Will admitted. "I mean, I tried, I really did. I thought Sonny thinking he killed Deimos would be a wake-up call for him. Stupid."

"Well...maybe this whole ordeal will be the wake-up call you're hoping for." Marlena said optimistically.

"Maybe." Will replied. "If not...I was hoping I would never have to do this, but...I might file for seperation, then divorce."


	139. Future Planning

Brady walked into the living room. Victor was sitting in his chair in deep thought. "So, I guess you heard by now."

"Yes, I have." Victor said.

"And...?"

"'And' what?" Victor asked.

"Granddad, Sonny left his infant son in a freezing car on his way to work." Brady said. "You seriously want your CEO to endanger babies like that? That's it. I'm taking over effective immediately."

"You will do no such thing!" Victor exclaimed.

"I can't let anyone else be put in danger because of Sonny's negligence." Brady said firmly.

"It was a one-time fluke, Brady. I'm sure he feels terrible." Victor reasoned.

"I do feel terrible." Brady turned around to see Sonny walking in.

"So terrible you left the hospital? Really?" Brady asked.

"They won't let me see him." Sonny replied, folding his arms.

"Well, I can't really blame them, Sonny." Brady said. "Oh, by the way, you do know you're supposed to freeze your vegetables and not your babies, right?"

Sonny glared at Brady, then turned to Victor. "I'm sorry about what happened earlier. Does the board know yet?"

"They do. They also understand that it was a mistake and it didn't affect your job in any way." Victor replied.

"Are you kidding me right now?" Brady demanded.

"No, I am not." Victor replied. "We all make mistakes, Brady."

"If it had been me who left Tate in a frozen car, you'd be reading me all the riot acts!" Brady accused him.

"And you're behaving like a child." Victor said. "Now I suggest you grow up and focus on getting Eve out of Basic Black." Brady simmered and stormed out of the room, muttering to himself. Sonny turned to Victor. "So, how bad is it?"

Sonny sighed and sat on the couch. "He almost died, Uncle Vic. If he hadn't been found in time..." Sonny shook his head sadly.

"Thank God he was." Victor replied. "What do the police say?"

"They're still investigating. They'll call in a couple of days." Sonny replied.

"Well, I'm sure the police will agree that it was just a big mistake. They won't press charges." Victor said optimistically.

"He's right." They turned to see Justin and Adrienne walk in. "Social services is also going to be stopping by within a day or two."

"You've got to be kidding!" Victor exclaimed. "There are fathers out there who do much worse on purpose, and they don't get visits from social services!"

"Because they aren't reported." Justin pointed out. "This visit is just precautionary, so let's not give this social worker any reason to take the boys away from us, okay, Uncle Victor?"

"Fine." Victor grumbled.

"Thank you." Justin sighed. "Hopefully, this will all run smoothly."

Brady listened from outside the living room. He smiled mischeviously and walked off.

"It will. I mean, Sonny is a good father." Adrienne said.

"Yeah. Speaking of that, another reason why they called this visit is because Sonny's family has a history of abuse." Justin stared at Adrienne pointedly.

"What? I never-" Adrienne started to say, then realized something. "Oh. You mean my father. But, abuse isn't heriditary. I wasn't abusive, and Sonny definitely isn't."

"True, but, again, this is just precaution." Justin replied.

They heard the door open, and turned to see Will walk into the house carrying Leon in his carseat. Sonny walked over to them, but Will just shook his head and headed upstairs. Sonny hung back, slightly hurt. Adrienne came up beside him.

"Hey...he'll forgive you. I know he will." Adrienne said warmly. She pulled him into a hug.

Sonny took a deep breath. "I hope so."

XXX

After putting Leon down for a nap, Will went to his room and lay on his bed. He thought about his conversation with Marlena. Divorce can be messy- especially with kids involved. It's just that he couldn't live like this anymore. He thought about all the times Sonny chose his business over him and Ari and the boys, all their fights, Sonny treating him like a child, Sonny always controlling their relationship somehow...

But then he thought of the good times with Sonny and all of his good qualities. Sonny is also loving, caring, kind, generous, loyal, funny, sweet...the more Will thought of it, the more he realized that his good qualities outweigh the bad. He took a deep breath and headed downstairs to look for Sonny. He went to the living room door and saw Justin and Adrienne talking.

"He's going to be fine, Adrienne." Justin was saying.

"I know he will. I'm just worried about what Will is going to do about this." Adrienne said. "I mean, Sonny has gone through so much over the last few years. Ever since they came back for the Bicentennial, Will has been one of the few people in his life who has stood by him no matter what. If Will leaves him now...I'm afraid that it might send Sonny down a dangerous path."

"Honey, come one. With you as a mother?" Justin asked in surprise. "Never. Though, I get where you're coming from. It's hard for a Kiriakis to hold onto a shred of decency. Remember when I almost killed Victor because he gave me pills that caused impotency?"

"All too well." Adrienne nodded. "That's why we raised our boys away from the Kiriakis crime scene. And now Sonny is CEO of Victor's company. Who knows what will happen?"

"I wouldn't worry too much. Sonny hasn't done anything illegal or dangerous." Justin said. "And it's gonna stay that way."

"I'm just worried that if Will leaves him..."

"We will be there for him." Justin said. "We'll remind him that life goes on. It gets better."

Adrienne chuckled at his little reference.

Will took a deep breath. They had good points. He couldn't leave Sonny now. Not when he needs him most. He headed back upstairs to his bedroom. Sonny was there.

"Hey. I've been looking all over for you." Sonny said.

"I've been looking for you, too actually." Will chuckled softly.

"Will, I am so, so, so sorry about what happened." Sonny said earnestly.

"I know. I believe you." Will replied. "I guess it's partly my fault, too. I know you're super busy, I should have taken that into consideration."

"This is not your fault." Sonny said, shaking his head.

"I've been thinking..." Will sighed quietly. "I've noticed that you have a tendency to choose work over me and the kids."

"What?! I do not-" Sonny snapped, offended.

"Yes, you do. You know you do." Will nodded. "And if I'm going to forgive you, give you one more chance, that is what needs to change. I don't care how important or how big your deals are. Our family comes first."

"Okay. I promise: our family comes first no matter what." Sonny said sincerely.

"Okay. Good." Will replied. "In that case, I forgive you."

"Really?"

"Yeah. The hypothermia didn't affect any of Leon's organs. He's fine." Will said. "So, we're good."

Sonny let out a big sigh of relief. Tears sprang to his eyes. "I wasn't sure that..."

"I know." Will pulled him into a hug. "It's okay."

Sonny hugged Will back and sniffed. "I can't live without you."

"Aw." Will chuckled. "I can't live without you, either." Will pulled away. "Sonny, I know you feel terrible about what happened. You need to forgive yourself. Leon's okay."

Sonny swallowed and nodded. "I know. I...it's gonna take some time."

"Okay." Will nodded. He was glad that drama ended on a high note. Sort of.

XXX

A few days later, Sonny walked into the living room. Maggie and Victor were there.

"So, the meeting with Social Services went well despite Brady trying to ruin it by listing all my shortcomings as a father." Sonny announced. "The police also called to tell me they are not gonna press charges."

"Well, that's wonderful." Maggie said.

"I just hope that all this doesn't interfere your running Titan."

Sonny refrained from rolling his eyes. "Yeah, we know business is the only thing that matters around here."

"Sonny, I am concerned about you." Victor said. "I'm concerned about your reputation, about your future. Look, I think you have a wonderful life ahead of you, a very successful career. And as much as I think that you'd be better off without will horton, I know that he is doing a much better job as a husband. I just want you to be very careful going forward that you don't jump into something that you can't handle."

Sonny sighed. "You're absolutely right, Uncle Vic. I do need to be careful about my reputation and my future. So I'm gonna take some time and think about it, and I'll give you an answer as soon as I can."

A few hours later, he returned, suitcases in hand.

"So I see you're giving up, moving out, throwing in the towel at Titan. Well, don't just stand there feeling sorry for yourself! Go! Get the hell out of my sight!" Victor snapped. He turned away slightly. Sonny just stared at him. "Well, what the hell are you waiting for, damn it? If that's your decision, to walk away from an opportunity that's been given to you, go! Get your sorry, cowardly ass out of my house!"

Maggie whirled around and slapped her thigh in exasperation. "For God's sake, Victor, let him speak!"

"Thank you, Maggie. Thank you." Sonny said, nonplussed. "Contrary to your assumption, Uncle Vic, I'm not moving out and I'm not leaving Titan."

Victor was surprised. "What? I don't understand."

"I thought about everything you said and it was a wake-up call that I needed badly." Sonny said. "I am ready, I am willing, and able to take on the new DiMera heir. But I'm gonna go to London, conduct some Titan business over there, close a very important deal. I was gonna do it remotely, but I figured, hey, it'll be more effective if I do it in person. Hopefully I can lay some more groundwork for some future deals."

"I hope so, too." Victor replied, softly.

"And I'm not gonna lie, getting away from all this drama went into me making that final decision." Sonny admitted. "I'm gonna use this as a distraction, but I need you to know that aside from my family and my kids, Titan is the most important thing in my life right now. I gotta going, 'cause the jet's waiting for me. I want to thank you so much for your support. It means the world to me."

"We love you, Sonny." Maggie said.

"Love you, too. I won't let you down, Uncle Vic." Sonny said.

"You better not." Victor grumbled as Maggie chuckled softly.

Sonny nodded and backed out of the living room. His parents greeted him. "You guys too, huh?"

"Yes, us too." Adrienne said. "Sonny, I know this is a business trip, but you can't run away from every single problem."

"I'm not." Sonny assured her. "This is just to give me a little time to breathe and rethink some things."

"Well, I know you'll be laying down the groundwork for new deals." Justin said. "You'll do great."

"Thank you, Dad." Sonny replied. "I'm also going to hop over to Edinburgh and Paris to check on the Titan offices there."

Adrienne hugged Sonny. "I love you, baby. I believe in you."

"Thank you, Mom." Sonny hugged back. "I love you, too."

Will came down the stairs and exhaled. "Ready, Sonny?"

"Yeah. Let's go." Sonny wheeled his suitcase out the door. "Bye, guys!"

Will followed him out to the car. "You said good-bye to the kids, right?"

"Of course I did."

"Just making sure." They climbed in the car and Will drove out to the street. "Maybe this is a good idea after all. You needing space after everything. It will be good for you. And for me."

Sonny smiled. "Thank you for finally understanding."

Will chuckled. "Sure."


	140. Apologies and Loyalties

London was cold and rainy this time of year. Sonny sat in a cozy cafe drinking coffee while he waited for his associate. The cafe was brightly lit with soft music playing in the background. Sonny could see Big Ben and one of the bridges from his window.

"Sonny Kiriakis?"

Sonny looked around and saw a tall, lanky man in his early thirties with light brown hair and blue eyes. He stood up. "That's me. You're Blake Ames?"

"I am." Blake said in a British accent. They shook hands and sat. "Witmer entrusted me with this deal. I don't intend to let him or you down."

Sonny nodded. "Good. Now, this deal gives you quite a bit of access to most of Titan's secrets and our playbook."

"In exchange for collaborating with most of our European offices." Blake replied. He pulled out a small packet. "I have the agreement right here."

"All right." Sonny read over the agreement and signed. "Done and done."

"Brilliant. It will be a pleasure working with you." Blake said. They stood up and shook hands again.

"Oh, same with you." Sonny replied. "Bye."

"Bye." Blake replied. He watched Sonny leave and sat back down. He pulled his phone out and called someone. "It's me. I'm in." He hung up, smiled in satisfaction, and pulled out an old photo of a man with a drawn face and light brown hair holding a baby. "It's only a matter of time, Father. The Kiriakis family is going to pay for what they did."

XXX

After checking on Titan Paris, he hopped on his private jet to Edinburgh. Edinburgh only has a few skyscrapers and Titan Scotland is one of them. Sonny made it to the top floor and headed for the coorporate offices. The CEO of Titan Scotland was a native Scot named Scott McDonald, also known as "Scott the Scot". Sonny knocked on his door.

"Come in." Scott called from inside.

"I hope I'm not interrupting." Sonny said as he walked in.

"Not at all, my boy." Scott replied, standing up and smiling. They shook hands. "Welcome to Scotland, lad."

"Thank you. I was just over in London closing a deal, and I thought I'd check on things here." Sonny replied.

"Well, I'm flattered." Scott said. "Morals and profits are up and steady. We should have at least 20 deals closed by year's end."

"I'm glad to hear that." Sonny replied, nodding.

Scott's phone rang. "Ooh. 'Scuse me, laddie." He answered his phone. "McDonald here. ..." While Scott was on the phone, Sonny looked around his office. There were pictures of Scott with two preteen children- a boy and a girl- with platimum blonde hair and brown eyes standing in front of different landmarks and landscapes all over the world. Scott finished his phone call and noticed Sonny looking at the photos. "Me niece and nephew. I took them under my wing after their parents' untimely death."

"Oh. I'm so sorry to hear about that." Sonny replied.

"It's all right. I've been taking them on adventures around the world to help them cope." Scott replied.

"That's nice." Sonny replied. "If you don't mind my asking, how do you manage running a mult-billion dollar coorporation and going on all these trips?"

"We usually go on the weekends and during the summer holiday." Scott explained. "During the evening after supper, I would work remotely while the wee bairns do their homework."

"Effective." Sonny replied, approvingly.

"I'm glad you approve." Scott chortled. "You used to do a bit of adventuring yourself, haven't you?"

"Yeah. Gosh, it feels like a lifetime ago." Sonny replied, shaking his head and smiling wistfully as he remembered. "I've gone mountain climbing, hiking, white-water rafting, kayaking, zip-lining, bungee jumping, skydiving..." He sighed. "Looking back now, I kind of miss it."

"Well, you're still young. And you have three young'uns yourself, yes?"

"Yeah. A daughter and twin sons." Sonny beamed. "Maybe I'll start taking them on adventures once they're old enough."

"Sounds like fun." Scott replied.

There was another knock and a man entered. "Mr. McDonald- oh. Sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt."

"Not at all, Pearson. Come on in." Scott said. He turned to Sonny. "Geoff Pearson, my head of research and development. Pearson, this is Sonny Kiriakis, CEO of Titan in Salem in the United States."

"Nice to meet you, Geoff." Sonny said.

"Nice to meet you, too." Geoff replied. He turned to Scott. "So, I looked into ePublishing. Since print is dying, I'm thinking it might be easier if we digitize all of our publishing materials and sell the machines used for publishing prints for scraps."

"I think that's a good idea." Scott nodded. "What do you think, Sonny?"

"Oh. Um...sure, if you want to do things the easy way." Sonny replied.

"Why wouldn't you want to do things the easy way?" Scott shrugged. "You got to work smarter, lad. Not harder."

Sonny was taken aback, but inspired by that. "That's...actually pretty good advice. Thanks."

XXX

Meanwhile in Salem, Will sat in his car outside the rehab clinic. He spent the last couple of days really thinking about his marriage. It really wasn't that bad, but it could be better. Especially since he damaged his relationship with Lucas in the process. He took a deep breath and went inside the clinic. He was told that Lucas has already been released, but he was in the waiting room with Kate.

"You know I don't like the guy, but...I guess as long as you're happy, I'm cool with it." Lucas was saying.

"Me, too." Lucas and Kate turned to see Will walking into the room. "Don't worry, I came here to make peace with you guys."

"Really?" Kate asked in surprise.

"Yeah." Will nodded. "Grandma, I am sorry I have been mean and disrespectful to you and to Andre. I'll admit that he has mellowed out in the last year, so, maybe you're right. Maybe he has changed."

Kate smiled and nodded. "Took you long enough to realize that. You're forgiven."

"Thank you." Will replied, then turned to Lucas. "And Dad, I'm sorry about everything I've done to you. I hope you can find it in your heart to forgive me."

"I do." Lucas said. "And I'm sorry I was so mean to and about Sonny. At least he's a better person than Andre. No offense, Mom."

Kate laughed softly. "None taken."

"So, we're good?" Will asked Lucas.

"Yeah, we are." Lucas smiled and pulled Will into a hug.

"Oh, I've missed you, Dad."

"Oh, kid, you have no idea." Lucas laughed softly. They pulled apart and Lucas sighed. "I'll apologize to Sonny next time I see him."

"Good." Will nodded, then turned to Kate. "I'll also make peace with Andre."

"Good." Kate smiled and nodded again. She pulled Will into a hug. "I'm so glad we're friends again."

Will laughed. "Me, too."

XXX

Later that evening, Will walked through the private area and ran into Abigail. "Hey, Abigail."

"Hey, Will." Abigail greeted. "How's Leon?"

"He's a lot better, thanks." Will replied. "So, how are things at the House of DiMera?"

"Okay, considering." Abigail folded her arms. "I'm just glad we're all united against Stefan."

"That's good." Will said. He was about to say something about Andre when Gabi stormed through the gate muttering darkly in Spanish.

"Gabi, hey, everything okay?" Abigail asked.

"No." Gabi said, seething.

"What's going on? Where's your coat? You're, like, shivering." Abigail said. She pulled off her scarf.

"It doesn't matter-" Gabi shook her head.

"Yeah, no, it does. It's freezing out here." Abigail tried to wrap her scarf around Gabi, but Gabi pushed her away.

"It's okay-I don't want it-please, I don't want it-" Gabi said.

"Hey, what is wrong? What is wrong?" Will asked, putting his hands on her shoulder.

"Andre!" Gabi snapped.

"What A...bout him?" Abigail asked.

"Son of a bitch just fired me from my own company." Gabi announced.

"What?!" Will exclaimed.

"Hold on, no, that- he wouldn't do that." Abigail said in shock.

"Yeah, well, he just did, and he just told me that it would be better without me." Gabi snapped.

"Okay, well, that is some kind of a mistake." Abigail suggested.

"No, the mistake was me trusting that bastard." Gabi replied.

"Okay, listen, hold on-you just-I'm gonna talk to Chad, and this is gonna be okay." Abigail promised.

"Abigail, that is not gonna change anything. It's already done-Andre stole my company, and now I have nothing." Gabi said. She started walking off, but Abigail grabbed her.

"Gabi, no, no!"

"He's not gonna get away with this-I swear I will kill him for this." Gabi proclaimed, then stormed off.

"Gabi- Gabi!" Abigail called after her. She sighed, shook her head, and shrugged at Will.

Will sighed and shook his head and smiled in spite of himself. "You know...I was going to make my peace with Andre even after everything he has done. But now..."

"You still could, Will. There has to be an explanation for this." Abigail insisted.

"What possible explanation could there be, Abigail?" Will asked. "I'm glad I didn't make my peace with him now. He's still the same selfish, evil, conniving bastard he's always been!"

"And we were doing so good before..." Abigail said, turning away.

"Why are you so loyal to Andre, Abigail?" Will asked, frustrated. "Seriously, after everything he's done to our family over the years?"

"He was there for me when no one else was!" Abigail exclaimed, defensively.

"After you escaped Shady Hills? Wake up, Abigail. Andre was and still is using you to stay on Chad's good side!" Will exclaimed. "He cares about no one else but himself!"

"That is not true!" Abigail argued. "Look, I know you don't like him, but seriously, Will, if you would spend five minutes with him you'll know he's changed. "

"I have, and he hasn't. He acts like a competitive 15 year old going 'my company is better than yours. You're gonna lose' to Sonny, even though he has done nothing to him! Absolutely nothing, and still Andre targets him again and again!" Will ranted. "Sonny is supposed to be your favorite cousin, and you side with Andre!"

"This isn't about taking sides, Will!" Abigail argued.

"What is it gonna take to make you see that Andre isn't your friend?" Will asked. "He would turn on you in a heartbeat if it benefitted him. Hell, he kind of did when he kidnapped your so-called 'favorite cousin' last year."

"Oh. My. God! Why are you still harping over that?! It has been almost a year!" Abigail exclaimed, tearing at her hair in frustration. "Sonny is fine. You found him within three hours! Get the hell over it!"

"Yeah. We found him no thanks to you." Will folded his arms.

"Excuse me? Who was the one who looked at Andre's call log and immediately told JJ and you?" Abigail asked. "And as long as we're on that subject, Andre and Eduardo only had Sonny kidnapped because Deimos kidnapped Chad and Gabi, and they were desperate to get them back!"

"And if the roles were reversed? If Andre and Eduardo had kidnapped Sonny first, then Deimos kidnapped Chad and Gabi in order to get Sonny back, would you have been okay with that?" Will asked.

"No, I wouldn't! And it doesn't matter anyway, 'cause it's over with and done. Deimos is dead and Eduardo's in prison." Abigail said.

Will laughed softly and shook his head. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. "You know...I really thought...you genuinely, selflessly cared about me and Sonny."

"I do!" Abigail insisted.

"If you did, then you would have cut all ties with Andre last year." Will replied. "I can't believe I wasted so much of my life with you. I chose you over my mother, over my then unborn baby! Although I guess I should sympathize since you chose Andre over people who would have died for you, whilst Andre would definitely let you die, then step over your dead body to get what he wants." He stomped on the ground three times. "Hear that? That's the sound of your father rolling around in his grave."

"A. He was cremated, and B. do not drag my father into this!" Abigail snapped.

"Okay, fine. Don't complain when Thomas befriends Ben in twenty years, then." Will smirked. Abigail slapped Will across the face. Will exhaled sharply. "Slap me all you want. You know what I'm saying is true. You have no loyalty to the people who actually care about you!"

"Loyalty?! Loyalty?" Abigail shrieked. "You want to talk about loyalty, Will? How about when you wrote that TruVista article, hmm? Or when you cheated on your husband twice?! Or- my personal favorite- when you beat your dad almost to death because he yelled at Sonny while he was drunk?"

"I made up for those mistakes." Will replied. "You haven't, and you don't intend to. I hope to God Andre betrays you. And when he does, I will not be there for you and neither will Sonny. You are selfish and inconsiderate, and I don't want you anywhere near my family again!" He stormed off.

Abigail just stared after her cousin. How could he say that? All of a sudden, her head started pounding. Abigail clutched her forhead and started gasping. Then, she regained her composure and walked off, calmly.


	141. Another DiMera Bites The Dust

Will was so emotionally exhausted when he arrived home, he fell asleep when his head hit the pillow. The following morning, he woke up close to 10:00. He shot up and hurried to get ready. He was supposed to pick Sonny up at the airport. He got dressed and grabbed a muffin and some coffee to go. He ended up arriving a little early. He finished his coffee and opened his phone to check the news.

"Andre DiMera found dead in office at DiMera Enterprises

Andre DiMera, 63, was found dead in his DiMera Enterprises office by his sister-in-law Abigail DiMera early this morning. The cause of death appeared to be blunt force trauma to the head. ..."

Will gasped and smiled. He couldn't help himself. He pumped his fist and laughed happily and did a little happy dance. "Yes!" He looked out the passenger side window and saw Sonny walking towards the car. Will threw his seatbelt off, threw the door open, ran around the car and towards Sonny and grabbed him in a deep, passionate kiss. Sonny exhaled sharply and grunted as Will pulled him into a bone-crushing hug.

"Wow, I should go out of town more often." Sonny chuckled.

"Okay. I'll be honest: this is actually half of the reason why I'm so excited." Will replied.

"Really?" Sonny replied. He put his suitcase in the back and they both climbed in. "Well, at least you were honest this time. What's got you so excited?" Will beamed as he showed Sonny the news article on his phone. Sonny took the phone and Will pulled out into the street. "No way."

"Way!" Will exclaimed and giggled. "I mean I wish this happened two years ago, but, oh well. Better late than never. This is the best news I've heard all year, and, oh, look at that- it's only January. We are on a roll!"

Sonny laughed softly and shook his head. He wasn't surprised by Will's reaction at all. "I wonder who killed him. Poor Abigail. She must have been traumatized."

"Yeah. Could one of your family members be responsible?"

"Well, I hope not- it would be bad for business." Sonny replied. Will smiled at his reaction. "What?"

"Nothing. I agree." Will replied. "I'm hoping the killer will walk, though as some kind of cosmic payback for Andre walking away from every single crime he committed."

"Well, whoever killed Deimos is still out there, so you never know." Sonny shrugged.

"Yep. Two down, one more to go." Will declared.

"Out of...?" Sonny asked, dreading the response.

"Deimos, Andre, and Eduardo." Will said simply.

"Oh." Sonny scoffed and shook his head. "You know, I bet you fifty dollars that in twenty years, you and Eduardo will become good friends, just like your mom and grandma Kate have become."

"Ooh. I wonder what I'll do with those fifty dollars." Will half-joked. They laughed.

Sonny texted Abigail. 'Hey, I just heard about Andre. I'm so sorry for your loss. Let me know if there's anything Will and I can do for you.'

"Who you texting?" Will asked.

"Abigail." Sonny replied. "I expressed my condolences and told her we're both here for her and Chad."

"Hmm." Will said dismissively.

Sonny noticed. "What?"

Will exhaled sharply. "Abigail and I got into a huge fight about Andre last night."

"Why...I mean, what exactly was it about?" Sonny asked. Will explained about Gabi storming up to them and telling them that Andre stole her company, then he and Abigail got into it about Andre deceiving everyone and Abigail's disloyalty to anyone but herself and Chad. Sonny let out a deep sigh. "Okay...I agree that Abigail is...kind of selfish and disloyal, but, Will...she is our cousin."

"Don't remind me." Will said through gritted teeth.

"Fine. Hold a grudge for the rest of your life." Sonny said. "See what I care. But Will? I will give you two months before you start missing having Abigail in your life."

"Fine." Will said. "But I won't. I'm just done. I'm sick and tired of our relationship always being about her and not the both of us, and I've had it with her disloyalty."

"Okay. Fair enough." Sonny said. "But, I am still going to be there for her."

"Okay, fine. It's your life to waste." Will replied. Sonny just sighed and shook his head. "On a happier note: I made amends with my dad and grandma Kate."

"Good, I'm glad." Sonny replied.

"Me, too." Will replied. "So, enough about me. Tell me about your trip. How was London?"

"Rainy." Sonny replied. "I managed to close the deal and set stones for future deals. I also went to Paris and Edinburgh, and I'm glad I did. I met the CEO of Titan over there, and he actually gave me some pretty good advice: work smarter, not harder. He also has all these pictures of him and his neice and nephew from all over the world, and it made me realize...I miss it. Adventuring."

"So, what are you saying?" Will asked.

"I'm saying that once the kids are old enough...I want to take them on adventures." Sonny replied. "Hot-air ballooning, bungee jumping, biking, hiking, mountain climbing, zip-lining."

Will nodded. "I figured you'd want to do that. I approve. And I'll be the one walking behind you guys carrying a first aid kit."

Sonny laughed. "Yeah!"

XX

After Will and Sonny returned to the mansion, they headed upstairs. Sonny said hello to the kids and headed back downstairs to the living room.

"That's weird." Brady was saying.

"What?" Asked Eve.

"Apparently, Gabi and Andre were no-shows at the Gabi Chic pre-launch event." Brady announced.

"Oh."

Sonny chose that moment to join the conversation. "You haven't heard?"

"Heard what?" Eve asked.

"Andre DiMera is dead." Sonny announced.

Eve and Brady were shocked. "Um, how do you even know this, Sonny?"

"I heard about it in the car on the way home from the airport." Sonny explained. "Apparently, Andre was murdered last night in the DiMera offices."

"Do the police have any suspects?" Brady wondered.

"None were mentioned, but the DiMeras do have a long list of enemies, obviously." Sonny said. "Is Uncle Vic around? I need to update him on the London deal."

"Um, n-no. He and, um, Maggie, they-they went to lunch." Eve replied.

"You know, Sonny, I'm surprised you got any work done in London at all. Thought for sure you'd be licking your wounds from leaving your baby in a freezing car." Brady remarked.

Sonny glared at Brady. "Unlike some people, I'm able to keep my personal life from interfering with my work. That is why Uncle Vic put me in charge." He left.

Will met with Sonny in the foyer. "So, the boys are down for a nap and Ari's with Gabi. Wanna go to lunch?"

"Yeah. You go on ahead. There's just something I need to do real quick." Sonny said.

"Okay. I'll be at the Pub." Will replied. They kissed and Will left.

Sonny quietly walked to the now closed living room door and pressed his ear against it.

"I don't think I should. I don't wanna implicate you." Brady was saying.

"Impli-what-what- implicate me in what? What are you-what are you- what are you talking about, Brady?" Eve demanded. "Tell me! God, what did you do to Andre DiMera?"

"I was-I was- I'll tell you, but you have to swear not to say anything. To nobody." Brady said.

Eve nodded. "Just get it-"

"Yes, I did it! I killed Andre DiMera." Brady said simply.

Both Sonny and Eve were shocked. "You killed Andre DiMera?"

"Why are you shocked? Hey, I did what you wanted me to do." Brady shrugged.

Sonny continued listening for a few more minutes, then snuck out of the house.

XX

Will ran into Marlena at the Brady Pub. "Grandma!"

"Hey, Will." Marlena greeted. "What are you up to today?"

"Well, I picked Sonny up from the airport this morning." Will replied. "He has a few things he needed to do, then he's joining me here for lunch."

"Oh, sounds lovely." Marlena replied.

Roman came rushing up to them. "Will! Hey, I'm glad you're here. Will you please cover for me? I need to get down to the station."

"Oh. Um-"

"Great! Thanks. I knew I could count on you. Bye." Roman rushed out of there.

"O...kay, then. Guess I don't have the day off after all." Will said.

"Yeah. Sorry. Your grandfather has been seeing Anna DiMera for a while, and she is a suspect." Marlena explained.

"How is she a suspect?" Will asked.

"Her late husband Tony's urn was the murder weapon." Marlena replied.

"Yikes." Will replied.

"I know. Anyway, sorry to cut this short, but I am going to meet John at the cafe." Marlena said.

"Okay. Bye Grandma." Will said. He texted Sonny to let him know what was going on, then clocked himself in for the day. It was a slow day, so Will just ordered lunch for him and Sonny. As he sat down, Sonny rushed in looking frazzled.

Sonny sat across from Will. "You will not believe what I just heard."

"I know. Anna DiMera's a suspect in Andre's murder." Will replied.

"Wait, what?" Sonny asked, confused.

"Wait, that's not what you heard? Then what did you hear?" Will asked.

"I overheard Brady confessing to Eve that he killed Andre." Sonny announced.

Will was surprised. "What?"

"I cannot believe he did that." Sonny said.

"Okay, wait, slow down." Will said, waving his hand. "Are you sure? Did you hear the entire conversation?"

"Well, no, but-"

"Sonny, he could have just been messing with Eve." Will suggested. "Or he knew you were eavesdropping and was trying to trick you."

Sonny sat back. "Oh. I didn't think about that."

"Yeah." Will nodded.

Sonny sighed and smiled. "I'm glad I told you this. If I had confronted him, then he would have made me look like a fool."

"I wouldn't put it past him." Will replied.

Sonny just shook his head. "Well, you know what, never mind, then. I would love it if Andre's murderer walked free, since Andre himself walked away from every single crime he committed, so, I'm just not gonna do anything whether or not Brady did kill Andre or just joked about it."

"Sounds like a plan." Will nodded.

XXX

Later that afternoon, Paul came into the Pub looking troubled. He sat at the bar.

"Hey, Paul." Will greeted. "Everything okay?"

"Uh, not really." Paul said.

"Oh. Do you wanna...talk about it?" Will offered.

Paul considered that. It might be easier to talk to someone who's known John longer than he had. "Yeah. I'd like that."

"Okay. Let's go upstairs." They headed to the apartment. Will handed Paul a glass of water.

"Uh... thanks." Paul replied, taking the glass.

"So, um... what's-what's going on?" Will asked as he sat on the couch.

"I wish I knew. And in a weird way, it affects you too." Paul said.

"Okay, well... now you have my attention." Will replied.

"Uh... it's my dad. I think he's doing something terrible." Paul admitted.

Will scoffed in disbelief. "What? Your dad like a superhero."

Paul nodded. "Yeah, yeah, I've always thought so, um... but, you know, after what i heard... okay, look, um...I-I'm not completely sure, but I swear i heard him tell someone on the phone that... that he was poisoning his best friend."

Will was surprised. "My Uncle Steve? Maybe it was like some sort of code or something and they're working on a case together?"

"No, see, we're all partners at Black Patch." Paul interjected. "If it were a case, I would have known about it. Anyway, when I confronted him, he said he was talking to Steve. I mean, he totally lied. Look, something is wrong, and i can feel it in my gut."

"Okay. Do you...have any other proof that-that he's poisoning my uncle other than overhearing him on the phone?" Will asked. "Wait- did you listen to the whole conversation?"

"Yeah. And that's the thing, like, um...so Steve, see, his vision has gotten blurry and he's having these dizzy spells and headaches and... and my dad, he had a vial of liquid in his hand, and when i joined him, he tried to hide it." Paul explained.

"Do you ask him about it?" Will asked.

Paul nodded. "Yeah, yeah. He said that they were eye drops."

"Now, I mean, you're- you're close with your dad, right?"

Paul nodded again. "And he's never been anything but honest with me. And so for him to just lie to me so blatantly... what if he's really doing something to hurt Steve?"

"Paul...you haven't known John for as long as I have. He works for the ISA. He could be helping Steve." Will explained. "You honestly think your dad could be poisoning him?"

"I don't want to, but..." Paul sighed. "Okay, look, we were here the other day, and my dad and Steve were joking around like they always do. But the idea that my dad could play it so normal with Steve and be secretly poisoning him... I mean, that terrifies me."

Will exhaled slowly. "There has to be some explanation for this."

"Well, I hope so."


	142. The Man Who Knew Too Much

Will sighed and pulled out his phone.

"Who are you calling?" Paul asked.

"My grandma. If something's going on with John, she needs to know about it." Will replied.

"Please don't call Marlena." Paul said.

"Paul, you overheard your dad say he was poisoning Steve." Will reminded him.

"Look, I don't know what I heard, okay? I could be totally off base about this." Paul said. "I mean he could be talking about something else."

"He said he was poisoning his best friend. What else could he be talking about?" Will asked.

"Will, please. Just give me a little bit of time to check this out, okay?" He practically begged. "I will figure it out, I promise. But do not call Marlena. Not yet."

Will shook his head and called Marlena anyway.

"Hi, Will." Marlena greeted.

"Hi, um, I need to talk to you in person. It's important." Will said.

"Oh, all right. Uh, I'm just having dinner with John. Why don't you join us at the Brady Pub?" Marlena offered.

"Oh. I'm actually upstairs in the apartment above the Pub. Why-why don't you-why don't you come over here after you're done, alone?" Will suggested.

"Uh, sure. Sure, is something wrong?" Marlena asked.

Will hesitated. "Uh. Um, nothing major, but I-I'll just see you later then."

"Okay, honey. I-I'll see you later. Buh-bye." Marlena said.

Paul was upset. "Damn it, Will. I mean, seriously? If I'd known that you were going to rat out my Dad-"

"I-look, I get that you're looking out for your dad, but if John is capable of hurting his best friend, then he's probably also capable of hurting his wife." Will said.

Paul shook his head. "No, he cares about Marlena. He would never hurt her."

"And he doesn't "care" about his best friend?" Will asked raising an eyebrow. "Look, you can't know anything for sure in a situation like this, but if something happened to Grandma and I didn't say anything, I could not live with that."

"Look, I care about Marlena too." Paul said calmly. "And if I thought that she was in any immediate danger, I would have told her myself. But whatever my dad was talking about on that call had to do with Steve. And before I confront him, I need to know the facts. And for now, I-I just have to believe that that there is a reasonable explanation for all of this."

"What possible explanation could there be for him to poison his best friend?" Will asked.

"I've heard a lot of stories about my dad's past. For years, the DiMeras messed with his head." Paul said. "Trained him to be a loyal soldier. Carry out their sick plots. Maybe some of that training is resurfacing from his subconscious."

Will nodded. "So you're admitting that his mental state could be precarious."

"That's why I have to handle this very carefully. Please, just give me a little bit of time. Okay?" Paul replied.

Marlena knocked on the door. "Hi, honey. It's me."

Will opened the door to let Marlena in. "Hi."

"Hi." Marlena said.

"Thanks for stopping by." Will said.

"Sure, Will. What did you want to talk about? It sounded like it was important." Marlena said.

"Well, I had a question, actually." Will lied. "I was wondering if, um...it would be possible to put whoever is suspected of Andre's murder into hypnosis to either clear or convict them."

"Well, that is a good idea, but, it's also a desperate measure." Marlena replied. "I'm sure this case will be closed soon, anyway. Is this all?"

"Yeah. Sorry, I've been working and cleaning this apartment, so I'm kind of feeling a little tired and not-not great." Will replied. "Um. And I'm-I'm so sorry. I should have called and told that before you rushed all the way over here. I'm sorry. Can you forgive me?"

"Well, I did race right over here, you know?" Marlena half-joked.

"I know, I'm sorry." Will said as Marlena chuckled. "That was-I'm-that was so rude. I'll make it up to you. Um, but I think I should just you know, lie down. Thanks again for stopping by. I-I really appreciate it. I'm so sorry that I dragged you over here. I just, you know, I'm... tired."

"It's okay. Just a couple minutes out of my way. Get some rest. I'll check on you later." Marlena said.

"Okay, bye. Thank you." Will said.

Paul came out of hiding from the hallway. "Thank you for not telling Marlena about my dad. I will quickly move on this. Look, I just need a little time to figure out what is going on, and..."

"I think you mean "we" need a little time." Will smirked.

Paul was confused. "What?"

"I'm gonna help you." Will said.

"You want to help me?" Paul asked, surprised.

"Yes."

"Okay, but look, like, I'm a private investigator. I know how to move around under the radar and..." Paul went on.

"Okay, and i was a reporter. And I'm sure those instincts will start kicking in once we start digging up stuff on your dad." Will replied.

"Maybe. But, I mean, things could get really dangerous, and..."

"Hey. Last year, I jumped from one ledge to another on the 21st floor window of a hotel to rescue Sonny, unarmed." Will reminded him. "I practically specialize in danger. This stuff concerns me too because of Grandma. Okay? Like it or not, you and I are going to be a team."

Paul gave in and nodded. "Okay. Let's meet again tomorrow."

"Sounds good."

XXX

Later that night, Will and Sonny met again for dinner.

"So, you were right. Brady was just messing around." Sonny told Will. "I fell right into his trap."

"See? I told you. Maybe next time you'll listen to me." Will smirked.

Sonny laughed. "On a much happier note: JJ and Lani are going to have a baby."

Will gasped and smiled. "Really? That's amazing!"

"I know!"

"Wow!" Will exclaimed. "I'm happy for them. This could be exactly what they need."

"Right?" Sonny agreed. "Things are looking up for everyone."

XXX

The next morning, Sonny woke up, but didn't sit up. He stared wide-eyed at the alarm clock. Will noticed.

"Sonny? You okay?" Will asked.

"It's February." Sonny said dully.

"Yes. So it is. But why...?"

"Bad things keep happining in February." Sonny said.

Will refrained from laughing. "So...what- you're gonna let that stop you from living your life?"

Sonny pondered that for a minute. "No. You're right." He got up to get dressed. "I just need to be extra careful."

"Okay, then. Great." Will smiled. If he is so paranoid about this month now, Will figured it's best not to tell him about John and Steve. He couldn't blame him for being paranoid, though. Three years ago this February, Sonny found out Will cheated on him then someone tried to kill him. Last year he was kidnapped and beaten unconscious. Two years ago, Andre tortured him in order to get Will to reveal where the stolen money was and threatened to kill him if he didn't kill Hope and Sami.

Could the same thing be happening to John?

XXX

Will went to Paul's room at the Martin house. Paul opened the door to let him in.

"Hi, Paul." Will greeted. Derrick was just getting ready to leave. "And Derrick."

"Hi." Derrick greeted.

"I told Derrick everything." Paul explained.

"Oh." Will nodded. He didn't think he'd ever be in this kind of situation again.

"Are you okay?" Paul asked Will.

"Yeah, I'm fine. It's just that I didn't tell Sonny." Will said. "I didn't want to worry him or put him in an awkward position with his mom and uncle, so..."

"Oh. Okay, our lips are sealed." Paul replied.

"Thanks." Will nodded, then chuckled softly. "It's just that once again, I'm keeping a secret from Sonny along with a couple, one of them pregnant."

"Oh. Well, at least Paul really is the father of my baby." Derrick quipped.

"Yeah, good point." Will said.

"Okay, I need to get to work." Derrick spoke up. "I will let you two talk."

"Okay, bye, babe." Paul and Derrick kissed and Derrick left.

"So, I've been thinking about your dad's situation." Will spoke. "Do you remember two years ago, Andre had my husband and daughter and forced me to kill my great-aunt and my mom?"

"Yeah."

"What if the same thing is happening with your dad?" Will asked. "Your dad was with the ISA for years. From what I've heard, they're not exactly the cub scouts, so I'm sure he knows a lot about underhanded tactics."

Paul nodded. "Well, that would explain him poisoning his best friend. And why he lied to me about the phone call and the eyedrops. I mean, it was all pure BS."

"Well, we definitely need to keep at it till we find out the truth." Will said.

"Well, I don't know if I want to know the truth, not if it means my dad's-" Paul was interrupted by a knock at the door. "Dad! Hey, come on in."

"Hey, kid. And Will." John greeted in surprise. "What are you doing here?"

"Planning a double Valentine's Day date." Will lied.

John nodded. "Right, right. Well, listen, I just wanted to know if you can give me a hand on this new case I'm working on." He said to Paul.

"I thought that you were working with Steve on that." Paul said.

"Yeah, yeah, we were. It's just that he's- he's not up to it right now." John replied.

"I'm sorry to hear that. Uh, what is it, the flu?" Paul wondered.

"No, no, no. It's-it's a little more serious than that, and I'm pretty worried about him right now." John admitted.

"I'm sorry to hear that Steve's in bad shape. I know that he's become like your closest friend." Paul said.

"It's not about me. It's about Steve and Kayla and the impact on their lives." John said.

"Do they know what's wrong?" Will asked.

"No, not yet. But I need to keep Black Patch up and running while Steve's dealing with this, and that's why I came looking for you. I wanted to ask for your help. I really could use it." John said.

"Yeah, sure. Just let me finish up with Will, and I'll met you downstairs." Paul said.

"All right, sounds good. Thanks, kid. And you, listen, don't be a stranger. Doc and I want to have you over some night, all right?" John asked.

"Thank you. Yes, yeah, I'll definitely take you up on that." Will replied.

"Thanks again." John said and left.

"Sure seems upset about Steve." Paul noted. "Maybe you're right- he is being forced to do this."

Will shrugged. "Well, we need to find out the truth one way or the other."

"Yeah, I know. Okay. I think I have an idea, but I'm gonna need your help." Paul said.

Will nodded. "Okay. I told you already; we're in this together."

"Okay. I have a plan."

XXX

Will walked across the square and saw Kate sitting at a table outside the cafe with a drink in her hand. "Uh, a little early in the day, isn't it?"

"You want to join me?" Kate asked.

"Um, you know, I got somewhere I need to be. Thank you, though. I can see this is a hard morning for you. Is there someone that you could talk to? A friend or, like, Marlena, perhaps?" Will asked.

"No, no. I'm fine. No, I really am. I am fine. I'm not actually drowning my sorrows. This martini is kind of a tribute to Andre. It was his favorite- very dry, with a twist, just like him." Kate lifted the glass.

'Oh, thank goodness it's a drink I do not like.' Will thought. "So, you're doing okay?"

Kate nodded. "I really am fine. I mean it. I know you have things to do."

"Well, I- I got a few minutes, actually." Will replied.

Kate scoffed softly. "I know you didn't like him, but it means so much that you would be there for me I like to think of him as complex. Fine, you can laugh." They both laughed. "The thing is, I didn't- I didn't appreciate that in him until it was too late."

"Well, you loved him. I'm sure he knew that." Will said.

Kate shrugged. "I hope so. Well, thank you for listening. But I know you have to get going. I have to get going too. I lost track of time. I have a funeral to go to, so... are you going this way?"

Will nodded. "Yeah."

"Okay."

XXX

Will headed to the Pub and searched through John's coat pockets. He couldn't find anything, so he signaled to Paul, who met with him outside a few minutes later.

"Okay, did you find anything?" Paul asked.

"Gum, some change. No sign of a vial." Will said.

"Good. Maybe I was wrong. I hope so." Paul said.

"Listen, I know we're giving your dad the benefit of the doubt. But what about Steve? Does he not have the right to know that something might be happening to him, that your dad might be poisoning him?" Will asked.

"Not if it's not true." Paul replied. "I decided to confront my dad."

"You asked him about the poison?"

Paul shook his head. "We got interrupted."

"Oh, so basically, we're right back where we started." Will said, slumping his shoulders.

Paul: Look, I don't want you to go back with hope. "I'm-I'm worried. I mean, Steve's life could be at stake here."

"That's why we're going to keep investigating!"

"What if we take too much time and something terrible happens to Steve?" Will asked.

"It won't take that much time if we work together to get to the bottom of this." Paul said.

"But how? Are you just gonna-I mean, unless you just ask your dad about it."

"I don't think he's gonna tell me the truth. I don't think that he can."

"Okay. You said you heard John on the phone, talking about poisoning Steve. Do you have any idea who he was talking to?" Will asked.

"No, but-but I heard him say that he'd wait to hear back."

"Which-which means it's still going on."

"Yeah, yeah, it's not a one-time thing."

Will stroked his chin, then pointed at Paul. "So if the vial in his hand was poison and then we couldn't find any more on him..."

"Then he's gonna need more." Paul nodded.

"Okay, I know what we have to do, but you're not gonna like it." Will shook his head.

"What?"

"We need to follow your dad." Will suggested.

Paul was perplexed. "So you-you want to follow my father, a trained ISA agent?"

Will shrugged. "How else are we gonna find out who is ordering him to poison Steve?"

"If that's what he's doing." Paul said, unsure.

Will sighed. "Paul, aren't we past this?"

"Okay, look, I don't think it's gonna be easy tailing him without tipping him off." Paul said.

"You're his son, I'm his step-grandson, so he's not going to suspect us. We just-we make him think everything's normal. Meanwhile, we watch everything that he does." Will's face fell when Paul didn't respond. "What? You don't like the plan?"

"No, no, it's not that. It's just that, uh... you're sounding more and more like old Will Horton, investigative reporter." Paul replied.

"Well, I was told once I'd make a great investigative reporter." Will folded his arms. "Is that a good thing?"

"Well, for this case, yes." Paul said. He laughed.

"Okay. Well, good, then-then we're in agreement. We follow John and we figure out what he's up to." Will said.

Paul nodded. "Let's do this."

XXX

There was no activity for a week. The day before Valentine's Day found Paul and Will still following John around. They ended up at University Hospital hiding behind the door to the nurse's station.

"We've been following your dad all day and we have no clue what's going on, no explanation for why he's poisoning Steve." Will whispered.

"Shh." Paul glanced back.

"You shh." Will snapped back. "Now he's about to go home with my grandmother, which gives me a lot of anxiety, Paul, so I say we go in and confront him about it."

"Not yet. Can you just give it some more time?" Paul asked.

"Do you not understand how serious this is? Giving you more time means letting John keep hurting Steve, maybe killing him." Will said. Paul ignored him. They saw a beefy, middle-aged African-American man approaching John and Marlena. "Who is that guy?"

"I've never seen him before." Paul replied.

"I'm sorry, I don't believe we've met." Marlena said to the man.

"We haven't, but I know him." He addressed John. "John Black? You run a detective agency with Steve Johnson called Black Patch?"

John nodded. "That's a fact."

"I saw you across the way and figured this is my chance."

"Your chance to what?" Asked Marlena.

"Hire him for a case." The man explained.

"Oh, well, we were just heading out. Maybe you could call his office and make an appointment." Marlena suggested.

The man nodded knowingly. "I'm intruding on your evening. I'm sorry, but this is kind of urgent."

John put a hand on Marlena's shoulder. "It's all right. It's all right, Doc. You know, I'll hear him out. Why don't you go check in with Kayla and, uh, I'll meet you at home, okay?"

"We need to follow them." Paul said to Will.

"Okay, uh, let's take the stairs." Will suggested.

Marlena walked up to them. "Uh, will? Paul? What are you doing here?"

Will tried to act natural. "Hey. I, um... I didn't think you would be here so late."

"Well, I often am, actually." Marlena said.

"Well, we're here to meet up with Derrick, and Sonny said he was coming to visit his Uncle Steve, but it looks like we just missed him." Will explained.

"Oh. I haven't seen Sonny here, and I've been here for a couple hours." Marlena said.

"Oh. Maybe you missed him too, then." Will replied. "I'll just go home now. I'll catch you later?"

"Sure. Bye." Marlena watched as her stepson and grandson walked off in confusion. What is going on with those two?

XXX

Will and Paul followed the two older men to the south private area of the Square.

"We don't have a lot of time. We need to take care of Johnson soon, before anyone figures out what's going on." The younger man was saying.

"I told you, I got this." John insisted.

"You'd better." The man said and walked off.

Paul turned to Will. "I'm gonna tail that guy, try and find out more about him. You-you keep an eye on my dad, okay?"

"Okay, I won't let him out of my sight." Will said.

"Just do not do anything until you call me first." Paul said warningly.

"Why do I need your permission?" Will asked.

"Just don't, okay?" Paul snapped in frustration.

"Fine..." Will ran off after John. John led him to the Brady Pub. Will stood outside and watched John order two coffees. Once the cups were placed in front of him, John pulled out a vial and emptied it into one of the cups. Will backed up and pulled out his phone to text Paul. "Your dad is meeting Steve and he just poured-" He stopped when he heard the door open again.

"Oh, hey, Will. What are you doing here?" John asked.

"Um... uh, just-actually, I was looking for you. Do you got a- you got a moment to talk?" Will asked.

"Um, actually, I'm, uh, kind of late for a business meeting here. But I'll tell you what. I'll, uh- I'll hook up with you first thing in the morning, all right?" John replied. He started to walk away, but Will grabbed his arm.

"I can't let you do that." Will said, unable to help himself.

"Do what?" John asked, feigning confusion.

"I'm not gonna let you poison my Uncle Steve." Will declared.

"You won't let me- what?" John laughed nervously. "Is that what you think I'm doing? You think I'm poisoning my best friend?"

"Yeah, that's exactly what I think." Will said.

"Oh, come on, Will." John shook his head. "That's pretty messed up. Where'd you get an idea like that?"

"From you, actually."

"What?"

"I heard you talk to that guy in the square." Will said. "And I'm not gonna let you lie your way out of this one. This plan of yours to get rid of Steve Johnson, it stops now."

"I think you're making too much out of this." John said.

"I don't think I am." Will disagreed.

"Okay...you know I work for the ISA, right?" John asked.

"Yeah."

"That's good, Will. I'm glad you do." John said. "And I'm sure you also know we deal with a lot of cases, most of which are way over the heads of most civilians. And since you're not operating with all the facts here-"

"I know this for a fact: You're poisoning your partner and best friend." Will said.

John tried his best to keep his patience. "Once again, because you're not operating with all the facts, I wouldn't stick my nose into things I don't understand."

"You don't have to treat me like a child, John." Will said. "Grandma told me about your past, about how Stefano used you as a pawn to carry out his missions. Is that what's happening now? Are you somebody's pawn again?"

"You don't even know what you're talking about." John hissed.

"I know that that guy said a few more doses of the poison would kill Steve." Will said. "And I just saw you pour the contents of a vial into this coffee cup and then ask to meet. Is that-are you- tell me, John. Were you planning on finishing him off tonight?"

"You're making assumptions now, huh?"

"I thought the ISA went after bad guys. But here you are, trying to murder your best friend." Will continued.

"Last time, Will. Stay the hell out of this." John said warningly.

"I wish that I could. I really wanted to give you the benefit of the doubt. I wanted to get to the whole truth before I started accusing you of anything." Will shrugged.

"That would've been smart."

"No, it would've been stupid. It would've been irresponsible. This has gone on long enough. I'm calling Grandma right now." Will pulled out his phone.

John put down his coffee. "Can't let you do that."

"Sorry, Grandma needs to know what's going on." Will said.

John pulled out a gun and aimed it at Will "Not from you."

Will stiffened and his heart quickened. "John, I think you are overreacting a little bit. There's no need to pull a gun on me."

"Well, obviously I disagree on that."

"I just-I'm just trying to figure out what's going on with you." Will did his best to remain calm. This brought back memories of Ben. 'Oh, goddammit, not again!'

John shook his head. "No. You were trying to call your grandma. I can't let you do that. I got to keep her out of this at all costs." His cell phone rang, but he ignored it.

Will slowly put his phone back in his pocket. "I'm-I'm putting my phone away now. I'm not calling Grandma, and I won't."

"I know you won't."

"But I-I-I'd still like to know everything that's going on with you and my uncle and the ISA, so..." Will's voice trailed off.

"It's too late, Will. You already know too much. Let's go." John turned him around and clutched the neck of Will's jacket.

Will became very nervous. "What? Wait. Go where?"

"Just move. Let's go." John shoved him towards the parking lot.

Will's phone rang. "It's Sonny. If I don't answer, he might think something's wrong."

"Too bad. Keep moving." John said. John pushed Will towards his car. "You're driving. Let's go."

Will got into the car and pulled out of the parking lot. John told him to drive to the cemetary.

"What are we doing in a cemetery, John?" Will asked as they headed towards the DiMera mausoleum.

"This is Andre DiMera's final resting place." John said simply.

"Seriously? Is this about that comment I posted on Facebook a few weeks ago about celebrating Andre's death? 'Cause I did delete that after Chad threatened me with a lawsuit." Will said.

"No, it's got nothing to do with that." John replied.

Will nodded. "Okay, look, I'm-I'm-I'm s-I'm, uh... I'm sorry, John. I should not have threatened to expose you before I had all the facts."

"No, you shouldn't have."

"But the, uh, good news is that we're alone now, clearly, and maybe now you can, um, take the time to explain what you said I didn't understand." Will said.

"I already told you it's too late. Our time for talking is over, Will." John replied. "You know too much."

Will's cell phone rang again. He secretly checked and it was Paul calling. He picked up the call and waited until he was sure Paul was listening to say "I don't get it, John. Why did you bring me here? What are we doing at the DiMera mausoleum?"

John pushed him towards the door. "Let's go."

Once they were inside, Will walked to the other side of the room and turned around. "Why did you bring me here, John?"

"So no one can hear us." John replied.

"Does this mean you're- you're finally gonna tell me what you've been up to?"

"God love you. You don't get it, do you? There is no point in explaining anything to you, not anymore, Will." John explained, irritated.

"Okay. Fine. I probably already know the answer, anyway." Will took a deep breath. "You are being forced to do this, aren't you? John, I went through the same thing, remember? Two years ago, Andre had my husband and daughter, and he forced me to kill Aunt Hope and my mother."

"And you handled it just like me- you kept everyone else out of it." John reminded him.

"People found out anyway, and everything worked out fine." Will replied. "Come on, you got to... at least tell me why you brought me all the way down here."

"I already did. This is where... the dead are put to rest." John replied. He raised his gun.

"You're not serious." Will said, his voice shaking.

"Do I look like I'm joking?" John asked, raising an eyebrow.

Will raised his hands in surrender. "You don't have to do this, John."

"I'm afraid I do."

"John... you don't want to do this." Will repeated.

"I don't have a choice." John also repeated.

"But you love Marlena. Do you think she's ever gonna forgive you if you kill her grandson?" Will asked.

"That's a risk I'm gonna have to take." John replied. "You understand." He shot the ground close to Will, who jumped. He looked up in time to see John pistol-whip him.


	143. A Poisoned Explanation

Sonny sighed as he read the article about Gabi's arrest. Justin told him earlier about it. He called Will. "Hey, Will. I don't know if you heard, but Gabi has been arrested for Andre's murder. I know you are working late, but Arianna is gonna need both of us, and so is Gabi. Call me back, please or just come home. I love you. Bye." He was so focused on the article that he didn't hear Ari come in dressed in pajamas and a bathrobe.

"Daddy?"

Sonny turned around. "Ari, sweetheart, what are you doing up? I tucked you in hours ago."

"Where's Mommy?" She asked.

Sonny took a minute to figure out how to answer that question. "Sweetheart, I had so much fun with you today that I asked Mommy if you could stay one more night and I could cook you breakfast in the morning, your favorite- waffles and strawberries. And guess what she said. She said yes! She said yes!" He pulled her into a hug, then pulled away and took her hands. "Oh! You are the luckiest girl in the world. Do you know why? 'Cause so many people love you."

"Including your grandpa." Justin walked in, smiled, and held out his arms.

Sonny smiled up at his dad. "Including your grandpa."

"Here I am." Justin said.

"And you're gonna see your mommy first thing in the morning, okay? Now go give Grandpa a hug." Sonny said to Ari, who ran to Justin.

"Come here! Oh!" Justin picked Ari up and hugged her.

"Then I'm gonna go ahead and put you to bed." Sonny said to Ari.

"Thank you. Oh. Sweet thing." Justin said.

After he put Ari back to bed, Sonny went back to the living room. Justin looked up at him. "I was right, wasn't I? When I told Ari she's gonna see her mom tomorrow? Is Gabi getting out on bail?

Justin sighed. "Well, that's when her arraignment is scheduled. And as I told Gabi, I'm gonna do everything in my power to get her released."

Sonny sat down. "She's probably going out of her mind. I mean, being back behind bars again is her worst nightmare."

"I know. Not to mention how it might affect you and Will." Justin said.

"I know. To have Ari go through this again- not having her mom around for god knows how long. And, Dad, this time, she's older. This is gonna be much more painful for her." Sonny said worriedly.

"Yeah. No doubt." Justin said. "But at least, you know, she has you and Will."

Sonny nodded. "That's right."

"Eli was with Gabi tonight. He said that he would stay with her all through the night." Justin said.

"That's good."

"Gabi's gonna need all the support she can get when she faces the DA tomorrow." Justin said. "Trask is like a pitbull when it comes to nailing suspects, especially a possible two-time offender like Gabi."

"Yeah, but-but no murder charges have actually been filed, correct?" Sonny asked.

"Not yet. Could just be a matter of time."

Sonny got up and started pacing the room. "I know Gabi always felt that Trask had it in for her ever since Nick's murder case. But-but still, after all this time?"

Justin stood up. "Trask was not happy when she found out that Gabi wasn't going to serve her complete sentence. And now, with Gabi threatening to want to kill Andre and the footage of her leaving his office with the lid to that urn and the fact that she doesn't have an alibi, it's not looking good for Gabi."

"You know, Dad, you're-you're not really instilling confidence here." Sonny said.

"I'm just trying to be realistic. But that doesn't mean I can't handle Trask. I've done it before. I can do it again." Justin said confidently.

"I'm counting on you to deliver some good news, 'cause God knows we need some." Sonny said. He checked his phone to see if Will texted or called.

"Where's Will tonight?" Justin asked.

"He said he had to work late tonight." Sonny replied. "I just thought he would at least answer my calls."

"Maybe his battery died." Justin suggested.

"Yeah, maybe..."

XXX

Sonny managed to get some sleep that night. He woke up the next morning and realized it was Valentine's Day. He smiled and turned over to see Will's side of the bed was empty. The sheets were cold and the pillow was smooth. Will didn't come to bed last night. Sonny checked his phone for missed calls or texts. Will still hadn't responded. What was going on?

Sonny went downstairs and ran into Henderson. "Hey, Henderson, have you seen Will since yesterday?"

"No, I haven't." Henderson replied.

Sonny sighed. "Okay, thanks."

XX

Chad posted Gabi's bail, so she was released. Sonny left Ari with her and headed to the Pub. The Pub was busy that morning. Sonny headed directly to the bar where a new bartender was serving customers.

"Be with you in a sec." The bartender told Sonny. Sonny looked around the Pub before the bartender turned to him. "What can I get you?"

"I haven't seen you before. Did you just start working here?" Sonny asked.

"Yeah. It's my first week. I'm Jeff." Jeff introduced himself. "Are you a regular here?"

Sonny nodded. "Yeah. My husband is also one of your bosses."

"Not Roman Brady?" Jeff guessed.

Sonny laughed softly. "No. That's my husband's grandfather. I'm Will Horton's husband Sonny."

"Oh, nice to meet you, Sonny." Jeff replied.

"You, too. Speaking of Will, have you seen him since yesterday?" Sonny asked.

"Uh, well, I did see him talking to this guy last night." Jeff replied. "Haven't seen or heard from him since."

"Who was this guy?" Sonny asked.

Jeff shrugged. "I dunno. He's about 6'2, early sixties, silver hair, brown eyes, raspy voice."

'John.' Sonny thought. "Okay, I know who that is. Thanks." He walked out of the restaurant and called John, and his phone went to voicemail. "Hey, John. It's Sonny. I was told that you and Will talked last night at the Pub. He didn't come home last night. I was wondering if you know where he is. Please call me back. I'm getting really worried about him. Bye."

XX

After checking with Lucas, Kate, Chad, Marlena, and Gabi; Sonny checked the Salem Inn to see if Will was there. No one had seen him. He went back home to see if he was there, and he wasn't.

"Dammit, Will. Where are you?" Sonny asked. He exhaled sharply. The doorbell rang and Sonny ran to answer it. "Billie."

"Hey, Sonny." Billie greeted. "Can I come in?"

"Uh, sure." Sonny said. "It's just not a good time."

"Is everything okay?" Billie asked.

"I can't find Will." Sonny said. "No one can."

Billie nodded and looked a little uneasy. "Oh. I, um..." She cleared her throat. "this is awkward. I actually ran into Will earlier this morning."

"You did? Where?" Sonny asked, surprised. "Is he okay?"

"The park. He looked a little upset." Billie replied.

"About what?" Sonny asked, confused.

"He didn't tell me. He only told me to give you this." Billie pulled out a folded-up note.

Puzzled, Sonny took the note and opened it. He read through it and shook his head. "This doesn't make sense. He wouldn't do this. And-and why would he give this note to you of all people to give to me?"

Billie raised her hands in surrender. "Hey, I'm just the messenger. I'm sorry. I know this is hard."

Sonny just continued to stare at the letter.

"Okay, so message delivered. I would love to stay, but I have to get back to work." Billie replied. "Bye, Sonny."

Sonny walked into the living room, still reading over the note.

"Sonny,

I'm sorry it had to be done this way, but, I can't take it anymore. I'm leaving you. I'll come for the kids as soon as I take a breather.

Good-bye,

Will."

The more Sonny studied it, the more he realized it wasn't Will's handwriting.

Suddenly, Adrienne bounced in. "Hey, baby! Happy Valentine's Day!" Adrienne hugged Sonny from behind and smooched him on the side of the head. "Whatcha reading?"

"A dear John letter." Sonny replied.

"Wait, what?" Adrienne asked, confused.

"But this isn't Will's handwriting." Sonny continued, barely paying attention to his mother. "Billie. I wonder..." He jumped up and ran upstairs.

Adrienne stared after Sonny, then shook her head. "Nope. Do not get involved. It's none of your business." She sat down and started leafing through a magazine.

Meanwhile, Sonny dug through his desk drawers until he found a Christmas card from Billie. He matched Billie's handwriting to the letter. They matched. Sonny sighed. "Billie, what the hell are you doing?" His cell phone rang. "Derrick?"

"Hi, Sonny. I'm looking for Will. Is he around?" Derrick asked.

"No. I haven't seen him since last night." Sonny replied. "I mean I found out he went to the Pub and was talking to John about something, but, after that, nothing. Then Will's aunt Billie showed up with a dear John letter from Will, but it wasn't Will's handwriting- it was Billie's." Derrick was quiet on the other line. "Derrick?"

"Paul's missing, too." Derrick replied. "I also got a dear John letter, but it wasn't written in Paul's handwriting."

"Paul's missing, too?" Sonny asked. He exhaled sharply. "What is going on?" Derrick was quiet again. "Derrick? Do you know something?"

Derrick took a deep breath. "You'll understand when I tell you...Will didn't want you to know. He didn't want to put you in an awkward position with your mom and Uncle Steve."

Sonny was even more confused. "What do my mom and Uncle Steve have to do with this?"

"We think that John may be poisoning your Uncle Steve on the ISA's orders." Derrick admitted. "Paul and Will have been investigating this for the last few weeks now."

Sonny was floored. Why didn't Will tell him? "And Will was seen talking to John last night and has been missing ever since. So has Paul." He sighed and ran his hand through his hair. "Dammit, Will..."

"So, what now?" Derrick asked.

"Now...I am going to find them." Sonny declared.

"How? You don't even know where to start." Derrick replied.

"I'll track down John and/or Billie and follow them." Sonny said. "One of them will eventually lead me to our husbands."

"The ISA could be watching." Derrick warned him.

"I know. It's a chance I'll have to take." Sonny replied.

"Well, you can't go alone." Derirck said. "Let me come along."

Sonny sighed. "I don't think that's a good idea, Derrick. You are six months pregnant. If something happened to you, I'll never forgive myself, then Paul will beat me within an inch of my life."

Derrick huffed in frustration. "Fine. Keep me posted."

"I will. Bye." Sonny sighed. He called his assistant at Titan to cover for him, then he headed to the armory. Sonny packed a gun and a knife in his pants, then grabbed some pepper spray. He also put on a billet-proof vest under his shirt. He headed down to the foyer and almost ran into Adrienne.

"Okay, I know I said I wouldn't be so nosy anymore, but I can't help myself." Adrienne said, not giving Sonny a chance to speak. "So, what's going on with Will?"

"I don't know. That's what I'm going to find out." Sonny replied. He kissed his mom on the forehead and patted her shoulder. "I might not be back til late. See you." With that, Sonny flew out the door.

Adrienne sighed. "Okay, fine..."

XX

Sonny looked everywhere in Salem. By nightfall, he decided to go to the hospital to see if either Billie or John visited Steve today. He saw Billie in the parking lot heading to her car. Sonny followed Billie to the cemetary, then to the DiMera mauseleum. Sonny hid behind the wall of the crypt as he saw Billie take out a gun, cocked it, and fired at something in the crypt. Heart beating loudly, Sonny crept to the door to listen in.

"Damn, Billie." Sonny heard John say. "Couldn't have come a couple minutes earlier?"

Billie sighed in exasperation. "That's the thanks I get for saving your life?"

"And a big 'thank you, Partner'." John replied.

"Anytime." Billie replied. "But why did you bring him here?"

"I didn't have a choice. He insisted on seeing the bodies." John replied.

Sonny's stomach dropped and he held back a gasp. '"bodies"? Oh God, no...'

"So now I just have to clean up another one of your messes." Billie shrugged.

"Yeah, I'm slipping a little bit. Sorry about that."

"I'm used to it."

"All right, now we've got to be very careful. Our buddy might be out of the way here, but his boss is still out there, and it won't be long before she knows he's missing." John said.

"Okay, well, what are you gonna do about that?" Billie asked.

"The one thing I can. I got to get back to Steve." John replied.

"Wait, John."

John turned around. "Yeah?"

"Before you go... I have something for you." Billie pulled out a syringe. "Put this into Steve's IV."

John exhaled slowly. "Van Damme really wants Steve dead, doesn't she?"

"Yeah. He really should have been honest about Ava's death from the start." Billie replied.

"He didn't want his kid to spend the rest of his life in prison." John said defensively.

"I totally understand that, but still..."

"All right, well, we better get going, then." John said.

"Yeah."

Sonny hid behind the wall again as John and Billie left the mauseleum. He quietly walked inside and saw a dead body. He looked around the mauseleum and saw a door. He heard footsteps and quickly and quietly snuck through the door. He turned around, leaned against the door and sighed. He gasped as he saw Will and Paul, very much alive, but unconscious and tied up in chairs.

"Will!" Sonny ran to his husband and knelt down. He felt for a pulse and sighed in relief. He started lightly slapping Will's face. "Will. Will, wake up. Will!"

Will moaned and blinked open his eyes. "Sonny...?" Sonny laughed softly in relief and untied Will. "How did you find me?"

"Your Aunt Billie came over this morning to give me a note she said was from you." Sonny explained. "It was a dear John letter."

"What?!" Will exclaimed.

"I realized almost right away it wasn't your handwriting." Sonny continued.

"Wait...how long was I out?" Will asked.

"Well, it's just after 6:00 PM...on Valentine's Day." Sonny replied.

Will was shocked. He'd been knocked out for almost 24 hours! "Oh my God...Sonny, I'm so sorry."

"It's okay." Sonny pulled Will into a hug. "No more secrets, okay?"

"Okay." Will said. "We should probably untie Paul and wake him up."

"Yeah." They went over to Paul and untied him.

"Paul. Paul. Paul!" Will slapped Paul's face until he woke up.

Paul groaned as he woke up. "What happened?"

"Your crazy dad." Will explained. "He fired a gunshot, then pistol-whipped me. It has been a full day since that happened, and we just woke up."

"Oh my God." Paul sighed. "Oh, Derrick. He must be..."

"He called me this morning and told me everything." Sonny said. "Will, why didn't you tell me?"

"I didn't want to put you in an awkward position with your mom and Uncle Steve." Will explained. "Would you have told them if you knew?"

"Yes, especially Uncle Steve! He deserved to know!" Sonny argued.

"The head of the ISA threatened my grandma." Will explained. "I tried to talk to John about it, but...well..."

"He fired a shot in the air and knocked you out." Paul said. "I was just outside the crypt. I heard the whole thing. Then I went in to confront him myself, and he did the same thing to me."

"Why fire the gun at all?" Will asked.

"Well, he didn't want to kill us, but maybe he wanted someone else to think he did." Paul guessed.

"Who?" Will asked.

"Someone called Van Damme?" Sonny guessed. Will and Paul looked at them. "I overheard John and Billie talking about how Van Damme 'really wants Steve dead'."

Paul considered that. "You think it was the person that was forcing him to poison Steve? I guess that's why he tied us up and left us in this- in the DiMera crypt."

"I followed your Aunt Billie from the hospital to here." Sonny told Will. "She killed someone from the ISA to save John's life, then she gave John a vial."

"He's gonna finish Steve off." Will exhaled sharply.

"Not if we can help it." Paul replied. "Let's go."

They headed to the door. Sonny was about to open it when they heard a gunshot. They froze and glanced at each other in horror.

"Was that...?" Will was afraid to ask.

Sonny pulled out his knife and gun. "I brought along weapons just in case. Who wants the knife."

"I'll take it." Paul took the knife.

Sonny pulled out the pepper spray and turned to Will. "Which would you like?"

"The pepper spray." Will took it.

"All right. Stay close and quiet." Sonny slowly opened the door and they quietly walked out. The mauseleum was now empty except for the trio. They walked outside and saw Billie laying on her side, unconscious and bleeding.

"Oh my God." Will dropped his pepper spray and dropped to the ground. He shook Billie lightly. "Aunt Billie! Aunt Billie, wake up! Who did this to you?!"

Paul called an ambulence, which came quickly. They all headed to University Hospital. They met John and Marlena at the nurse's station.

"Hey, Dad, hey..." Paul greeted.

"How, uh...how's Billie?" Will asked.

"Billie? What do you mean?" John asked.

"She was just brought to the hospital." Paul explained.

John was surprised. "What?"

"Yeah. She was shot." Will explained. "Unconscious when we found her."

"Oh, my god!" Marlena exclaimed.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, what are you talking about? She just texted me, said she neutralized Pamela." John was starting to panic.

"W-well, maybe somebody at the agency did it." Marlena suggested.

"Yeah, that's what I'm thinkin', but who?" John asked.

"My guess is you." Sonny spoke up.

John ignored that. "I need to find Billie and talk to her."

"Talk to her, or finish her off?" Sonny asked in an accusatory tone.

John sighed and turned to Marlena. "Doc, can you help me here?"

"Yes, yes, I... I will explain." Marlena replied as John walked off. She turned to Sonny. "Okay. I can understand...after all that you've been through... why you would jump to conclusions about John being to blame."

"Because he is to blame. Marlena, he-he's poisoning his best friend!" Sonny snapped. "My uncle, by the way. He kidnapped and threatened to kill my husband and his own son!"

"Sonny, please, let her explain." Will said.

The elevator opened and Derrick walked over to them. "Paul."

Paul ran to hug his husband. "Oh, Derrick."

"I'm so glad you're okay." Derrick said into Paul's shoulder. They pulled apart and kissed.

"You're just in time. Marlena was about to explain what's going on." Paul replied. The four men gave Marlena their undivided attention.

She turned to Sonny. "I know... this has been a frightening ordeal for all of you. But I-I think when you understand what's going on... you'll also understand John's motivation."

"How do you justify poisoning your best friend?" Sonny asked.

"I'm sure you all know by now that Joey killed Ava Vitali, and Steve took the blame." Marlena began. "He asked the ISA to make it look like she was killed on orders from the ISA. But then Joey confessed to Ava's murder. Joey's confession could have cost Pamela's- the head of the ISA- job. So, she hired John to kill Steve and his family."

"Or she would kill yours." Will guessed.

"Yes." Marlena nodded. "John has been poisoning Steve in small doses, hoping it would buy enough time to make a cure."

"Why didn't John tell Steve what was happening?" Sonny asked. "He didn't think he deserved to know?"

"He didn't want to take any chances of Pamela finding out." Marlena replied.

Will nodded. "Okay. I understand. I mean, I practically went through the same thing two years ago."

Sonny exhaled sharply and shook his head. "Okay, fine, I guess I understand, too."

XXX

After calming down and getting food and water into their systems, Sonny and Will sat in the waiting area.

"How are you holding up?" Sonny asked.

"I'm fine." Will nodded. "I just can't wait to go home and hug the kids."

"I know the feeling." Sonny smiled.

"Sonny...how did you know that letter was faked?" Will asked.

"I believe in you." Sonny replied simply. "I know you would never just abandon me or the kids without warning."

Will smiled, deeply touched. "You didn't give up on me."

"Well, I didn't want to make the same mistake Aunt Kayla, Aunt Jennifer, and Aunt Hope did by thinking you abandoned us." Sonny smiled back.

Will cupped Sonny's face. "This is the best Valentine's Day gift you could have given me." They chuckled and kissed.

XXX

The next morning, Will went to the hospital to pay Billie a visit.

"My son could have been killed. What's the matter with you?" Will heard Lucas ask.

"Ah, but I wasn't, fortunately." Will said as he walked in. "So, um... why don't we all just chill out and enjoy being a family?"

Lucas turned to Will. "Are you sure you're okay?"

"Yes. Yeah. I'm fine, Dad. Thank you." Will replied. He turned to Billie. "Aunt Billie. I'm glad you're okay."

"Thanks, and I'm-I'm really sorry." Billie replied.

"It's okay. I mean, now I can cross premature burial off my bucket list." Will half-joked. "And that fake dear John letter you sent to Sonny brought us closer and showed me that he would never give up on me. So, I forgive you."

"Thanks. You had premature burial on your bucket list?" Billie asked.

"He's joking, Billie, honestly." Kate said. "He's trying to make light of the fact that you and John put him through a traumatic ordeal."

"It's-it's okay. I'm-I'm-I mean, I'm fine." Will said, honestly. "I-I was scared, but the good thing was, I wasn't alone. Paul was with me the whole time, I was also unconscious for pretty much all of it, and Sonny found us pretty quickly."

XXX

Will and Lucas left the room and headed to the waiting area.

"I'm glad we have a chance to be alone." Lucas said.

"Me too." Will replied.

"You're not in any rush now, are you?" Lucas asked.

"Uh, no."

"Good. Because we do need to talk. You know that, right?" Lucas asked.

Will nodded. "Okay. Sounds serious."

"No, it's not serious." Lucas assured him, shaking his head. "I mean, it's more serious for me. You know, I... as part of my recovery, I have to make amends, and-and I need to make amends to you...and to Sonny and Adrienne... not only because it's part of my program, but... because you're my son, and I love you."

Will nodded. "Okay."

"I'll admit: I'm a little overprotective." Lucas said. "It's not an excuse, but my drunkeness kind of heightened that. I was raised by Kate Roberts, the Queen of Disapproval of Significent Others, so I guess I inherited some of her genes. And after what happened last night, I realized what I should have almost two and a half years ago. Sonny really is good for you. And I really am grateful that he saved your life and rescued you from the mausoleum."

Will smiled. "Thank you. That means a lot."

"You're welcome." Lucas said. "I mean, I... thank god I came out the other side. For me, I think the key for moving on is just to take one day at a time. But I want you to know that, um... I'm here for you. You know, if you need me. From now on, no matter what."

"Sounds good." Will replied. They hugged.

XXX

Meanwhile, Sonny and Adrienne visited Steve in his hospital room.

"I just can't believe John did this." Adrienne said. "I mean, I know he had his reasons, but still...why couldn't he have told you?"

Steve shook his head. "It wouldn't have made a difference. I still would have taken that poison."

Adrienne shook her head and scoffed. "How did I know you would say that?"

Steve laughed softly. "'Cause you know me so well."

XX

After their visit with Steve, Adrienne and Sonny headed to the nurse's station and met with Will and Lucas.

"Hey. How's Uncle Steve?" Will asked.

"He's hanging in there." Sonny replied. "He forgives John. Even if Uncle Steve knew what was going on, he would have gone right along with it."

Will chuckled. "Yeah, that sounds like him."

"I um, I better get to work." Adrienne said. She turned away, but Lucas stopped her.

"Adrienne, wait. I..." Lucas sighed quietly. "I owe both of you an apology. Part of my rehab is making amends, so...Sonny, I am really sorry I lashed out at you and called you all those things. You did not deserve that. Sami was right- I should have been eternally grateful to you for saving Will's life, and I am. Really. Do you think you can find it in your heart to forgive me?"

Sonny smiled. "I already have."

"Good. That's...thanks." Lucas replied. He turned to Adrienne. "Adrienne, I'm sorry I was so hard on Sonny. I'm also sorry for falling off the wagon. I should have instead, tried to figure out what was wrong and...I could've ended the whole Bonnie-Hattie-Anjelica scheme before it went too far."

"It's okay. You weren't responsible for that." Adrienne said sincerely. "I forgive you for being so mean to Sonny."

"Thanks." Lucas said.

"I'm glad we're all on good terms now." Will said. "Maybe things will finally return to normal."

"Unless endless drama is our normal." Sonny said.

"Yeah, that's true..."


	144. Warnings

It felt like March came way too quickly for Will. Gabi is still under suspicion of murdering Andre. One day, he walked through Horton Town Square and saw Gabi and Ari sitting at the bench in front of the Horton plaque.

"Is it my birthday present?" Ari asked Gabi.

"Your birthday present? No, it-your birthday isn't for another two whole months." Gabi replied.

"Well, we better start planning, then." Will said as he walked up to them. Ari ran to her dad, who picked her up and hugged her. "Hello! Hi! Oh, my gosh, how is my favorite little girl? Mmm, you smell nice and chocolaty..."

"Yeah, she's got sticky fingers too." Gabi replied.

"My gosh. Well, you know, I heard something about a present? And as the dad, and someone who suspects you are probably going to get a ton of presents on your actual birthday, I vote that maybe we open this one early." Will sat next to Gabi. "Whatever you're hiding in there must be pretty, pretty special, huh, Ari?"

Gabi laughed. "Yeah, you- well, you caught me. It's a gift for- for Arianna's birthday, but it's-it's part of this whole other princess theme, so birthday girl's just going to have to wait till her big day."

"Aw, okay. Well, waiting can be good. 'Cause you know what happens when you wait?" Will turned to Ari.

"What?" Gabi asked.

Will "pulled" a quarter out of Ari's ear. "Magic!"

"Can I go spend it over there?" Ari asked.

"Oh, at your favorite toy kiosk? Yes, you can. There you go." Will set her down.

"Daddy Will's got great ideas, doesn't he?" Gabi asked Ari.

Will nodded. "And so, pick out something you like. If it costs more than a dollar, we know where to get more money, don't we? Okay." Ari ran to the kiosk. "So...how are you holding up?"

"I'm terrified." Gabi admitted.

"Yeah, of course you are. But you have three things going in your favor. One, you didn't do it. Two, you have the best lawyer in town. And three, you didn't do it." Will replied.

"Thank you. I know this is-this is kind of short notice, but would you mind watching Arianna? I have something to do."

Will nodded. "Yeah, I mean, I- I can't think of a better way to spend the afternoon."

"Thank you."

"Listen, you're gonna- you're going to be fine. Okay? It's not even gonna go to trial... I bet the real killer, she's gonna make a mistake and when she does, they're gonna get her." Will said optimistically.

"Yeah."

XXX

After Ari picked out a coloring book, Will took her to the Pub. They spotted JJ sitting at a table facing the bar.

"Oh, hello, cutie. Oh, my goodness. Well, someone's having an extra special day, huh?" JJ said to Ari. He chuckled.

"Hey, do you wanna- you wanna play with those over here for a bit?" Will led Ari to a table next to JJ's. "Here...come around... here you go. Here you go." Will settled Ari in and sat across from JJ. "Hey."

"Empty the store?" JJ asked raising his eyebrow.

"Um, it was, like, a kiosk, and she couldn't decide, so..." Will shrugged.

"Bought them out?"

"Yeah, pretty much." Will nodded.

"Yeah, I know the feeling. I have two toddler bikes. A pink one and a blue one. Apparently, they'll be sitting in the garage for a few years." JJ said.

"Oh, yeah. Sonny told me you and Lani are expecting." Will said. "That's awesome."

"Yeah, I know, right? It's... it came out of nowhere. And I'm still trying to wrap my head around it." JJ said beaming.

"Yeah, I've been there." Will mused. "I mean, although... my particular circumstance is a little unique, but... I guess, you know, it's like you're- you're doing your own thing, living your own life, and then suddenly, you realize that there's a part of you living inside of... like, a completely... different person, and... for me, it-it made me see... like, the future... and hope and..."

"Wow."

"...Stuff. Sorry, I didn't mean to- to get all philosophical on you." Will chuckled.

JJ shook his head. "No, no, no, no, I'm right there with you. Because "hope" and "future" weren't even on my radar a while back. But now, I'm... I wanna see if my little boy or girl has lani's eyes... or my sense of humor..."

Will groaned half-teasingly. "Oh, please, not that. God."

JJ laughed. "You know, I-I- I just hope my kid is... is smarter than me. 'Cause I've made a hell of a lot of mistakes, but, you know what? I...I feel like now, I'm finally getting it right. Having a child with the woman I love... being a family."

"Well, I can tell you it takes a lot of work, trial and error..." Will shrugged.

"Oh, yeah. You and Sonny..." JJ nodded knowingly.

"Well, we're okay now, I mean...you know, the... murder charge hanging over Gabi, it's kind of been a-you know, like, a tough time." Will replied.

"Oh, but you know that Gabi's innocent. Eli's working overtime to prove it. So is Rafe. She'll be cleared any day now." JJ said.

XX

Later that afternoon, Will found out that Gabi was caught trying to destroy evidence. He raced down to the police station.

"Gabi, what the hell?" Will demanded. "Was that coat and urn lid in Ari's bag the whole time?! Why didn't you tell me?"

"I thought I had it handled." Gabi said.

"Why didn't you go straight to the police?"

"I did! But Trask was there and-and she kept going on and on about how she was gonna bury me, so..." Gabi just sighed.

Will exhaled sharply. "Well, I'm sure Justin will be able to get you out of this mess."

"I hope so."

XXX

Will and Sonny hadn't seen each other all day. They met in their bedroom and hugged and kissed.

"How's Gabi? I heard she was arrested again." Sonny said.

Will sighed. "Hanging in there. I don't know what we're gonna do if she's convicted. I mean, I know she's innocent, but..."

"Hey. She'll be cleared. That evidence was planted." Sonny said.

Will nodded. "Yeah. So, distract me. How was your day?"

"It was great. Until I ran into Vivian at the cafe." Sonny replied.

Will huffed. "Oh, great. What does that dragon lady want now?"

Sonny chuckled. "Well, she warned me that she and Stefan are gonna take me down. I told her to bring it. Then I came home and told Uncle Vic, and he told me she gave him the same warning...after she propositioned him both in the business sense and the biblical sense."

Will shuddered. "Ugh."

"I know. She wanted to merge Titan and DiMera Enterpise." Sonny announced. "Victor turned her down, of course."

"Good." Will said. "Remember the last time someone merged with DiMera?"

Sonny scoffed. "All too well. Gabi Chic."

"Yeah." Will nodded. "We'll defeat her. Vivian. From what I've heard, her plans never work."

"I hope so."

XXX

The next morning, Sonny headed to the office and stopped dead in his tracks when he saw his assistant, Aimee packing up.

"Um...Aimee? What are you doing?" Sonny asked.

Aimee paused to look up at Sonny. "I quit."

Sonny was stunned. "I'm...sorry, you-you what? Why?!"

"I have my reasons. I just can't do this anymore." Aimee said. She picked up her box and started walking towards the elevator. "I'm sorry, Sonny."

"No, no, no, no, wait, wait, wait." Sonny ran infront of her, blocking her path. "Is there anything I can do to change your mind?"

"No." Aimee shook her head. "I'm sorry. And I'll understand if you don't want me to use you as a reference."

Sonny huffed and stared after her, helplessly. He then turned to his secretary, Stacy. "I don't suppose she told you why she's quitting out of the blue?"

"Nope." Stacy shook her head.

Sonny exhaled sharply. "All right. Will you please send Mary from HR to my office?"

"Of course."

"Thank you."

XX

A few minutes later, Mary, a pixie-cut blonde woman in her 40s walked into Sonny's office holding a folder. "Sonny."

"Hey, Mary." Sonny greeted. "Did Aimee tell you why she quit?"

Mary shook her head. "Nope. So, let's talk about getting a replacement. There is an office temp working in research and development. We can promote him to being your assistant. If he doesn't work out, then we can post an ad, and you can keep him on until you find a replacement."

"Okay. Fine. But I still would like to interview this guy myself." Sonny nodded.

"Of course. I'll send him right up."

XXX

Ten minutes later, a short, dark brown-haired man in his 30s came into Sonny's office.

"Hi. You must be Leo." Sonny said, standing up. "Come on in."

"Thanks. I have to tell you, this job offer took me completely by surprise." Leo said. They shook hands.

"Have a seat." Sonny gestured to a chair. They both sat down. "So, Leo...what makes you qualified for this position?"

"I'm very organized and detail oriented." Leo said. "I'm also proficient, efficient, punctual, and I can multitask."

Sonny nodded. "How would you schedule my day?"

"By energy." Leo replied. "I'd start out with your biggests tasks in the morning and slowing down in the afternoon."

"Good answer." Sonny said. "You'll start now."

Leo was surprised. "Uh- now? You mean I'm hired?"

"Yep. You can start by reorganizing my desk drawers." Sonny replied. "I have a meeting. Do you know how to add up mileage?"

"Yes."

"Okay. I am going to get it set up on my computer." Sonny said. He then pulled out a little mileage notebook. "Here is my mileage from this past month. Just enter the dates and numbers then add them up at the end."

"Okay. And do you want me to organize files, or...?"

"Nope. No hard-hitting, secret stuff yet. Not until I know you can be trusted." Sonny replied. He stood up. "Good luck. I'll be back in one hour."

XXX

Later, Leo went over to the DiMera mansion and knocked on the front door. Vivian answered and let him in.

"Well?" Vivian asked.

"I'm in." Leo smirked. Vivian grinned in triumph. "What do you have against this guy, anyway?"

"Nothing. He's just a means to an end." Vivian replied.

Leo nodded. "Okay, well, I'll keep you posted."

"Just make sure you keep up your end of the bargain. My entire plan depends on it." Vivian said.

"I will."


	145. The Trial of Gabi Hernandez

Leo ended up showing much promise. He really was effecient.

"I can't believe Aimee just quit on you with no notice." Will said as they climbed into bed. "But I'm glad you were able to find a replacement so quickly."

"Me, too." Sonny nodded. "So, tell me about Gabi's trial so far. What'd I miss?"

"Well...Lani admitted in court that she slept with Eli."

"What?!" Sonny asked, aghast.

"Yeah. It was oin Christmas Eve. JJ was in a dark place, Gabi was there for him, but Lani misread the situation." Will nodded forlornly.

"Yikes. Poor JJ. And Gabi." Sonny said.

"Yeah." Will cleared his throat. "Hey, I want to run something by you."

"Okay." Sonny turned on his side.

"What do you think about me going back to the Spectator?" Will asked.

'Um...well, I'd ask what brought that on." Sonny replied.

"Investigating John with Paul made me miss investigative reporting." Will replied. "I mean...running the Pub is fun and all and carrying on my family legacy sounded great at the time, but...it's not really what I want to do with my life, you know?"

"You don't have to run something like that by me. I think it's a great idea." Sonny replied. "You're a really good writer, and you have worked for the Spectator before. You're a shoo-in."

"Thank you." Will replied.

"You do know, however, that it could get dangerous, right? You might make enemies." Sonny cautioned.

"Yes, I'm aware. I'll be careful." Will replied.

"Good." Sonny smiled.

XXX

"Brady. I've been meaning to call you." Sonny said.

"I've been meaning to avoid you." Brady quipped.

"So is it true? Are you still moving forward with the new face of "Bella" contest?" Sonny asked. "Bella" magazine was launched by Titan in the early 2000s but fell by the wayside. Brady and Eve planned on ressurrecting it.

"What's it to you, Sonny?" Brady snapped.

"Well, last time we spoke, I was under the impression that you and Eve weren't on the best of terms. So if you're gonna be at each other's throat, the entire promotion's gonna go up in smoke and-"

"And what? What?" Brady asked, tiredly. "What are you worried about? It's gonna make the family look bad? Don't worry about it. Look, Victor gave me "Bella." He didn't give it to you. Contest, Eve- everything's gonna be fine."

"Sound pretty sure." Sonny folded his arms.

"I am."

"Even with the scam that you're running on Eve?" Sonny asked. "I may make mistakes, but I would never manipulate someone that I love the way that you did- the way that you're still doing."

"That's not what I'm doing at all." Brady insisted.

"No?"

"No."

"Not at all?"

Brady shook his head. "Mm-mm."

"So you think forcing her to work with you, that you're just gonna, what, charm your way back into her bed?" Sonny quipped. "You know what? You're delusional."

"We'll see about that." Brady said.

"You broke Eve's heart, Brady. She was gonna marry you not for business, not for money but because she was actually in love with you." Sonny tauntingly summarized. "And you screwed her over, just like I warned her that you would."

"The only one that got screwed over was me- by Victor, all right? He had to go and tell Eve the truth just because Maggie was giving him an ultimatum. That's the only reason." Brady argued.

Sonny threw his arms out. "Who cares why he told her? She deserves to know the truth. And you don't think that that was gonna come out eventually?"

"I was hoping that by the time the truth came out that Eve would already know how I felt about her." Brady admitted. "Grandpa Vic would have Basic Black. I would have Eve. It would be a win-win on both sides."

"Well, now it's a lose-lose because you broke Eve's heart and you don't even have a job, let alone the job you lost that you sold your soul for, which is the CEO of Titan." Sonny continued.

That did it. Brady shoved Sonny lightly. "You're starting to piss me off!"

"Hey, hey, hey, hey! Guys! What's going on here?" Adrienne walked into the room and stepped in between the two cousins. "Stop it, both of you. I mean it."

"Or what? You're gonna beat me half to death?" Brady quipped. He scoffed and shook his head, and turned to Sonny. "I'm gonna get Eve back. And I'm coming after you."

"Oh, yeah? Take a number, Brady!" Sonny called after Brady as he stormed out.

"What is that about?" Adrienne asked.

"What it's always about with Brady. Control of Titan and another Brady relationship down the drain." Sonny replied. He sighed. "Can you believe how far Brady went?"

Adrienne scoffed. "To win Victor's favor? Of course I do."

"And, boy, what a hot mess he's created." Sonny added.

Adrienne scoffed again. "He sure has. Listen, you know, Brady is so hell-bent on revenge. My advice to you would be, try to steer clear of him and just focus on your own life right now, all right, sweetheart? I know-"

"I can try, but it's been my experience that he can't." Sonny shrugged.

"Well, then you two need to mend your differences, otherwise Titan and this family don't stand a chance." Adrienne said.

"We won't, for one simple reason: Brady doesn't want to." Sonny replied. "But, I will try to steer clear if that will make you feel better."

"Thank you. It will." Adrienne replied. "Now...I have to get to work. We'll talk later, okay?"

"Okay. I actually need to get back to work myself." Sonny pecked his mother on the cheek. "Later, Mom."

"Bye, baby."

Sonny closed the living room door behind him as Will came downstairs. "Hey. Perfect timing. My mom's in there."

"Great."

"So, did you tell your grandpa?"

"Yeah. He's a little disappointed, but he understands." Will replied.

"Oh, that's good." Sonny replied. They kissed. "Good luck."

"Thanks." Will knocked on the living room door.

"Uh, come in." Adrienne called out.

Will walked into the living room. "Adrienne?"

"Uh, Will." Adrienne greeted. She cleared her throat. "You just missed Sonny, so-"

"Uh, yeah. Uh, I know. I actually, um, came to see you." Will replied.

"Me? Um, what can I do for you?" Adrienne asked.

"I would like to um, go back to "the Spectator." And I saw that, um, you have an opening for a beat reporter, and I would like to, uh, apply for the job." Will replied.

Adrienne raised an eyebrow. "Really? Wow, okay. Sure!" She sighed. "I'll reach out to jennifer. It shouldn't be a problem."

"Okay." Will said, smiling.

Adrienne's cell phone rang. "Oh."

"Thank you." Will said.

"I'm sorry. Um, don't meant to interrupt, but I'm expecting this call." Adrienne said.

"Okay, I'll let you take it." Will replied, backing out of the room. "Thank you again, so much."

"You're welcome."

XXX

The next day, Will headed to the courthouse. There was still time before the court session. Gabi and Chad were the only ones in the courtroom.

"Why would Abigail go to Hong Kong with Stefan in the first place?" Gabi asked Chad.

"'Cause he threatened to fire us if she didn't. And she thought that maybe she could get close enough while she was there to find some proof that he killed Andre." Chad explained.

"Especially since he has a crush on her." Gabi muttered darkly.

Will cleared his throat. "Hey, guys."

"Hey." Chad greeted. "Where's Sonny?"

"He couldn't make it. Emergency work meeting." Will replied.

"Oh. That's okay. Anyway, I was just telling Gabi about my Hong Kong adventure." Chad said. "I followed Abby and Stefan there. I trust her. I just don't trust him."

"Oh, yeah. Sonny told me."

"Did you find anything?" Gabi asked.

"Well, I think I might have found the woman that Stefan used to impersonate you." Chad announced.

Gabi and Will were surprised. "What do you mean-you saw her?"

"Just from the back. It was only for a second." Chad explained.

"But she looked like me?" Gabi asked.

"Yeah, close enough. I mean, I went to go confront her, and she took off." Chad said.

"You lost her." Gabi surmised, dismayed.

"Well, Stefan planted drugs in my suitcase. Security nabbed me. I had to go talk to the police." Chad shrugged.

"That man is a snake!" Gabi snapped.

"Well, Hope is still in Hong Kong and so are Shawn and Belle. They're working on it, all right? They're doing everything they can to help." Chad assured Gabi.

"What-what kind of sick person would do this? I mean, what-who would do this to someone?" Gabi wondered.

"I don't know." Chad said.

"You know, because of her, I could go to prison. Because of her, I could lose my daughter. If I ever see that woman face-to-face, I don't-" Gabi ranted.

"No. Just don't say it. Okay? Just let it go." Chad urged her.

"All right, the trial's gonna resume soon, so it's time for me to sit quietly while Trask buries me." Gabi said dejectively.

"Stop, stop, listen. We're not gonna let you go to prison for something you didn't do, all right? We're gonna make Stefan pay for everything that he did." Chad assured her.

"I can't believe I'm saying this about anyone, but he's as bad as your father." Gabi quipped.

"I know, and I didn't wanna believe it at first, but in Hong Kong, he proved that he's willing to do anything to take down his enemies." Chad said.

"Yeah, but he can't get away with it forever." Gabi said.

"No. And listen, you're never gonna leave Ari again, okay? Look at me. We're gonna find out who impersonated you, and we're gonna get you justice-I promise." Chad said.

"We're all here for you, Gabi." Will added.

"Thanks." Gabi said.

"I, uh, heard about Lani and Eli. I'm sorry." Chad said.

"As if things couldn't get any worse." Gabi sighed and folded her arms. She turned to Will. "And if I didn't regret putting you in the position to lie to your boyfriend for three months about Ari's paternity, I do now. I never thought I'd ever be in Sonny's shoes in that situation."

"Yeah, funny how things work out, huh?" Will asked.

"Yep. And technically, Justin was in my shoes." Chad said. "Remember when I interrupted yours and Nick's first wedding?Justin was one of the few people who did not call me out for doing that. Anyway, I just can't believe they were keeping that secret from you. I mean, I know how badly JJ wanted to be a father."

"Yeah, you know, I'm worried about him." Gabi said.

"Look, I'm sorry. Right now we just need to focus on the trial, okay?" Chad asked.

"Yeah."

Justin walked into the courtroom. "Hey, Chad. Will."

"Hey." Chad greeted.

"Is Abigail here?"

"Uh, no. She's gonna be here soon." Chad replied.

"Okay." Justin nodded." So we're almost back in session. Gabi, I just heard that Rafe may not be here today."

"Where is he?"

"He's following a lead on someone who may have seen you driving around the night of the murder." Justin replied.

"Okay." Gabi replied.

"Justin, I have a question." Will spoke up. "Isn't there a way to just let this case fall by the wayside? I mean, we still don't know who killed Deimos, and he died almost a year ago."

"That case went cold because we still can't find the amulet and everyone was drugged that night, anyway." Justin replied. "There is a lot of evidence stacked up against Gabi, so, there really isn't another option."

"Okay, fine." Will replied.

XX

Both Stefan and Abigail took the stand. Stefan, as per usual, was playing innocent without breaking a sweat. It came naturally for him somehow. Abigail was also calm, but slightly hesitant. They took a short recess, then court resumed.

"Ms. Trask, it appears as if you have reached the end of your witness list." Judge Sims noted.

"I have, your honor." DA Trask replied. "But before the prosecution rests, I'd like to recall a witness to the stand."

"Go ahead." Sims nodded.

"The people recall Abigail DiMera." Trask said, smiling. Chad quietly wondered what was going on. Abigail shrugged and headed back to the witness stand. "Mrs. Dimera, during the recess, you and I ran into each other in the corridor, did we not?"

Abigail nodded. "Yes."

"And when we saw each other, did you mention that you had just had a conversation with the defendant, Ms. Hernandez, in the ladies' room?" Trask asked.

Justin stood up. "Objection. Relevance?"

Melinda turned to the judge. "Your honor, i promise you will see just how relevant this line of questioning is."

Sims gestured to Trask. "Go ahead."

Abigail sighed. "Yeah. Yes, I did say that."

Justin turned to Gabi. "Wait. What did you say to her?"

"I just-I thanked her for being here for me-that's all." Gabi replied.

"And what did you and your best friend talk about?" Trask asked.

"She just thanked me for being here for her." Abigail replied.

"Aw, that's nice of her." Trask sai sarcastically. "Anything else?"

Abigail hesitated, then Sims said "The witness will please answer the question."

"I'm sorry, Gabi." Abigail said to Gabi.

"Mrs. Dimera." Sims said impatiently.

"Okay. I... Gabi said that she felt guilty." Abigail said.

"Guilty about what?" Trask asked.

"My support and my belief in her." Abigail said.

"Why on earth would that make her feel guilty?" Trask asked.

Abigail hesitated again before saying "Gabi... said that she felt guilty because...she knew that I was close to Andre and she was, in fact, the person who killed him."


	146. Cold and Unforgiving

Will was shocked. He knew Abigail was disloyal, but to lie in court? That didn't sound like her.

"That is a lie, Abigail! What the hell are you doing?" Gabi stood up and glared at her so-called "friend". "I never said that I killed Andre! She's lying!"

Abigail just shook her head. "No, I'm sorry. Gabi, I'm so sorry."

"Why are you doing this to me, Abigail? Stop lying!" Gabi lunged for her, then Justin held her back.

Sims banged his gavel. "Order! Order! Sit down, Ms. Hernandez!"

"It's a lie!" Gabi exclaimed.

"No-"

"Mr. Kiriakis, please restrain your client." Judge Sims said.

"You admitted that you killed Andre." Abigail lied.

"Sit down, Ms. Hernandez." Sims repeated.

"Why don't you tell them that you're lying, Abigail? Huh? Stop lying!" Gabi exclaimed angrily.

"Ms. Hernandez, sit down at the table or I'll have the bailiff escort you out of here." Sims ordered.

Gabi ignored that. "I never said I killed Andre. I am innocent and you know that."

"Gabi..." Abigail stammered.

"I said no more talking, Mrs. DiMera, or I'll hold you in contempt of court." Sims said.

"Okay. I apologize, your honor. I didn't mean to cause a scene." Abigail said sincerely.

"You didn't mean to cause a scene? Are you serious?" Gabi exclaimed.

"Mr. Kiriakis, I am ordering you to get control of your client. Now, if Ms. Hernandez wants to testify in her own defense, that is her right. But she may not address this witness or shout out statements." Sims said sternly.

"Yes, I understand, your honor." Justin replied. He turned to Gabi. "Gabi, I know this is hard. Sit down. But I've got this, okay? You just have to trust me. Now, sit down."

"You cannot let her get away with telling these lies, okay?" Gabi demanded.

"I won't." Justin replied.

"Mrs. DiMera, from here forward you are to address the court and the attorneys only, and only in response to a direct question. Do you understand that?" Abigail nodded. "Ms. Trask, now that we are past this disruption, you may continue questioning the witness."

"Thank you, your honor. Mrs. DiMera, are you 100% certain that during the last recess you heard the defendant correctly?" Trask asked.

Abigail nodded. "Yes. Gabi stated very clearly that she killed Andre DiMera."

"All on her own, she confessed to murdering him?" Trask asked again.

"Well, I didn't want to believe it. I mean, Gabi is my best friend, and I love her very much. But the idea that she would kill Andre, that she would hurt somebody that is so close to me...that I love so much is just a little..." Abigail sobbed quietly.

"Take your time, Abigail. I can only imagine how difficult this is for you. The courage it takes to come up here and tell the truth about your best friend, even when it means-"

"Objection, your honor." Justin intterrupted.

"It's all right. No further questions, your honor." Trask said, then returned to her seat.

Abigail stood up to go back to her seat, but Justin stopped her. "Abigail, just a moment. Your honor, if I may?"

"Go ahead." Replied Sims

"I have some more questions of my own." Justin said.

Abigial sat down. "Okay..."

"Let's start with this one: Can you explain to the jury why you are lying in open court?" Justin asked bluntly.

Abigial sighed. "I wish I were lying, but I- but unfortunately, I'm telling truth about what Gabi said to me in the ladies room."

"Does that make sense to you?"

"Does what make sense?" Abigail asked.

"Your story." Justin said. "I mean, why would Gabi suddenly confess to a murder in the middle of her trial? Are you certain that you didn't misunderstand what gabi said to you in the ladies room?"

Abigail nodded. "Yes, I'm certain."

"You obviously loved Andre. And you want the killer to be brought to justice, correct?" Justin asked.

Abigail nodded. "Very much."

"Do you blame yourself for his death?" Justin asked.

Abigail started stammering. "No. I...no. Me? No, I would-no."

"I mean, you once told me that during one of your psychotic breaks-"

Trask shot up. "Objection!"

"It speaks to the credibility of the witness." Justin said.

"Overruled." Judge Sims replied. Trask sat down, simmering.

Justin turned back to Abigail. "During one of your breaks- when you lost touch with reality, you once told me that it was Andre DiMera that brought you back. Was it not?

Abigail nodded. "That's right."

"So in a sense, he saved your life." Justin surmised.

Abigail nodded. "Yes."

"And yet, you weren't able to save his." Justin mused.

Trask stood again. "Is there a question in here, your honor?"

Both the judge and Justin ignored that. "You loved him, didn't you?"

Abigail stammered again. "Yes. Andre was very much like a friend to me."

"A friend. A good friend, just like Gabi is a good friend." Justin mused.

Abigail nodded. "Yes."

Justin interrogated Abigail for a few more minutes, then Abigail got a huge headache, but recovered. She still maintained that Gabi told her she killed Andre. The judge adjourned the meeting, and Gabi started lashing out at Abigail, but Chad and Justin restrained her. Everyone except for Justin, Gabi, and Will left the courtroom.

XX

"Gabi, I am so sorry about what happened with Abigail. I know that was rough. If there's anything you could tell me about why she-"

Gabi interrupted Justin. "I have no idea why she would do that. I'm gonna let Chad figure that out, because right now... I need to figure out how to save my own life."

"Gabi..."

"Justin, please. Put me on the stand, okay? I want to testify. The jury, they need to know the truth, okay?" Gabi requested.

"As your attorney, I strongly advise you not to take the stand in your own defense." Justin replied.

"Look, I have to tell them my story in my words." Gabi argued.

"Gabi, I thought we talked about this. I thought we agreed it is not in your best interest to testify."

"Things have changed, okay? The jury just heard my so-called best friend say I confessed to killing andre. They need to see me look them in the eye and tell them I didn't do it." Gabi pointed out.

"I know-I know how hard it is to sit here and let her say the things that she said, but believe me, you do not want be cross-examined by Melinda Trask." Justin warned.

"Oh, I can handle her questions."

"No, no. She will twist everything you say and make you look guilty." Justin said.

Gabi scoffed. "I mean, make me look worse than I already do? I can't."

"Your case is still circumstantial, and I think I can convince the jury that abigail was lying." Justin assured her.

"If I don't talk, it'll look like I'm afraid." Gabi pointed out.

"No, no. Not taking the witness stand does make you look guilty. In fact, it makes you look confident that the prosecution hasn't made their case." Justin assured her.

"But they do have a case, okay? I'm not stupid. It looks bad." Gabi argued.

"Gabi, when I was the DA, I knew I was gonna win when the defendant took the witness stand. It is a desperate move."

"I am desperate, Justin, okay? My whole entire life is on the line here." Gabi said.

"It's a mistake, Gabi." Justin stressed.

"Hey, Justin, why don't you put me on the stand?" Will suggested. "Is that desperate? I mean, she has to have someone speak up for her, right?"

"Will, it still won't work. It's too desperate." Justin said.

"Okay, but it's my mistake to make, right?" Gabi asked. "So, if I say call me to the stand, you'd have to do it, right?"

Justin sighed. "Yes."

"Great."

The baliff came back in. "All rise." Everyone stood up.

"Please be seated." Judge Sims said as he sat down. "Mr. Kiriakis, defense can call its first witness."

"Gabi...?" Justin turned her. Gabi just sighed and shook her head, changing her mind.

"Mr. Kiriakis, we don't have all day." Judge Sims said.

Justin stood up. "No witnesses, your honor."

"Very well. Since there are no more witness, we'll end this session with closing statements." Judge Sims replied. "Ms. Trask?"

"I hope I don't regret this." Gabi whispered to Justin.

XXX

After the session, Will drove to Sonny's office. It was almost lunchtime, so he thought he'd surprise Sonny. He took the elevator to the top floor. He stepped off when he saw Leo, Sonny's new assistant talking on the phone in a corner.

"...I'll try to get it done, but-" Leo turned around and tried not to look too panicked in front of Will. He cleared his throat. "I'm gonna have to call you back." He hung up. "Hi. Can I help you?"

"You're Leo, right? Sonny's assistant?" Will asked.

"Yeah. You are...?" Leo asked, then nodded in realization. "You're Will, Sonny's husband. I recognize you from the pictures on Sonny's desk."

"Yep." Will nodded.

"Oh, it's nice to finally meet you." Leo said. They shook hands.

"You, too." Will said. "So, uh...was that a personal call?"

"Yeah. I just got off for lunch." Leo cleared his throat. "So, you here to see Sonny, I presume?"

"Yeah." Will replied.

"Oh. Okay, well, he's in his office just finishing up a phone call." Leo replied.

"Okay. Thanks."

"Yep. No problem." Leo said.

Will nodded, walked backwards a few steps, then turned around and walked to Sonny's office. He knocked on the door and opened it slightly.

"Come in!" Sonny called. Will walked in and Sonny beamed. "Hey! You're just in time. I was about to head out for lunch."

Will chuckled softly. "I know. I just came from the courthouse and thought I'd surprise you."

"Aw." Sonny pecked Will on the lips. "That's a wonderful surprise."

"I also met your new assistant." Will said. "He seems nice."

"He is. He's very genuine. What you see is what you get." Sonny replied.

"Hmm. Seems like you really like him." Will said with a twinge of jealousy.

"Don't be jealous. You know you're the only one for me." Sonny said honestly.

"I know." Will smiled.

XXX

After a long day at work, Derrick came home to Paul working on his laptop.

"Hey, babe. Whatcha doin'?" Derrick leaned over Paul's shoulders and hugged him from behind.

"Hey. I'm working on a case for Kate." Paul replied. "She hired me to investigate Vivian Alamain."

"Why?" Derrick asked.

Paul sighed. "Well, Kate thinks that Vivian's up to something shady. So she wants me to look into it. Spent half my day following her."

"Okay." Derrick laughed. "Did you learn anything?"

"No, not really. I mean, other than that she drinks like a fish." Paul said in irritation. "See, I was at Doug's Place and just sitting there all afternoon watching her down martini after martini."

"Oh. That sounds frustrating." Derrick replied, sympathetically.

"Yeah, well, that's PI work. Gotta be patient. Seriously, though, if, uh, if Vivian is up to something, sooner or later, I'm gonna find out what that is." Paul said, determined.

Paul took a little break, so Derrick did some research of his own. He looked up newspaper articles about Vivian. "Whoa!"

"What?"

"This article says that Vivian Alamain has buried people alive. People-as in plural, as in more than one person." Derrick said.

"I-I know her history, yes." Paul said.

Derrick looked at his husband in shock. "You know, and yet you still took the job?"

Paul shrugged. "Why wouldn't I?"

"Because, clearly, she's dangerous and insane!" Derrick exclaimed. "I think you should probably tell Kate maybe, you know, she should find somebody else on this one."

"I appreciate the concern, I do, but I think I can handle Vivian." Paul replied. He smiled. "Look, if she comes at me with a shovel, I think I can take her."

Derrick scoffed. "That's not funny! Paul, you could get hurt. You have a husband and a baby on the way to think about!"

"Mm. Playing the family card. That's low." Paul said half-serious.

Derrick gave in and sighed. "Can you promise at least you're gonna be careful?"

"I will." Paul promised. "So let's talk about tonight, huh? What do you wanna do? You wanna hit up the bars, check out a club?"

Derrick laughed and rubbed his belly. "Ah, well, we could... stay in."

"All right. What do you want for dinner?" Paul asked.

"Hmm." Derrick rubbed his bulging belly in thought. "I have been craving macaroni and cheese with tomato sauce all day."

"All right. Tomato sauce mac and cheese coming up!" Paul exclaimed.

XX

After dinner, the two headed back upstairs. "That was really good."

"Good, I'm glad you liked it." Paul said. "Oh- I finished the nursery this afternoon."

"Really? Let's see it." The nursery is next door to Paul and Derrick's room. It was bright pink with blue carpeting, yellow drapes, red furniture, green bedding, and orange and purple stuffed animals. Derrick gaped in shock and slight amusement. "Uh, wow, honey, this is...so...colorful."

"Right? I know it should mainly be pink, but I don't like that whole sterotypical pink for girls and blue for boys thing." Paul replied.

"So you used every color of the rainbow." Derrick surmised. "Um...wow."

Paul slumped his shoulders. "You hate it."

"No! No, I-I like it." Derrick said hastily. "It's just...a little overkill. Some of these colors don't mix well."

Paul sighed and nodded. "Okay. Sorry."

"It's okay. I do love and appreciate your enthusiasm." Derrick chuckled lightly. "So, let me guess: this closet is already filled with clothes."

"And toys." Paul said. "My parents and Marlena already bought a bunch of stuff, and your parents have sent some, too."

"Nice." Derrick nodded. He spotted a pink tricycle in the corner. "Let me guess: JJ?"

"Yeah." Paul said sadly. "After he found out he wasn't the father of Lani's baby, he couldn't bear having all these things he bought for the baby, so, he gave some stuff to us and some to Sonny and Will. They have the blue tricycle for DJ."

"Oh. If we're lucky, we won't have to buy anything for our little girl." Derrick joked.

Paul laughed softly. "Well, I did buy one thing."

"Really?"

Paul walked over to the dresser and picked up a silver, fake metal baseball on a tee.

Derrick smiled and laughed softly. "A baseball rattle? How did I know you'd buy something like that?"

Paul laughed and set the rattle down. "Do you think she'll like it?"

"Aw, I think she'll love it." Derrick replied. He put his arms around Paul's neck. "You really did do a good job with this nursery."

"Thanks." Paul held Derrick close. They kissed. "If there's any changes you would like to make, then go for it."

"Oh, can I?" Derrick joked. They laughed.

XXX

Meanwhile, Will caught up with Lucas at Doug's Place. Lucas was talking with Chloe, who left. Will sat across from Lucas. "So...you and Chloe?"

Lucas sighed. "I know what you're thinking: 'So, the person who once called my husband a whore is dating...a former whore? Really?'"

Will scoffed and folded his arms. "Well, um...if I were to say that, I know what you would say: 'Come on, man. She's changed. She's a different person now'."

"Yeah, that's right! Just like..." Lucas laughed softly. The irony of his response... "Just like Sonny."

"Mm-hm." Will smirked and nodded. "Chloe has changed for the better, I do recognize that. But, uh, aren't recovering alcoholics supposed to wait a while before they start dating again?"

Lucas scoffed. "You sound like Grandma. Anyway, it doesn't really matter now. She just got this amazing job offer in Mexico."

"Really?"

"Yeah. Someone saw her perform in Vienna, and they liked her so much, they wrote an opera for Chloe to star in." Lucas replied. "It's a dream come true for her."

"Wow! That does sound amazing."

"Yeah, and too good to be true." Lucas replied. "We don't know the name of the person who is writing the opera."

"Oh, wow, that sounds shady." Will replied. "Uh, did Chloe say yes?"

"Not yet." Lucas shrugged. "I tried convincing her that something's up, but she won't listen."

Will nodded. "You could offer to go with her."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, if the opera thing turns out to be a scam, at least you'll be there for her." Will replied.

"That's actually not a bad idea." Lucas nodded. "Oh- speaking of new job offers, congrats on going back to the Spectator."

"Thanks." Will replied.

"So, how's Ari holding up with Gabi still being in jail?" Lucas asked.

Will took a deep breath. "Well, she's resilient, but she's asking questions. I hate lying to her that Gabi's on some extended business trip."

"Well, hopefully you won't have to keep lying to her for long." Lucas said optimistically. "When's the verdict?"

"This morning. I told Rafe to text me the verdict. He hasn't yet." Will replied.

Lucas nodded. "I can't believe Abigail would lie on the stand, though. She and Gabi are best friends."

"Eh, well, Abigail has always been disloyal." Will shrugged.

Lucas stared at him in shock. "Wow. Where did this random hostility against your favorite cousin come from?"

"Half-cousin." Will said bitterly.

"Come on, man, she's still your cousin." Lucas admonished.

"Don't remind me."

Lucas sighed and shook his head. "Okay...what did she do to Sonny?"

Will huffed indignantly. "Sonny isn't the only person I care about, Dad! Abigail just lied on the stand, which could get the mother of my daughter sent to prison for the rest of her life! And her friendship with Andre just really pissed me off. After everything that monster has done, how could she?!"

"Okay, you have a point there." Lucas replied. "Still, as you have said, family doesn't give up on family."

"Why did I say that?" Will asked with exasperation.

"Because it's true." Lucas raised an eyebrow. "Come on...don't you miss having her in your life?"

"Well, I miss the person I thought she was." Will shrugged. "Someone who's unselfish, considerate, kind, and caring. Boy was I wrong. And since you brought him up, I bet that if Abigail had asked Andre what his plan was to get Chad and Gabi back after Deimos kidnapped them, she wouldn't have tried to prevent it! Or prayed for Sonny's safety."

"Wow, guess we know your Titan Conference Room Table mantra." Lucas cleared his throat. "Come on Will, have you never heard of forgiveness is good for the soul. That you can live longer, be happier if you're not vindictive and evil, mired in spite and malice and venom, and that forgiveness is the virtue of the brave?"

Will smirked. "Too bad Andre and Deimos weren't forgiving, then."

Lucas scoffed. "Okay, fine. Be cold and unforgiving." He stood up. "I just hope Ari doesn't inherit that part of you." He walked away.

Will sighed to himself. "Me too, Dad. Me too." His phone beeped with a text from Rafe.

'The verdict is in. Gabi was found guilty. She's going back to Statesville.'


	147. Shady Jobs

Sonny and Will told Ari together that her mommy would not be coming home anytime soon. Ari handled it pretty well, considering. She vowed to wear this blue dress that Gabi had made for her every day until Gabi came home.

"I'll wash it every night." Sonny promised. Ari hugged him and went to play in the playroom.

"She's taking this better than I thought she would." Will commented.

"I'm sure it'll really set in soon." Sonny replied.

"So, you'll wash that dress every night?" Will asked.

"Yeah." Sonny nodded. He laughed softly. "This kind of reminds me of when I used to wear my Spiderman costume under my clothes every day in third grade. My dad washed it every night so I could wear it the next day...until my mom found out."

"Let me guess: she was pissed." Will smiled.

"She was." Sonny nodded. "Speaking of my mom, I really am happy for you. Going back to the Spectator."

"Thank you." Will replied. "I'm happy, too."

XXX

Later that evening, Adrienne treated Will to dinner at the Brady Pub.

"You know you didn't have to do this. Jennifer already took me to lunch, so..."

Adrienne smiled. "Are you kidding me? Your first day at "the Spectator"? There's no such thing as too much celebration."

Will laughed and raised his glass of red wine. "Cheers. Thank you. I-I really appreciate it. And, um, you know, you're making me feel very welcome."

"I know we didn't have a smooth beginning, but the past firmly in the past." Adrienne said. "The present is all about "the Spectator's" talented new writer."

Will laughed again. "I know I just got my badge and signed my paperwork and stuff, but I'M... I'm so excited to dive into my first assignment."

"Well, excellent! That's the other reason I wanted to talk to you. I have an idea for a story, and I think you'd be perfect." Adrienne said.

"What's it about?"

"EJ." Adrienne said.

Will was flummoxed. He sighed. "Adrienne, not for nothing, but the last time I did a story about EJ, it almost ruined my life and my marriage."

"Well, actually, it-it's...not the story of his life I'm interested in, but the story of his death." Adrienne replied.

"His death. You know..." Will scoffed and shook his head.

Adrienne interrupted him. "No. What I wanna do a story on is actually his resurrection."

"Oh, I'm not sure I follow."

"Kristen injected EJ with a drug that brought him back from the brink of death. That's extraordinary. And I think it could make the story of the century." Adrienne replied.

"Well, um... a crazy lady brings her almost-dead brother back to life and holds him hostage for almost a year." Will summarized. "Is that unusual? Absolutely. Is it the story of the century? I don't really think-"

"It's the drug, Will-that's the story." Adrienne said. "I'm a breast cancer survivor, all right? There were a lot of patients I know who weren't as lucky as I have been. Think of the people, the lives that would be saved, if Kristen's, or whoever made that drug's medical advances could be shared with the world."

"That'd be great...you know, if she were...still alive. But, um, you know, she's not." Will shrugged.

"Well, she might have shared that information with someone." Adrienne suggested. "Or maybe the doctor who created that drug is still alive."

"That would be Dr. Willhelm Rolf." Will replied. "He killed himself last summer."

"Oh." Adrienne's face fell. "Well, maybe he shared the information with someone. But the story is compelling, Will. And...the potential benefit to terminally ill people? It's incalculable. So..."

"So you, uh, you want me to think about it." Will guessed.

"Yes." Adrienne said. "Let me know soon, though."

"I will."

"And I promise, if there is any indication that this article would ruin your life, I will pull the article." Adrienne said, seriously.

Will laughed again. "Deal."

XX

After dinner, Will spotted Kate at another table with two martinis set in front of her. He headed over, carrying his own glass of wine.

"May I join you?"

Kate smiled up at him. "Yes. It's the best offer I've had all day."

"Thank you." Will sat down. "So, I'm guessing you might have heard that, um, I accepted a job at "the Spectator"."

"I did. Congratulations." Kate said.

"Thanks. Today was my first day." Will replied.

"I think it's great. I really do. I always said you were a terrific writer. So how's it going?" Kate asked.

"Um... strangely."

Kate laughed. "That's not exactly what i expected you to say. So are you unhappy already?"

"No, I mean, I'm-I'm so excited to get back in the writing game but, um... my-my first assignment's kind of problematic." Will explained.

"Okay. Well...maybe your grandmother could provide you with a little advice, maybe insight." Kate suggested. "Maybe just be a drinking companion."

"Well, with all that going on, you should never call yourself a grandmother."

"Well, that's very sweet of you, but I am so proud to be your grandmother." Kate replied. Will explained about the article being about the mystery drug that revived EJ after he was fatally shot. "I have to say I agree with Adrienne on this one. I do. You know, as a cancer survivor, I mean, I have to say if one of Rolf's drugs could provide hope to someone who has no hope... I think that an article could possibly save lives. It'll make you a big success in the process, too."

"So you think I should take the assignment." Will guessed.

"Well, personally, i really hate that word "should." I think you will weigh the pros and cons, and then you'll decide for yourself." Kate shrugged and took a sip.

"Okay. I-I understand the miracle this drug could be, you know, if it even still exists. And I wanna contribute, and I would love to make a difference with my writing, but..." Will shrugged and sighed. "Rolf is dead, and I don't want to bring up bad memories with EJ."

"Well... There may be someone else that you could talk to." Kate said.

"Who?"

"John." Kate replied. "He was brought back to life by Rolf like a decade ago."

Will nodded. "Okay, yeah. That's a good idea."

XXX

Meanwhile, at Titan, Leo walked into Sonny's office carrying a drink and some files. "Your morning coffee- triple-shot, no-foam latte."

"Thank you, Leo." Sonny replied, taking the drink and setting it down on his desk. "Do you have the...?"

Leo handed him a folder. "Quarterly reports on Titan's earnings for the shareholders meeting. I realize I could have emailed them to you, but I know you like to write notes in the margins."

Sonny raised his eyebrows in pleasant surprise. "I'm impressed. You're paying better attention than I thought."

Leo shrugged. "That's what assistants do."

"Mm-hm." Sonny agreed. He took a drink. "Mm. That's good."

Leo chuckled softly. "I also have a few things for you to e-sign." He handed Sonny a tablet.

"Alrighty." Sonny replied. He signed and itnitialed. "Done. Anything else?"

"Yeah, one more thing..." Leo got close to Sonny and straightened his tie. "There."

Sonny felt a little uncomfortable. He could tell Leo liked him a lot. He cleared his throat. "Thank you."

"You're welcome." Leo replied. He paused, then said. "Hey, listen, um...I just want to tell you how much I admire you. You're a young, hot, influential CEO who's not all business all the time, and-"

"Leo, I'm gonna stop you right there." Sonny said. "Yes, I am happily married and I do not want to screw that up. And even if I wasn't, we still wouldn't work out. Dating employees is a bad idea. That's a line I will not cross."

Leo nodded, a little disappointed. "Okay. I understand."

"Good." Sonny replied. "Now, would you mind printing and copying this email that I have for the board?"

"Sure. I'll get right on it."

"Great. See you later."

XXX

Later that evening, Leo met up with Vivian in the private area of the square.

"So, how'd it go?" Vivian asked.

Leo sighed and shook his head. "Not good. Sonny is loyal to his husband and very professional. I don't think I'll be able to bed him, I'm sorry."

Vivian scoffed and shook his head. "Come on. You're not trying hard enough."

"I'm just afraid if I try too hard, he'll fire me or file a sexual harassment claim." Leo shrugged. "Maybe we should just throw in the towel."

"No. No, I am not one to give up so easily." Vivian said, holding up a finger. "Especially since I've already paid you. Don't you still have student loans to pay off?"

"Well, yeah, but..." Leo sighed. "Okay, fine. I'll keep trying. But, can I ask you something? What is your endgame? Like, what do you gain from all of this?"

"Simple: Victor turned me down again, so I want to ruin his precious grand-nephew's life, his marriage, his career, and his reputation." Vivian replied. "From what research I've done, Sonny has already been targeted because of Victor twice before, so...we'll see how he likes his dear old great uncle after we're through with him."

"All this just because a married man doesn't want you?" Leo raised an eyebrow. "Seems a little extreme."

"Well, hell hath no fury." Vivian shrugged. "Anyway, you were the one who told me you'd do anything for the right price."

"Okay, don't worry- I won't give up on Sonny." Leo promised.

"Good. 'Cause you don't want to let me down." Vivian said. She walked off. Leo sighed and walked in the opposite direction.

Paul came out from behind the wall. He only heard Vivian's last sentence.


	148. A New Threat

The next morning, Paul followed Leo around Horton Town Square. Leo texted something on his phone, then disappeared through the Private Area.

Paul sighed. "Leo, where'd you go?"

"Looking for me?" Paul turned to see Leo leaning against the archway, smiling. He walked towards Paul. "Wanna tell me why you're following me?"

Paul feigned ignorance. "Following you? I'm not following you. If I was, I'm doing a terrible job since you caught me."

"Well, I did manage to shake you." Leo replied.

"I wasn't following you, Leo. I was actually on my way to meet someone." Paul lied.

"Really? 'Cause I heard you say my name." Leo said, skeptical.

Just then, Derrick walked through the archway up to Paul. "Hi, honey." Derrick pecked Paul on the cheek. "Sorry to keep you waiting."

"Oh, that's okay." Paul said, slightly relieved. He cleared his throat. "Derrick, this is Leo, Sonny's new assistant. Leo, this is my husband Derrick."

"Nice to meet you, Derrick." Leo said. "So, if your name's Derrick, how come I heard you say 'Leo'?"

"Leo is my middle name." Derrick lied. "I don't like it- no offense, so Paul calls me that when he's annoyed with me."

Leo nodded. He seemed satisfied with that explanation. "Okay. My apologies."

"It's okay." Paul replied.

"Also, congratulations." Leo nodded to Derrick's baby belly.

"Thank you." Derrick rubbed his belly. "Congrats on that new assistant job."

"Thank you. I worked really hard for it." Leo said proudly.

Derrick nodded. "I'm an assistant too- administrative assistant at the hospital."

"Oh. We should definitely get together. Compare stories." Leo suggested.

"That sounds nice. We totally should." Derrick replied.

Paul cleared his throat. "Anyway, Leo, I'm sorry I scared you, made you think I was following you."

"It's okay. And just so you know, there is nothing to worry about." Leo replied. "My loyalty is to Sonny."

"So, if any of his enemies ever approached you..."

"I would let him know." Leo said firmly. "Speaking of whom, I have to get back to work." He walked off.

Paul exhaled slowly. "That was a close one."

Derrick nodded. "Do you think he bought it?"

"I hope so." Paul replied.

"Do you buy his loyalty to Sonny?" Derrick asked.

"I want to...but...that conversation he had last night with Vivian..." Paul shrugged and sighed. "But, if what he said was true, he will tell Sonny about it the minute he sees him."

"How do we know he will? Ask Sonny next time we see him?" Derrick asked.

Paul sighed. "Um...I'm not sure. We really should give Sonny a head's up just in case. But..."

"What?"

"I don't want to break my PI-client confidentiality." Paul said.

Derrick just stared at his husband and raised his eyebrows. "I think the damage is pretty much done, Paul."

"That's different. You're my husband." Paul explained.

Derrick nodded. "Maybe we can get Will or Sonny to overhear us talking about Leo and Vivian."

"That might work."

XX

Will met with John at the cafe in the square.

"So, you wanted to see me?" John asked.

"Yeah. Adrienne wants me to do a story on that miracle drug that Rolf created." Will replied. "I'm wondering if you know anything about that."

John sighed and nodded. "You know, Will, Rolf was extremely loyal to Stefano. I asked him the same questions about it, but he wouldn't tell me anything. All I know is that it has a side effect: memory loss."

"Oh." Will slumped his shoulders. "Well...do you know anyone who would know?"

John shrugged. "My best bet would be EJ. Unless Rolf told someone while he was in prison."

Will nodded. "Okay. Thanks, I'll check out Statesville."

"You're welcome." John replied. They both stood up.

Paul, who was spying on them from the Horton tree, quickly dashed to the private area, which was on Will's way to his car. Derrick sat on the bench. "Okay, he's coming." He peeked through the archway and Will was 12 feet away. Paul walked over to Derrick and helped him up. "Ready?"

Derrick smiled and nodded. He cleared his throat. "Whew. That was a close one. Do you think he bought it?"

"I hope so, or I need to go back to Private Investigator school." They chuckled. "And I'd hate to be victim to Kate's poisonous brownies. She did hire me to look into Vivian, after all."

"And you're sure Vivian was talking to Leo? Sonny's personal assistant?" Derrick asked.

"Yep. I think they're working together." Paul said.

Will walked through the archway and cleared his throat. "Gentlemen. I couldn't help overhearing."

"About Leo possibly working for Vivian?" Paul asked.

"Yeah." Will nodded. "And to be honest, it does seem a little suspicious that Sonny's former assistant just up and quit and Leo got hired...pretty soon after the threats Vivian made to Victor and Sonny."

"Good point." Paul said.

"Also...I went to visit Sonny at Titan last week and I ran into Leo who was on the phone with someone." Will said, his heart beating fast. "He said something like 'I'll get it done'. He looked a bit startled to see me like I caught him doing something wrong. He told me it was a personal call."

"Okay, well, that is speculation right now." Paul said.

"But what else could it mean?" Will asked.

"I don't know." Paul admitted. "But, Leo did tell me that if he ever ran into one of Sonny's enemies and they offered him a job, he would go straight to Sonny."

"When did he tell you that?" Will asked.

"This morning. I saw Leo with Vivian last night." Paul replied.

Will nodded. "Okay. Um...well, I guess we'll find out tonight, then if Leo told him about Vivian."

XXX

The warden at Statesville was able to see Will pretty quickly. Will walked into his office.

"Mr. Horton. Have a seat." Warden Smith said. Will sat down. "I was told you had a question about a former inmate."

"I do. Wilhelm Rolf." Will replied. "I know he died last year, but do you remember if he had friends in this prison, or any of his cellmates?"

"He didn't really have any friends, actually. He mostly just kept to himself." Smith replied. "Although, there is one person he did talk to while he was here."

"Is he still in prison?"

"Yep! He's working right now, but I'll arrange a meeting." The warden replied.

"Great! Mind telling me the inmate's name?" Will asked.

"Clyde Weston." Warden Smith said.

Will was shocked and a little disappointed. "Oh...uh...you sure Weston is the only person Rolf ever talked to?"

"'Fraid so." Smith nodded. "I'm guessing you have a history."

Will exhaled sharply. "You have no idea...tell you what- I actually have another lead, but it also might come to a dead end, so, if that lead doesn't pan out, I will call to arrange a meeting with Weston as a last resort."

"Okay. Sounds good." Smith replied.

XX

Will headed home and called EJ and told him about the article.

"I asked to speak with any of Rolf's old cellmates or friends, but the only person who Rolf ever talked to was Clyde Weston of all people." Will complained. "I mean seriously- 200 inmates and out of all of those, the one person Rolf talked to was Clyde?!"

EJ exhaled slowly. "I think I may know the reason for that."

"Really?"

"Father left Rolf to rot in prison." EJ replied. "After years of loyalty to Stefano, Rolf thought that Stefano would come through for him. Instead, he was long-forgotten about. So, Rolf probably took his revenge by telling someone who had bad history with Stefano about the magic drug that brings people back from the brink of death."

"Did he know Clyde was in jail for life, though?" Will raised an eyebrow.

"He could still pass along the intel." EJ said. He paused. "But maybe not to you. He hates the Kiriakis family, too. He most likely will not tell you anything."

Will exhaled sharply. "Yeah, that's what I thought. Well, what do you know about it? You were revived with that drug too, weren't you?"

"I do, but as I've proven myself disloyal, Stefano and Rolf did not tell me anything about the drug." EJ replied.

Will sighed. "Well, then I'm back to square one."

"Not necessarily." EJ said. "After Rolf got out of prison, he acquainted himself with my mother, Susan."

"Oh. Didn't you have Rolf inject her to make her forget she has a son?" Will asked.

"I did, but then I found out that Rolf didn't go through with it." EJ replied. "She took my disowning her pretty hard. She was okay for two years, but then she snapped last November. She has been institutionalized ever since."

Will exhaled. "Oh. I'm so sorry."

"It's okay." EJ replied. "She might still be quite fragile to talk to right now."

"Okay. Well, thanks anyway." Will said. "I'll talk to you later. Bye." Will hung up and sighed again. "Great..."

A few minutes later, Sonny walked in, smiling. "Honey, I'm home!'

"Hey." Will stood up, walked over to Sonny and kissed him. "How was your day?"

"Good. I closed two deals and morals are still up, so everything's going great!" Sonny grinned.

"And Leo is working out okay?"

"Yeah. I have to hand it to him. He finally found his calling." Sonny headed to the liquor cart.

Will nodded and smiled in spite of himself. "He didn't tell you, did he?"

"Tell me what?" Sonny poured himself a drink.

"Paul saw Leo talking to Vivian last night." Will revealed. "She said something along the lines of 'you don't want to let me down'."

Sonny froze. "What?!"

"Yeah. He followed Leo this morning, and almost got caught." Will continued. "Leo told Paul that if any of your enemies ever approached him, he would go straight to you to tell you."

"He never said anything about Vivian to me." Sonny said.

"I figured." Will cleared his throat. "Also, when I came to visit you the other day, I ran into Leo, who was on the phone with someone. He said something like 'I'll get it done', then he looked shocked and a little nervous when he saw me. He told me that was a personal call."

Sonny clenched his glass and slammed it on the cart. "God. Freaking. Dammit. And that assistant job- he got that a little too quickly and it was too convenient."

"And the fact that your old assistant randomly quit on you a few days after Vivian threatened you and Victor." Will reminded him.

Sonny nodded. "Well, I'm glad we caught this early. Why was Paul following Leo in the first place?"

"My grandma Kate hired Paul to investigate Vivian." Will said. "She overheard her planning something and thought she was planning an attack against the DiMeras."

Sonny sighed and flopped on the couch. "Wow. Kate's paranoia actually helped us for once."

Will scoffed and sat next to Sonny. "Are you gonna tell your dad and uncle?"

"Well...Philip knew about Deimos before Uncle Vic did...and Victor still hasn't forgiven Philip." Sonny mused. "So, yes, I am going to tell both of them."

"What do you plan on doing about Leo and Vivian?"

Sonny exhaled sharply. "I don't know. I should fire Leo, but then he would file a lawsuit for wrongful termination."

"Well, Paul is still investigating." Will replied.

"I just wish I knew what their big plan was." Sonny said. "But until we know, I'm going to string Leo along."

XXX

Later that evening, Sonny told Justin and Victor everything.

"I knew that Leo character was suspicious." Victor said. "Please tell me you weren't stupid enough to give him any of our company's secrets."

"I didn't." Sonny assured him. "I was actually gonna start on the hard-hitting stuff tomorrow, but..."

"How lucky is it that we found out about this so quickly?" Justin asked.

"I know. Thank God Kate hired Paul to investigate Vivian." Sonny sighed.

"And your plan is to string Leo along?" Justin asked.

"Yep." Sonny said confidently. "Once we figure out their plan, we'll make our move."

"Which is...?" Justin raised an eyebrow.

"I'm not sure yet." Sonny slumped his shoulders.

"Well, how do you plan on figuring out Vivian's plan?" Justin asked again.

"Gather evidence and build a case against Leo and Vivian." Sonny said. "Then we send their sorry asses to jail."

"Sounds good. Now, how do we gather evidence?" Victor asked.

"I'm not sure." Sonny slumped his shoulders. "I'll let you know when I think of it."

"Well, I hope it's better than Brady's plan." Victor commented.

"It will be." Sonny promised.

"All right." Victor groaned as he stood up. "I need to go meet Maggie. But I think this operation should stay between the three of us."

"I agree." Justin nodded. Victor nodded, smiled, and left the room. Justin turned back to Sonny. "So...what is your plan, initially?"

"Well, I'm not gonna make the same mistakes I did last year when I tried to bring down Deimos." Sonny declared. "There's always another way to do things, and I will find it to bring Vivian and Leo down and make sure they stay down."

"Good for you." Justin smiled and nodded proudly. "You know, I wonder...I wonder if somehow Vivian got to Aimee. Maybe she blackmailed her into quitting or something."

"Probably." Sonny sighed. "We need to talk to her."

XXX

"Hi. This is Johnny DiMera. I was hoping you could tell me about a patient of yours: Susan Banks." Will lied. "She's my grandmother. ... Oh. She's sleeping right now. Um, does she have any friends there with her, or...? ... Roger Fisher. Her boyfriend, right? ... Oh. Is she up for any more visitors? ... Oh. Okay, I understand. Thank you. Bye."

Sonny walked into their bedroom. "What's that about?"

"Well, I was trying to track down a lead." Will sighed. "Didn't pan out, but then I got another hopeful lead."

"Oh. What was the lead that didn't pan out?" Sonny asked as he started taking his clothes off.

"Susan, EJ's mother." Will replied. "She had a breakdown last fall, and she's been institutionalized ever since. But, I do know she has a boyfriend, Roger Fisher. I'm hoping she told him everything Rolf told her."

Sonny tossed his clothes into the laundry hamper and pulled on some pajamas. "And EJ himself didn't know anything?"

"Stefano didn't trust him, so he didn't tell EJ anything." Will shrugged.

"So, if this Roger guy isn't helpful...what then?" Sonny asked.

"Well, then I'm left with one last resort." Will cleared his throat. "Rolf was left to rot in prison by Stefano. Rolf was angry and betrayed by that, obviously, so...he told his cellmate everything about Stefano and all his secrets. He may have told him about the revival drug."

"So he just told a random inmate?" Sonny asked, perplexed.

"Well, this cellmate of his had a bad history with Stefano." Will said.

"Oh. Well, just as long as it's not Clyde Weston." Sonny said. Will grimaced and Sonny sighed and shook his head. "It's Clyde Weston, isn't it?"

"Yeah." Will nodded. "Before you go overprotective husband on me- and I know I'm the last person to talk about that- it is a last resort. I don't trust Clyde, and honestly, I don't think he'll tell me anything. He hates your family just as much as he hates the DiMeras."

Sonny sighed in relief. "Well, I really hope this Roger guy can help."

"Me, too." Will nodded. "So, how are you with this new Leo/Vivian revelation?"

Sonny leaned back and sighed again. "You'd think I'd be used to this by now. Being used against my family. My dad, you, Uncle Vic...even Deimos. I'm surprised Anjelica didn't target me to get to my mom. After all, I am the child my parents longed for."

"Are you bragging about that?" Will raised an eyebrow.

"No, I'm just stating a fact." Sonny replied. "Hey, I'm not cocky or arrogant about that. At least I don't think that I can't be harmed. For I am a miracle child..." He sang softly. They laughed. "Of all the people for that mad scientist to ally himself with, it had to be the DiMeras."

"Yeah. Faked deaths, mysterious islands, dungeons, castles..." Will listed. "Did you know that Stefano once created four clones of my Grandma Marlena? Talk about obsessed."

Sonny looked at his phone and was suddenly struck with an idea. "Oh my God, Will, you're a genius!" Sonny grabbed Will's face and planted a kiss.

"What? What did I say?" Will asked, surprise.

"I know how we're gonna find out what they're planning." Sonny said, beaming. "We're gonna secretly clone Leo's phone."

Will nodded in understanding. "We'd be able to hear any and all incoming and outgoing calls and messages!"

"Exactly!" Sonny exclaimed. "Oh, this is perfect!" He texted Paul. 'Hey, Will told me about Leo and Vivian. Can you please come to my house tomorrow morning before I leave for work? We need to talk.'

'Sure. Is 8:00 good for you?'

'Yep. See you then!'

"Operation Counterattack is officially a go." Will said. He and Sonny high-fived and crawled under the covers.


End file.
